| Malus domestica 'Ambrosia' | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Cultivar | 'Ambrosia' |
| Origin |  Canada, 1990s |
'Ambrosia' is a cultivar of apple originating in British Columbia, Canada in the early 1990s. The original tree was first cultivated by the Mennell family of Similkameen Valley, British Columbia, who discovered it growing in their orchard. [1]
The fruit is medium to large, weighing about 215 grams (0.474 lb), and has mostly red, glossy colouration, with yellow patches. It has cream-coloured, firm meat with a sweet flavour reminiscent of pear and low acidity. 'Ambrosia' harvest is mid to late season. Trees are hardy and no major disadvantages have yet been identified. [2] [3] These apples flower in mid to late season, and are in flower group 4.[ clarification needed ] [4]
Ambrosia is most common in British Columbia, where it was discovered, and is the third most-produced apple in the province. It is also being produced in Ontario and Nova Scotia, as well as many other places around the world. [5]
Parentage is suspected to be 'Starking Delicious' × 'Golden Delicious' because those apples existed in the orchard where the 'Ambrosia' was discovered growing. [6]
Ambrosia is a "club" variety of apple, in which a cultivar is patented by an organization that sets quality standards and provides marketing, while production is limited to club members. [7] The name was never trademarked, and the patent has expired in Canada and the United States. [8] [9] Centralized control allowed limitation of color variation to pink/red, as the variety would color differently in warmer climates. [8] [7] [9] The patent expired in Canada in 2015, in the United States in 2017, and in Chile in 2021. [10] It remains active in many other countries until as late as 2034. [8] While under patent in Canada, the Mennells obtained plant breeders rights, and all growers were allowed, paying a royalty of C$2 per tree planting. [8] While under patent in the US, growers paid the lesser of US$ 1 per tree planting or US$ 1,000 per acre, and a US$ 1,000 franchise fee. [8]
The McIntosh, McIntosh Red, or colloquially the Mac, is an apple cultivar, the national apple of Canada. The fruit has red and green skin, a tart flavour, and tender white flesh, which ripens in late September. In the 20th century, it was the most popular cultivar in Eastern Canada and New England, and is considered an all-purpose apple, suitable both for cooking and eating raw.
Golden Delicious is a cultivar of apple. It is one of the 15 most popular apple cultivars in the United States. It is not closely related to Red Delicious.
Pollination of fruit trees is required to produce seeds with surrounding fruit. It is the process of moving pollen from the anther to the stigma, either in the same flower or in another flower. Some tree species, including many fruit trees, do not produce fruit from self-pollination, so pollinizer trees are planted in orchards.
'Pinova' is a German apple cultivar. It was created in 1965 at the Institut für Obstforschung of Dresden–Pillnitz in Saxony which at that time was in the German Democratic Republic. After Germany was re-united in 1990, the rights to the cultivar passed to the Free State of Saxony.
Red Delicious is a type of apple with a red exterior and sweet taste that was first recognized in Madison County, Iowa, in 1872. Today, the name Red Delicious comprises more than 50 cultivars. It was the most produced cultivar in the United States from 1968 to 2018, when it was surpassed by Gala.
The Fuji apple is an apple cultivar developed by growers at the Tōhoku Research Station of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Fujisaki, Aomori, 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 Ralls Janet apples. According to the US Apple Association 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.
The Braeburn is a cultivar of apple that is firm to the touch with a red/orange vertical streaky appearance on a yellow/green background. Its color intensity varies with different growing conditions.
Jonagold is a cultivar of apple that is a cross between the crisp Golden Delicious and the blush-crimson Jonathan; the name Jonagold is a portmanteau of these two variety names. It was developed in 1943 in New York State Agricultural Experiment Station of Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, selected as N.Y. 43013-1 in 1953, officially released in 1968 by Roger Way.
Gala is an apple cultivar with a sweet, mild flavor, a crisp but not hard texture, and a striped or mottled orange or reddish appearance. Originating from New Zealand in the 1930s, similar to most named apples, it is clonally propagated. In 2018, it surpassed Red Delicious as the apple cultivar with the highest production in the United States, according to the US Apple Association. It was the first time in over 50 years that any cultivar was produced more than Red Delicious.
Honeycrisp is an apple cultivar developed at the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station's Horticultural Research Center at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Designated in 1974 with the MN 1711 test designation, patented in 1988, and released in 1991, the Honeycrisp, once slated to be discarded, has rapidly become a prized commercial commodity, as its sweetness, firmness, and tartness make it an ideal apple for eating raw. "...The apple wasn't bred to grow, store or ship well. It was bred for taste: crisp, with balanced sweetness and acidity." It has larger cells than most apple cultivars, a trait which is 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 also retains its pigment well and has a relatively long shelf life when stored in cool, dry conditions. Pepin 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 protection status in 2007. It is now the official state fruit of Minnesota. A large-sized honeycrisp will contain about 113 calories.
Jazz is a trademarked brand of the Scifresh cultivar of domesticated apple. Scifresh is a cross between Royal Gala and Braeburn. It was developed in New Zealand as part of a collaboration between apple marketer ENZA, orchardists, and the Plant & Food Research institute. The original cross was made in 1985 on trees at Goddard Lane, Havelock North, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. It launched commercially in April 2004. It is hard and crisp but juicy. The colour is flushes of red and maroon over shades of green, yellow and orange. Jazz is a close relative of the Kanzi apple, which is easier to bite and has a more delicate sweet-tart taste.
Cripps Pink is a cultivar of apple. It is one of several cultivars sold under the trade mark name Pink Lady. It was originally bred by John Cripps at the Western Australia Department of Agriculture, by crossing the Australian apple Lady Williams with a Golden Delicious; the result is a combination of the firm, long-storing property of Lady Williams with the sweetness and lack of storage scald of Golden Delicious.
Empire is the name of a clonally propagated cultivar of apple derived from a seed grown in 1945 by Lester C. Anderson, a Cornell University fruit nutritionist who conducted open pollination research on his various orchards. In 1945, under the direction of A. J. Heinicke, scientists from the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station of Cornell University in Geneva, New York, harvested the Empire seed together with thousands of its siblings. The Geneva teams grew and tested ever dwindling sub-populations of the sibling group until 1966, when the final selection, the Empire, was released to the public at the New York Fruit Testing Association meetings in Geneva. According to the US Apple Association website it is one of the fifteen most popular apple cultivars in the United States.
The 'Spartan' is an apple cultivar developed by R. C Palmer and introduced in 1936 from the Federal Agriculture Research Station in Summerland, British Columbia, now known as the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre - Summerland. The 'Spartan' is notable for being the first new breed of apple produced from a formal scientific breeding program. The apple was supposed to be a cross between two North American cultivars, the 'McIntosh' and the 'Newtown Pippin', but recently, genetic analysis showed the 'Newtown Pippin' was not one of the parents and its identity remains a mystery. The 'Spartan' apple is considered a good all-purpose apple. The apple is of medium size and has a bright-red blush, but can have background patches of greens and yellows.
SweeTango is the brand name of the cultivated apple 'Minneiska'. It is a cross between the 'Honeycrisp' and the Zestar Apple belonging to the University of Minnesota. The apple is controlled and regulated for marketing, allowing only exclusive territories for growing. It has a sweet-tart taste that some food writers have described as something between brown sugar and spiced apple cider.
The 'Laxton's Superb' is an apple cultivar that was developed in England in 1897. It is a cross breed between Cellini and 'Cox's Orange Pippin' and is not a cross between Wyken Pippin and Cox Orange Pippin. It is a British apple with a green color and a dull red flush. It is a firm-textured dessert apple. The fruit is well known for its sweet and aromatic taste which is likened to the parent species it is derived from, the 'Cox's Orange Pippin'.
'Crimson Gold' is a modern cultivar of applecrab, meaning that it is a cross between a crabapple and a domesticated apple. It is a small apple.
Cosmic Crisp is an American apple with the variety designation 'WA 38'. Breeding began in 1997 at the Washington State University (WSU) Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center in Wenatchee, Washington, and was initially overseen by Bruce Barritt. Kate Evans completed the research after Barritt's retirement from WSU.
The Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre is an agricultural research centre in British Columbia, Canada. The centre has been historically important in the development of tree fruits. It is administered by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and includes sites at Summerland and Agassiz.
EverCrisp is an American apple cultivar developed by the Midwest Apple Improvement Association (MAIA). Trademarked as EverCrisp, the MAIA-1 variety is a cross between two existing apple cultivars: the Honeycrisp and Fuji. Originally produced in Ohio, EverCrisp has since expanded to apple-growing regions across the Midwest in Michigan, Illinois and Indiana, in the Northeast in Pennsylvania and New York, and in the Northwest in Washington. The apple entered the public marketplace in 2017.
