Honeycrisp

Honeycrisp (''Malus pumila'') is an apple cultivar (cultivated variety) developed at the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station's Horticultural Research Center at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Designated as MN1711 in 1974, patented in 1988, and released in 1991, the Honeycrisp, once slated to be discarded, has rapidly become a prized commercial agricultural product, as its sweetness, firmness, and tartness make it an ideal apple for eating raw. The advent of the Honeycrisp marks a turning point in the history of the apple industry. It is now the official state fruit of Minnesota. A large-sized Honeycrisp contains about .

TPepin Heights Orchards delivered the first Honeycrisp apples to grocery stores in 1997. The name ''Honeycrisp'' was trademarked by the University of Minnesota, but university officials were unsure of its patent status in 2007. The US patent for the Honeycrisp cultivar expired in 2008, although patents in some countries will not expire until as late as 2031. Patent royalties had generated more than $10 million by 2011, split three ways by the University of Minnesota between its inventors, the college and department in which the research was conducted, and a fund for other research.

Genetics

U.S. Plant Patent 7197 and Report 225-1992 (AD-MR-5877-B) from the Horticultural Research Center indicated that the Honeycrisp was a hybrid of the apple cultivars Macoun and Honeygold. However, genetic fingerprinting conducted in 2004 concluded that neither of these cultivars is a parent of the Honeycrisp. It found that one parent was a hybrid of the Keepsake (itself a cross of the Frostbite (MN447) and the Northern Spy) while the other was identified in 2017 as the unreleased variety designated MN1627 by the University of Minnesota. The grandparents of Honeycrisp on the MN1627's side are the Duchess of Oldenburg and the Golden Delicious.

The Honeycrisp was not developed for high yield, a long shelf life, or ease of transport, but rather for taste, a combination of sweetness and tartness, and its signature crispness. It has larger cells than most other apple cultivars, a trait correlated with juiciness, as larger cells are more prone to rupturing instead of cleaving along the cell walls; this rupturing effect is likely what makes the apple taste juicier. The Honeycrisp retains its pigment well and has a relatively long shelf life when stored in cool, dry conditions.

However, it is a demanding variety for growers and its taste fades after a long period in storage. In order to remedy these defects, breeders have been searching for hybrids that not only appeal to consumers are also less costly for farmers to cultivate and last longer in storage without losing its taste. By the 2020s, about half of the new apple varieties available for sale in the United States and Canada are progeny of the Honeycrisp. The University of Minnesota crossed Honeycrisp with another of their apple varieties, Minnewashta (brand name ''Zestar!''), to create a hybrid called Minneiska (brand name ''SweeTango''), released as a "managed variety" to control how and where it can be grown and sold. Washington State University created the Cosmic Crisp as a cross between Honeycrisp and Enterprise apples. It is intended to have the texture and juiciness of the Honeycrisp, and the late-ripening behavior and long storage of the Enterprise. The Midwest Apple Improvement Association (MAIA) developed a hybrid of the Honeycrisp and the Fuji, called the EverCrisp. There is also the SugarBee, which results from open pollination between the Honeycrisp and an unknown variety discovered in Minnesota in the early 1990s.

Agriculture

Honeycrisp apple flowers are self-sterile, so another apple variety must be nearby as a pollenizer in order to get fruit. Most other apple varieties will pollenize Honeycrisp, as will varieties of crabapple. Honeycrisp will not come true when grown from seed. Trees grown from the seeds of Honeycrisp apples will be hybrids of Honeycrisp and the pollenizer.

Young trees typically have a lower density of large, well-colored fruit, while mature trees have higher fruit density of fruit with diminished size and color quality. Fruit density can be adjusted through removal of blossom clusters or young fruit to counteract the effect. Flesh firmness is also generally better with lower crop densities. Bitter pit disproportionately affects Honeycrisps; typically 23% of the harvest is affected.

International growth

As a result of the Honeycrisp apple's growing popularity, the provincial government of Nova Scotia, Canada, spent over C$1.5 million funding a five-year Honeycrisp Orchard Renewal Program from 2005 to 2010 to subsidize apple producers to replace older trees (mainly McIntosh) with newer higher-return varieties of apples: the Honeycrisp, Gala, and Ambrosia. By the late 2010s, these have become the three most popular varieties in Canada, taking away the market share of the Red Delicious. The Honeycrisp in particular has been credited with reviving the apple farms of this province, bringing in multiple times more money per bin than older varieties, such as the McIntosh or Cortland apples.

Apple growers in New Zealand's South Island have begun growing Honeycrisp to supply consumers during the US off-season. The first batch of New Zealand-grown Honeycrisp cultivars being introduced to the North American market have been branded using the "HoneyCrunch" registered trademark.

In the early 2000s, American farmers started replacing the Red Delicious in their orchards newer cultivars, including the Honeycrisp, which soon became one of the most popular apple varieties in the United States. The Honeycrisp overtook the Golden Delicious as the fifth most grown variety in 2018. By 2024, the Honeycrisp accounted for 9.8% of the American apple market, behind only the Gala (17%), Red Delicious (12.3%), and Granny Smith (10%). Many consumers know the Honeycrisp by name, and at pick-your-own orchards, it and its progeny, such as the EverCrisp, Rosalee, and Ludacrisp, draw a lot of customers. However, production data from the US Apple Association shows that its popularity might have reached a plateau by the mid-2020s.

See also

* Horticulture

References

External links

The Apple that Changed the World
(NPR Planet Money)

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Flora of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
Symbols of Minnesota
Food and drink introduced in 1991
1991 introductions
Minnesota University breeds
Apple cultivars
American apples