The Genetics of Apples

Have you ever wondered why there are so many types of apples? Aside from the standard Red Delicious and Granny Smith, there are pink lady, gala, fuji, and many others. Apple types, like any food variation, come from breeding. By cross-pollinating one variety with another, new seeds are created, planted, and grown, forming a new variety.

Breeders generally look at characteristics of apples that are appealing to consumers such as taste, sweetness, and look, and combine these with different characteristics that make growing easier such as productivity, resistance to pests, or longevity of freshness. Each new variety can take 4 to 5 years to create before it produces fruit. While breeding is a long and difficult process, there are over 7,500 different varieties of apples and growing.