Cosmic Crisp® has far fewer storage challenges than the rest of the apple market. Compared to other varieties, Cosmic Crisp® isn’t dealing with the typical forty percent losses in storage.
It’s a science and Cosmic Crisp® growers have science on their side thanks to WSU. Less prone to being sunburnt, better firmness longevity and longer harvesting window just to name a few.
Technology has changed the game of protecting intellectual property and managing apple varieties. Growers can now use computers to track trees, production and sales through the entire growing and production process. Cosmic Crisp® is in the hands of Washington growers for the next ten years, an exclusive license that includes strict rules for how to plant and grow it.
Managing varieties as intellectual property helps maintain production control and apple quality and consistency. GIS mapping is one of the ways the Washington growers and ENZA are tracking plantings, acreage, densities, and rootstocks. Other companies use technology like drones and barcodes too.
For Cosmic Crisp®, PVM has launched new program, Idyia. This will give those involved with Cosmic Crisp®, the ability to track sales and production as well the ability to report their own data.
Even with advancements in technology, trust is still a major component of apple variety intellectual property. Shared information is a big part of that trust and varieties’ progress.
Kevin Brandt, the vice president of Proprietary Variety Management shared that Cosmic Crisp® is looking for grants and additional funding due to the predicted big rollout.
Competitors have become friends in order to prepare for the success of the Cosmic Crisp®. The five marketing entities that handle the lion’s share of the state’s apple marketing are teaming up and already finding success in the shared venture. Currently the plan is to have PVM develop and coordinate the marketing plan with advisement from the formed committee.
Always looking ahead, industry leaders say that the Cosmic Crisp® already has the perfect makings of a hit. Even with the continued success of the Honeycrisp, the market isn’t saturated like some might guess. In fact the real question is if the industry can keep up.
The Great Lakes Expo hosted various experts and industry leaders to talk about the things that keep growers up at night. Think pests, labor issues, and water usage.
Outside of the general grower concerns and Michigan-centric topics, Cosmic Crisp® was presented as a major industry competitor. Aside from unprecedented production, Cosmic Crisp®’s long-term storage capabilities means that growers will need to adjust how they approach storage to remain competitive.
Consistency and technology were the biggest points made during the second day of the Hort Show. Bloom targets, honeybee foraging models, and pruning plans were voiced as a way to obtain and gain success through consistent crops.
Another major key point was to think of organic growing in terms of ecosystems and ultimately from a big picture perspective.
