by Jill Burbery | Sep 1, 2017 | Cosmic Crisp, Featured News
After 30 years, Washington state apple growers about to launch the biggest release of a new apple variety…ever. The Cosmic Crisp® will start appearing in Washington state orchards, with up to 12 million trees to be planted by 2020 and the first harvest in 2019.
The Cosmic Crisp® got its start in the 1980s when Dr. Bruce Barritt was hired by Washington State University (WSU) to develop better varieties than Red Delicious and Golden Delicious varieties.
How does the Cosmic Crisp® apple taste? “The apple has got great flavor,” says Stemilt Growers president, West Mathison. “The crunch is really consistent. There’s more strength in the connective tissue of the cells than the cell walls themselves, so your teeth break through the cells and flavor, and juice is released. It has a unique flavor – sweet but not too sweet.”
Read the original article in The Guardian, “Cosmic crisp – a new apple to get your teeth into.”
by Jill Burbery | Sep 1, 2017 | Cosmic Crisp, Featured News
Washington state will likely be the leader in organic apples in 2017. Approximately 10.8 million bushels of organic apples were harvested in the 2016-17 apple season, and estimates call for 13 million bushels this year.
In conjunction with growing demand for organic apples is the newest Washington variety, Cosmic Crisp. With Cosmic Crisp® joining the Washington apple collection, consumers can expect to see fruit in stores as early as 2019.
Read “Washington apple industry sees rise in organics and a new variety” in The Produce News.
by Jill Burbery | Sep 1, 2017 | Cosmic Crisp, Featured News
Join WSU for a fall field day discussing horticulture and tips to optimize fruit quality of WA 38, WSU’s newest breeding program release. With more than 637,224 WA 38 trees in the ground already, WSU and the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission are working hard to provide growers with the information they need to choose training systems, pruning systems, rootstocks, pollinizers, and management techniques for high quality fruit.
WA 38 Tips To Optimize Fruit Quality
September 27, 2017 @ 3:00 to 4:30 pm
WSU Sunrise Orchard, Rock Island WA
The focus of this field visit is management tips for consistently superior fruit quality. Stefano Musacchi, WSU Professor of Horticulture will demonstrate a new top grafting trial and discuss how horticulture systems impact pack out. Ines Hanrahan, Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission, will describe tips to achieve high pack outs, including how to determine optimal harvest dates, pluses and minuses of one versus two picks, and the utility of pre-harvest fungicide applications. Karen Lewis, WSU Extension will show ways to incorporate mechanization, such as hedging, in WA 38 management.
- See the impacts of pruning, hedging and training strategies on fruit quality.
- Learn how to use the new WA 38 starch scale.
- Discuss management for high pack outs.
- Taste WA 38 fruit.
- See mechanical pruning tools.
Please note the Sept 6 field day in Prosser had to be canceled due to the later season. Fruit is not near enough to maturity for discussion.
Directions
WSU Sunrise Orchard, off highway 28 on Sunrise Lane, about 11 miles south of Wenatchee.
by Jill Burbery | Sep 1, 2017 | Cosmic Crisp, Featured News
Washington State is ready to take the market lead for organic apples for 2017. Experts say that production has grown so much that Washington may have as much as fifteen percent of the total crop volume. Growers in Washington have the benefit of climate paired with the organic horticulture practices.
The new variety Cosmic Crisp is another thing Washington can brag about. Washington State has a 10-year exclusivity on the variety and with that deal growers plan to capitalize on the correlation between the state and the variety.
Read the full article in The Produce News
by Jill Burbery | Sep 1, 2017 | Uncategorized
Move over Red Delicious, Cosmic Crisp have a Fresh Taste
Red Delicious’ beautiful look has always caught shoppers’ eyes however newer varieties like Cosmic Crisp catch eyes and have memorable taste. Cosmic Crisp is a cross between the Enterprise and the Honeycrisp varieties. Besides being easy to grow, Cosmic Crisp already boasts top ratings for taste and texture from consumer focus groups.
International markets still love Red Delicious but Cosmic Crisp is expected to take on American markets much like the Honeycrisp once did.
Read the full article on Forbes’ website
