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‘Save the world from mediocre apples’: How the U of M develops the next big apple
The U of M is behind apple favorites such as Honeycrisp, Haralson and SweeTango. Now we’re getting a sneak peek at what will be the U’s 29th variety.
CHANHASSEN, Minnesota — Minnesota is known for its apples. Honeycrisp, Haralson, SweeTango, Zestar!, First Kiss and more are favorites thanks to the University of Minnesota’s fruit breeding program. While many are familiar with these Minnesota-grown favorites, it’s a decades-long process to get them into customers’ hands with thousands of them every year not making the cut.
The breeding process starts in the spring.
“We only get one chance each year to save the world from mediocre apples,” said David Bedford, senior research fellow and apple breeder at the UMN Horticultural Research Center at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.
Researchers identify what cross they want to make by looking at a variety’s strengths and weaknesses. For example, one parent may have a high resistance to apple scab while not crisp while the other parent may be crisp but not disease resistant. Before the apple trees bloom, the team will cover limbs they plan to use for breeding with a paper bag so open flowers are not exposed to the bees. The bags are removed for just a few minutes in order for them to apply the pollen they’ve chosen.
“We let the fruit grow for the rest of the season… inside that fruit are the hybrid seeds that were part of our cross. Those seeds will be extracted,” Bedford explained. “We’ll grow those seeds during the winter in a greenhouse and develop thousands of trees.”
Each year, the team adds 4,000-5,000 apple trees to their research orchards — located just west of Chanhassen.
Once the trees come to maturity, they have to survive the ultimate taste test.
“We have to make a pretty quick decision. So literally after five to six years, they have two to three minutes to impress us,” Bedford said.
Most of the apples are not good enough to make it to the second round.
“In our world, ‘not so bad’ is the kiss of death,” said Bedford, now in his 44th year of apple breeding and tasting.
Starting in August every year, crews spend two and a half months tasting hundreds of apples every week.
In the early years, Bedford did it all. Then Winford McIntosh, a senior research plot technician at the UMN Horticultural Research Center, joined him.
“It was just he and I for many years. But now we’ve expanded it to a four-person team to, I guess, share the pain you might say,” said Bedford, laughing.
The four-person team spends about eight hours a week tasting hundreds of apples. McIntosh explained that just the day before our interview, the team collectively bit into about 1,200 apples.
“If you have too many harsh apples, too many with high acidity, then your mouth just goes blank. It’s basically on fire. At that point you have to stop,” Bedford said.
To find out if an apple is ready to taste, the apple gets sprayed with iodine. Starch is found in an immature apple. The darker the apple appears, the more starch it contains. As the apple ripens, starch is converted to sugar.
The team uses a starch-iodine test chart to determine the apple’s ripeness.
Trees with ripe fruit get three chances to impress.
“We have the best of hope for all of them but the reality is only a small percentage of them are good enough to make the cut,” Bedford said.
Trees that do not make the cut, get marked for removal with orange spray paint. If they find one worth considering for the second stage of testing, it gets a blue tie. They will then come back the next day to try again with fresh taste buds.
In a normal year, they will eliminate 3,000-4,000 apple trees.
While appearance matters, Bedford and McIntosh spent most of the time during our visit discussing an apple’s flavor and texture.
“We’re looking for good texture… and flavor that is high sugar, high acid but balanced between the two so that the acid isn’t enough to burn your mouth out but the acid needs to be present in order to have that flavor pack a punch,” McIntosh explained.
One out of every 300 trees or so makes it out of the first round and into the second; Bedford said it ends up being about 10-12 selections per year.
“It’s given a testing number. That tree is cloned… we replicate it genetically by grafting four new trees and those go on to the next round of testing that’s called ‘second test.'”
McIntosh said they often call second test the “Disneyland of apple breeding.” “It’s just magical. It really is,” he said.
Researchers spend anywhere from five to fifteen years in second test evaluating about 20 different characteristics.
Only one out of about 10,000 makes it to the end. In 1991, it was Honeycrisp.
“Honeycrisp just exploded the possibilities… I feel for us in breeding, and for the consumer, once you’ve had that Honeycrisp texture, it’s hard to go back,” Bedford said.
Honeycrisp is now the U’s most widely known apple. It’s the third bestseller in the U.S. in terms of volume but number one in terms of revenue.
“It’s got a special spot in our hearts,” Bedford said.
The apple breeding program has a long history of developing high-quality, hardy apples.
The original program began in the late 1800s in hopes of developing apple trees that could survive Minnesota’s winters. But the program began in earnest in the early 1900s after the U purchased property in Carver County. It’s one of only three university-based apple breeding programs in the country.
Haralson came out in 1922 and is now celebrating its 100th birthday.
“If you grew up in Minnesota, you probably knew about Haralson and that was our first hit,” Bedford said.
SweeTango came in 2008 — inheriting the crisp texture of Honeycrisp and the juiciness of Zestar!
Standing next to the original tree, Bedford said, “It was so remarkable that it had that perfect balance of sugar and acid and that crisp, Honeycrisp texture. We knew we had a winner right away.”
Finding a winner takes about 20 years. The program’s 29th variety is now waiting to be announced. They’re going through the first stages of release which include patenting and naming the variety.
While Bedford cannot say much about the new apple, he mentioned, “I can tell you that it’s a Honeycrisp child. It has wonderful texture, a very fruity… some would say almost a tropical flavor.”
Once the apple is introduced, newly released trees are licensed and distributed to commercial growers to begin propagating. It takes another four to five years before consumers will then see those apples in grocery stores.
About the 29th variety, Bedford said, “I can tell you after 44 years of doing this, there are no perfect apples but some are a lot closer to perfection than others and I think this one got most of the traits right.”
After hearing Bedford talk about apples, it may be surprising to learn that he didn’t always like apples.
“That was because I was raised on Red Delicious; I like to say I’m a recovering Red Delicious eater,” Bedford said.
What are his favorite apples?
“That’s like asking someone who their favorite child is. I’ve got several favorites and they all come from Honeycrisp. I’d have to say Honeycrisp, SweeTango and First Kiss are my favorites,” Bedford said “But you know what, we’ve got some… that could rival them for my absolute favorite.”
The U’s 28th variety, Triumph, was introduced in 2021 — a cross between Honeycrisp and Liberty. It has a high resistance to apple scab.
Home gardeners will be able to get their hands on Triumph trees in the spring at garden centers and nurseries but it will take another four to five years before appearing in grocery stores.
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More than 100,000 travelers will fly out of MSP Wednesday and Thursday, but thousands more are planning a ‘staycation’ over MEA break.
LAKEVILLE, Minn. — At MSP airport, officials say Wednesday and Thursday will be the two busiest days for departures during MEA break this year. More than 49,000 travelers are expected to fly out of MSP on Wednesday, and more than 52,000 are expected to depart on Thursday. Airport officials say Thursday could become the 5th busiest travel day ever.
Meanwhile, countless families in Minnesota are planning “staycations” closer to home. At Applewood Orchard in Lakeville, workers are preparing for a busy week.
“We’re really looking forward to seeing the turnout,” employee Jackson Cox said. “If the turnout is a little lower than we think it’s always better to be prepared for more.”
The Cox family recently acquired the apple orchard, so this will be their first time hosting visitors during an MEA break.
“We’re pretty much extending all of our weekend activities to every day this week. We’re selling mini donuts, tractor rides, and more food, because we are hoping a lot of people will stop by,” Cox said.
One visitor who stopped by Wednesday was Natasha Apple from Apple Valley. That’s right, the word apple is in her name, the city she lives in, and the place she visited Wednesday afternoon.
“You really can’t make that up,” Apple laughed. “Me and my husband get it all the time. We’re the Apples and we live in Apple Valley, and we love apple orchards.”
Apple was visiting the orchard with a mom’s group from Apple Valley.
“There are eight of us here I believe,” Apple said. “It’s still stinking beautiful out so we are taking full advantage of the weather.”
And they weren’t alone at the orchard. Jenny Yohnke from Lakeville stopped by the orchard with her three boys.
“With three boys they have a lot of energy, so I brought them to the corn pit to have some fun,” Yohnke said.
She has big plans for the rest of MEA break.
“We’re heading out to the zoo tomorrow and then we have some friends with school kids, my friend from work coming to visit on Friday. We have a busy week of fun,” Yohnke said.
Other parents at the orchard said they are planning to stop by a pumpkin patch later in the week to buy their Halloween pumpkins.
Another common “staycation” idea was to enjoy a nature hike to see the fall colors, or to go to the movie theater to see a movie, or stop by the local library.
So, if you’re looking for a fun and affordable activity to get your family out of the house there are several options to choose from.
With stars like Daisy Ridley, Matt Dallas, and Josh Duhamel in attendance, you won’t want to miss the 2024 Twin Cities Film Fest.
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — Celebrating its 15th year, the Twin Cities Film Fest is bringing over 100 films to the metro over the next 10 days.
Here are the ones you won’t want to miss.
Written, directed, and produced by Jesse Eisenberg, “A Real Pain” is a dramedy following cousins David and Benji Kaplan, who reunite for a tour through Poland. On the trip to honor their beloved grandmother, the adventure takes a turn as old tensions resurface.
“A Real Pain” had its U.S. premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it was received positively by audiences and eventually picked up for distribution by Searchlight Pictures. The film stars Eisenberg and Kieran Calkin as the aforementioned Kaplan cousins, as well as Will Sharpe, Jennifer Grey, Kurt Egyiawan, Liza Sadovy, and Daniel Oreskes.
Saoirse Ronan was ready to take a break from work, but Sir Steve McQueen pulled her out of her “semi-retirement” for “Blitz,” she told Josh Horowitz on a recent episode of Happy, Sad, Confused.
“Blitz” tells a familiar story but in a way many haven’t seen before. It is told mostly from 9-year-old George’s perspective as he is sent to the English countryside for safety during World War II. George, however, is determined to get back to East London to be with his mother and grandfather thus he defiantly embarks on an adventure back to his family– finding himself in peril while Rita searches for her missing son.
Ronan, who stars as Rita, told Horowitz that because the script was still coming together a lot of the character was influenced by who Ronan is as a person, her experience with her mother, and her relationship with children. The film also stars Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine, and Elliott Heffernan.
“We Strangers” is described on IMDb as “an addictive and haunting study of race, class and assimilation.” The film tells the story of Rayelle Martin who works as a commercial cleaner. When she is approached by Dr. Neeraj Patel to be his housekeeper she innocently agrees, not realizing she’s going to find herself in a strange position of power after lying about being able to speak to the dead.
Kirby Howell-Baptiste stars as Ray alongside Tina Lifford, Sarah Goldberg, and Hari Dhillon. “We Strangers” was written and directed by Anu Valia, it is also her directorial debut.
When an ambitious new mother puts her career on hold to be a stay-at-home mom, her imagination starts to get the better of her. As time passes, she begins to notice physical transformations that lead her to have a secret identity.
In the year that it seems like horror is making a comeback, Marielle Heller is bringing audiences “Nightbitch“—a comedy-horror film based on the novel of the same name by Rachel Yoder. Amy Adams stars alongside Scoot McNairy, Zoë Chao, and Jessica Harper.
When the Pope dies or resigns, the Catholic Church’s College of Cardinals gathers at the Vatican for general congregations, the predecessor to the Conclave to vote for a new Pope. Voting, by secret ballot, is held four times a day until a candidate receives the majority of votes. Once a candidate receives two-thirds of the vote and accepts the nomination, the ballots of that final round of voting are burned in a stove near the chapel with chemicals to produce white smoke to signal the world a Pope has been elected.
Cardinal-electors place their hand on the Gospel and promise to observe absolute secrecy and to “never lend support or favor to any interference, opposition or any other form of intervention … in the election of the Roman Pontiff.” During these conclaves, the Cardinals don’t have contact with the outside world.
These practices make “Conclave” such an interesting film—as far as this author knows, the vow of secrecy of the Conclave has only ever been broken once when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger released his diary which described the events of 2005.
The film stars Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, and John Lithgow as Cardinals at Conclave when one of them discovers secrets left by the previous Head of the Catholic Church that could shake the foundations of the Church. “Conclave” is directed by Edward Berger and written by Peter Straughan and Robert Harris.
Described as a comedic and tragic tribute to the “invisible” people who keep our restaurants running, “La Cocina” captures a bustling Times Square kitchen during a lunch rush. When money goes missing, the suspicions and emotions flare causing conflict between co-workers.
“La Cocina” is Spanish for “The Kitchen,” the 1957 stage play by Arnold Wesker the film is based on. The film was written and directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios. The film stars Raúl Briones Carmona, Rooney Mara, Anna Diaz, and Oded Fehr.
“Queen of the Ring”
Mildred Burke was a trailblazer in women’s sports; she was the first ever million-dollar female athlete and a champion pro wrestler at a time when all-girl wrestling was banned in most of America.
“Queen of the Ring” is a biographical sports drama written and directed by Ash Avildsen based on the book by Jeff Leen. The film chronicles the life of Burke, a young single mother going against societal norms.
Emily Bett Rickards stars as the pioneer for women’s wrestling, alongside Walton Goggins, Josh Lucas, Deborah Anne Woll, Gavin Casalegno, and Adam Demos.
Another wrestler bio-pic coming to the screen is “Unstoppable.” The film follows the life of Anthony Robles, who was born with one leg and won a national championship while wrestling at Arizona State University in 2011.
This is the directorial debut of Oscar-winning editor William Goldenberg, best known for his work on “Argo” and “Zero Dark Thirty,” who previously stated that he found the perfect project for his directorial debut after reading Robles’ autobiography.
“Unstoppable” stars Jennifer Lopez, Shawn Hatosy, Michael Peña, and Don Cheadle. Robles is portrayed by Jharrel Jerome (Moonlight).
When their father dies, Lucy and Paige are forced to reunite after years of estrangement. Paige is a reckless alcoholic who has lived off their father’s charity, while Lucy has always taken care of everyone but herself. The pair have to face resurfacing resentments, past trauma, and well-kept secrets while trying to mend their broken relationship.
“Inheritance” is the indie directorial debut of Emily Moss Wilson who is known for her work on Christmas T.V. Movies such as “Hometown Christmas,” and “Rescuing Christmas.” The film stars Austin Highsmith Garces, Rachel Noll James, Wes Brown, and Chris Mulkey.
Probably the most anticipated of TCFF this year is “Magpie” starring Daisy Ridley, who will be in attendance.
When Ben and Anette’s daughter is cast in a film, Ben goes along to chaperone while Anette stays home with their newborn child. Quickly the couple’s lives are turned upside down as Ben is drawn into the world of a controversial movie star, causing Anette to be pushed to her breaking points.
Ridley stars as Anette alongside Shazad Latif, Matilda Lutz, and Hiba Ahmed. “Magpie” is directed by Sam Yates and written by Tom Bateman, who will also be in attendance at TCFF. Ridley and Bateman will be on the TCFF red carpet ahead of the film, at 5:45 p.m. on Monday, October 21, 2024.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Colson Whitehead, “Nickel Boys” is set in Jim Crow era Florida and captures the story of the powerful friendship between two young African American men at reform school.
The film was directed by RaMell Ross, who co-wrote the screenplay with Joslyn Barnes. Starring Sam Malone, Najah Bradley, as well as Ethan Herisse, Ethan Cole, and Daveed Diggs as Elwood at different stages of his life.
Most agree that pharmacy benefit managers entered the market in the 1980s as Americans started using more drugs than ever before.
MINNEAPOLIS — Editor’s Note: The above video was first published on 6/7/2024.
As the election draws nearer both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris — the Republican and Democratic nominees for president, respectively — are speaking up about their respective plans for making health care more affordable for Americans.
Vice President Harris has specifically named PBMs or Pharmacy Benefit Managers as a target for more oversight and transparency and Trump issued an executive order calling out PBMs back in 2020.
PBMs primarily run prescription drug coverage for insurers, large employers and other clients. They also set up formularies, or lists of covered drugs, and negotiate rebates off drug prices.
Most agree that pharmacy benefit managers entered the market in the 1980s as Americans started using more drugs than ever before. The presence of the PBMs initially let pharmacists focus more on their businesses by handling backend tasks and saved insurers money through bargaining with drug manufacturers.
The heightened scrutiny comes as the Federal Trade Commission announced a lawsuit against the three largest PBMs in the country, Caremark, Express Scripts and Optum Rx. Those three companies process roughly 80% of prescriptions nationwide, according to the FTC.
The FTC said the rebating practices of the three companies have led to artificially inflated list prices for people. List prices are what a drugmaker initially sets for a product and what people who have high deductible plans or no insurance are sometimes stuck paying for prescriptions.
Harris’ campaign promises that, if elected, Harris “will increase competition and demand transparency in the health care industry, starting by cracking down on pharmaceutical companies who block competition and abusive practices by pharmaceutical middlemen who squeeze small pharmacies’ profits and raise costs for consumers.”
The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, which lobbies for PBMs nationwide has long argued that their work is imperative in saving consumers money on drugs.
“PBMs support transparency that empowers prescribers, plan sponsors, policymakers, and, most importantly, patients, with the information they need to lower costs while improving access to needed medications. What we don’t support are measures that would empower drug companies to raise costs.” Greg Lopes, vice president of public affairs., for the PCMA.
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