NOV. 07, 2014
Apple Science, From American Beauty to Zestar
A Baldwin apple, painted by Ellen Isham Schutt in 1913. Image courtesy of Special Collections, National Agricultural Library
Click to enlarge images
The humble apple wears many faces, from the crisp and crunchy Honeycrisp to the soft and tannic Mac. How did apples get so diverse? Apple breeder Susan Brown explains the ins-and-outs of apple reproduction and reveals how modern plant genetics allows her to stack the deck in favor of crisp and sweet offspring. Plus, orchardist and apple historian Dan Bussey introduces us to some weird and wonderful heritage breeds. (Click here for an apple recipe.)
At the turn of the 20th century, the USDA commissioned watercolorists to create botanical illustrations of the apple varieties submitted by farmers. Click above to see a slideshow of those paintings.
Produced by Annie Minoff, SciArts Producer
GUESTS
Susan Brown
Apple Breeder
Professor of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University
Ithaca, New York
Dan Bussey
Dan Bussey
Author, The Illustrated History of Apples in North America (JAK KAW Press, projected 2016)
Orchard Manager
Seed Savers Exchange
Decorah, Iowa
