The Fuji apple is an apple

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

developed by growers at Tohoku Research Station (農林省園芸試験場東北支場) in

Fujisaki, Aomori is a town in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 14,921 in 6068 households, and a population density of 400 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Fujisaki occupies the flatlands within Minam ...

, Japan, in the late 1930s, and brought to market in 1962. It originated as a cross between two American apple varieties—the Red Delicious and old

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

Ralls Janet 'Ralls Janet' is an apple cultivar that is also known by many other names. It has been used extensively in modern apple breeding, and has several commercially important offspring. It was grown at Monticello by Thomas Jefferson. It has been s ...

(sometimes cited as "Rawls Jennet") apples. According to the

US Apple Association USApple Association is a Virginia-based nonprofit membership association for growers, marketers, equipment producers and allied organizations dealing with apples, within forty states of the United States of America. It advocates on behalf of 7,50 ...

website it is one of the nine most popular apple cultivars in the United States. Its name is derived from the first part of the town where it was developed: Fujisaki.

Overview

Fuji apples are typically round and range from large to very large, averaging in diameter. They contain between 9–11%

sugars Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

by weight and have a dense flesh that is sweeter and crisper than many other apple cultivars, making them popular with consumers around the world. Fuji apples also have a very long

shelf life Shelf life is the length of time that a commodity may be stored without becoming unfit for use, consumption, or sale. In other words, it might refer to whether a commodity should no longer be on a pantry shelf (unfit for use), or no longer on a ...

compared to other apples, even without

refrigeration The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...

. With refrigeration, Fuji apples can remain fresh for up to a year. In Japan, Fuji apples continue to be an unrivaled best-seller. Japanese consumers prefer the crispy texture and sweetness of Fuji apples (which is somewhat reminiscent of the coveted

Nashi pear ''Pyrus pyrifolia'' is a species of pear tree native to East Asia. The tree's edible fruit is known by many names, including: Asian pear, Japanese pear, Chinese pear, Korean pear, Taiwanese pear, apple pear, zodiac pear, three-halves pear, pa ...

) almost to the exclusion of other varieties and Japan's apple imports remain low.

Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the eas ...

, home to the Fuji apple, is the best known apple growing region of Japan. Of the roughly 900,000

ton Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean * the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds ...

s of Japanese apples produced annually, 500,000 tons come from Aomori. Outside Japan, the popularity of Fuji apples continues to grow. In 2016 and 2017, Fuji apples accounted for nearly 70% of

China's China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones ...

43 million tons grown. Since their introduction into the US market in the 1980s, Fuji apples have gained popularity with American consumers — as of 2016, Fuji apples ranked number 3 on the US Apple Association's list of most popular apples, only trailing Red Delicious and Gala. Fuji apples are grown in traditional apple-growing states such as

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, New York, and California. Washington State, where more than half of America's apple crop is grown, produces about 135,000 tons of Fuji apples each year, third in volume behind Red Delicious and Gala varieties. Fuji apples have recently been projected by the

to be in 4th place as America's favorite apple. In the United States and Canada, the

Price look-up code Price look-up codes, commonly called PLU codes, PLU numbers, PLUs, produce codes, or produce labels, are a system of numbers that uniquely identify bulk produce sold in grocery stores and supermarkets. The codes have been in use since 1990, and ...

(PLU code) for Fuji apples is 4131.

Gallery

Fuji apples.jpg, Fuji apples Malus-Fuji.jpg, Fuji Kiku on a tree Fuji apple with PLU code.jpg, A Fuji apple with a United States PLU code attached Apples in the supermarket.JPG, Fuji apples on a display in a supermarket

Mutant cultivars

Many sports (mutant

s) of the Fuji apple have been recognized and propagated. In addition to those that have remained unpatented, twenty had received US plant patents by August 2008: Unpatented Fuji mutants include: * BC 2 * Desert Rose Fuji * Nagafu 2 * Nagafu 6 * Nagafu 12 * Redsport Type 1 * Redsport Type 2

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20041209122435/http://www.fas.usda.gov/htp2/circular/2000/00-11/applesit.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20070928174409/http://www.idfta.org/cft/1998/vol31no1/barritt/Barritt_Fuji.pdf * http://www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/kitchen/handbooks/apples/northamerica.html
Patents covering Fuji Apples

The International Federation for Produce Coding (IFPC)

Popular apple variety harbors unusual cell growth
EurekAlert March 25, 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuji (Apple) Japanese apples Apple cultivars with patented mutants Apple cultivars

Overview

Gallery

Mutant cultivars

See also

References

External links