Honeycrisp (Malus pumila)
This apple cultivar (cultivated variety) 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.[1] “The apple wasn’t bred to grow, store or ship well. It was bred for taste: crisp, with balanced sweetness and acidity.”[2] It has larger cells than most apple cultivars, a trait which is correlated with juiciness, as theoretically a higher number of cells rupture when bitten, releasing more juice in the mouth.[3][4] The Honeycrisp also retains its pigment well and has a relatively long shelf life when stored in cool, dry conditions.[5] Pepin Heights Orchards delivered the first Honeycrisp apples to grocery stores in 1997.[6] The name Honeycrisp was trademarked by the University of Minnesota, but university officials were unsure of its protection status in 2007.[7] It is now the official state fruit of Minnesota.[8] A large-sized honeycrisp will contain about 113 calories.[9]
References
- “Patent PP07197 – Apple tree: Honeycrisp”. Google Patents database. Google Inc. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
- Shanker, Deena; Mulvany, Lydia (8 November 2018). “The curse of the Honeycrisp apple”. Bloomberg. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
- Seabrook, John (21 November 2011). “Crunch: Building a better apple”. The New Yorker.
- Mann, H; Bedford, D; Luby, J; Vickers, Z; Tong, C (2005-10-01). “Relationship of Instrumental and Sensory Texture Measurements of Fresh and Stored Apples to Cell Number and Size”. HortScience. 40 (6): 1815–1820. doi:10.21273/HORTSCI.40.6.1815. ISSN 0018-5345.
- “The story of Honeycrisp apple”. Minnesota Harvest. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
- “20 things you didn’t know about Minnesota’s famous Honeycrisp apples”. Star Tribune. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- Olson, Dan (21 October 2007). “Honeycrisp apple losing its patent protection, but not its appeal”. MPR News. Minneapolis, MN: Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
- “Headed to the apple orchard? Try these 8 recipes”. NBC News. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
- “Nutrition Facts”. December 2016.
G.890 Root Stock
The root stock is the bottom half of your tree the Honeycrisp was grafted on to. A tree grown on a grafted root stock has several advantages compared to a fruit tree grown from a seed.
G.890 was specially chosen for the Eastern Coastal North Carolina region for its disease resistance (more on that later), but especially for it’s stronger anchor compared to other dwarfing root stocks. The strong anchoring roots are more likely to survive our local hurricane winds.
G.890 is resistant to fire blight (Erwinia amylovora), crown rot (Phytopthora spp.) and woolly apple aphid. Tree size is approximately the same as M.7, but with higher and earlier production. I would expect the tree to begin bearing fruit the second year you have it in your yard. This is approximately 70-75% of a full-sized apple tree.
References