For the past several decades, Dr. Susan Brown at Cornell University has used traditional breeding practices to develop novel apple varieties. In 2020, three of these varieties were released, known as the Cordera, Pink Luster and Firecracker. These varieties are free for farmers across the country to grow, and have been selectively bred for their own unique properties. 

Apples are vulnerable to apple scab, a fungal disease that can destroy yields, especially in New England. In 1964, the Liberty apple was bred for resistance to this disease, by Dr. Robert Lamb, an apple breeder at Cornell. To improve its marketability, however, a varietal of Liberty, NY65707-19, was crossed with the beloved Honeycrisp. From this, Cordera was born, an apple resistant to scab yet maintaining a striking flavor and texture. It was named after Dr. Lamb, as “lamb” in Spanish is “cordera.”

The next apple of the lineup, Pink Luster, was bred to boast the best qualities of Honeycrisp and Gala, some of the most popular apples on the market. In addition to its desirable qualities in taste, the Pink Luster matures in early autumn, which is ideal for orchards having sales on their farms for visitors. 

The final apple, Firecracker, is noted for its performance in baking and hard cider production, in addition to the experience of eating it fresh. 

Though these three apples are Cornell’s newest release, they are hardly the only ones. Since 1880, the university has released 70 new apple varieties, also including Dr. Brown’s SnapDragon and RubyFrost varieties, introduced in the 2010s. Cornell’s official post on the three new varieties does not elaborate on the breeding process, however Dr. Brown has stated that the breeding process contributes to the greater knowledge of molecular markers to be used in marker-assisted breeding, technology utilized in the development of flood-resistant rice at UC Davis.

I had stumbled across Cornell’s article featuring the new apples some time ago, and was excited to cover it for my website, but was a bit dismayed today as I sat down to write about it. After having covered the scientific processes of modern advances, such as Dr. Ronald’s flood-resistant rice and her methods for its development and the way A. tumefaciens can invade plant cells, I was hoping to gain a better understanding how these varieties were developed. Since they were developed for the apple industry via standard practices, there weren’t any scientific breakthroughs to publish in a journal, so I wasn’t able to find much on how these new varieties were made. It was cool to see marker-assisted breeding pop up again, though, providing some insight to Dr. Brown’s process. Still, this week’s article felt too short.

Also, while down the internet rabbit hole of apple varieties, I found myself on an apple-rating website, as one does. For making it this far, here is the link to the page I found most amusing, where they take points from the apple because the logo is kind of weird looking. I get that, too; I will never cease to insult Oski, UC Berkeley’s bear mascot. From the cartoon (that looks like it was drawn by a middle schooler) plastered on the school’s official merch, to the nightmare-inducing life-sized mascot, I think Oski might be the worst thing about my new school.

All these months later, it is a little bittersweet (unlike these apples!) to explore all of the cool work being done at Cornell AgriTech. I never really had my heart set on Cornell, but getting accepted made me wonder if I should have. It’s all for the best, though; I wouldn’t want to pay for that tuition even if I could afford it, and I’m really excited for the next two years at UC Berkeley. Expect to read about the fascinating work at the Innovative Genomics Institute at UC Berkeley in the next few months! I’ll be reading up about it for my research there, so stay tuned to learn with me!

All three new varieties: https://cals.cornell.edu/news/2020/09/crunchy-complex-cornell-releases-three-new-apples

Liberty: https://pomiferous.com/applebyname/ny-55140-19-id-3944

Cordera: https://pomiferous.com/applebyname/ny56-id-8894, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342321502_Register_of_New_Fruit_and_Nut_Cultivars_List_50

SnapDragon & RubyFrost: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2013/08/snapdragon-and-rubyfrost-are-new-apple-varieties

Susan Brown: https://cals.cornell.edu/people/susan-k-brown