Hey there! I’m Alex, and I want to tell you about my favorite apple—the McIntosh. It’s not just tasty; it has a fascinating history. The original McIntosh tree was discovered over 200 years ago. Although it died in 1910, its legacy lives on through a process called grafting. This is where branches from the original tree were attached to the roots of other apple trees, creating clones that are genetically identical to the original.
All McIntosh apples are essentially the same, which means they taste great but also share the same weaknesses. They can be affected by the same diseases, pests, and even changes in the weather. That’s why it’s important to develop new apple varieties. However, creating new apple types is not as easy as it sounds.
With crops like grains, it’s relatively simple to create new varieties. Grains produce seeds quickly, allowing farmers to experiment with different combinations and develop new types in just a few years. But fruit trees, like apple trees, are much more complicated.
Fruit trees have complex genetics, which makes breeding new varieties unpredictable. Even if you cross two apple trees with great qualities, their offspring might not turn out as expected. This is why the McIntosh family had to use grafting to preserve their apple variety back in the 1800s.
Another challenge is that fruit trees take a long time to grow. If you plant an apple seed, it can take decades to see if it produces good fruit. Even if you find a promising new apple, you need to graft it onto different rootstocks and test it in various locations to see if it grows well. This process can take another ten years or more. Only after all these steps can a new apple variety be ready for the market.
Because of these challenges, successful new apple varieties are rare. Most popular apples today are over a century old. For example, the Navel orange is 200 years old, and some pears and figs have been enjoyed for centuries.
Despite the difficulties, sometimes breeders succeed. The Honeycrisp apple, introduced in 1991, is a great example. It took decades of hard work, but its sweet flavor and crunchy texture made it a hit.
Who knows what exciting new apple varieties might be developed next? The University of Minnesota, where the Honeycrisp was created, is at the forefront of this research. Experts like David Bedford and Jim Luby are dedicated to breeding new apples, while Emily Hoover works on improving the rootstocks that help apples grow. Their efforts, along with those of other researchers, aim to tackle big challenges like sustainable food production.
Thanks to the University of Minnesota for their amazing work in bringing us delicious apples!
Imagine you are an apple breeder! Create a simple simulation using paper cutouts to demonstrate the grafting process. Cut out paper branches and roots, and practice “grafting” by attaching branches to different rootstocks. This will help you understand how grafting preserves apple varieties like the McIntosh.
Conduct a classroom experiment to explore genetic variation. Use different colored beads to represent genetic traits of apple trees. Mix and match beads to simulate cross-breeding and observe the variety of outcomes. This will illustrate why breeding new apple varieties can be unpredictable.
Choose an apple variety and research its history and characteristics. Create a presentation to share with the class, highlighting what makes your chosen apple unique. This will help you appreciate the diversity of apples and the challenges of developing new varieties.
Create a timeline that tracks the development of a new apple variety from seed to market. Include key steps like breeding, grafting, and testing. This activity will help you understand the long journey and effort required to bring a new apple to market.
Prepare questions and conduct a mock interview with a classmate acting as an apple breeder or researcher. Discuss the challenges and successes in developing new apple varieties. This role-play will give you insights into the real-world efforts behind apple breeding.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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Hi, this is Alex, and this is my favorite apple—the McIntosh. I think it has a remarkable flavor, but what’s even more remarkable is that it grew on a tree that’s over two hundred years old. The original McIntosh tree died in 1910, but before it died, its branches were cut and fused onto the roots of other apple trees in a process called grafting. This was repeated many times to generate lots of clones, one of which produced my apple.
These clones, which we collectively refer to as the McIntosh variety, are essentially the same tree sliced into pieces and re-grown elsewhere. They all have the same genes and characteristics, meaning they’re all equally delicious. However, they are also equally susceptible to the same diseases, pests, changing climatic conditions, and consumer preferences. So, it would be beneficial to have new varieties of apples to choose from—even if they’re not as amazing as the McIntosh. But it turns out that’s much harder than it sounds.
With other plants, like grains, we can create new varieties quickly because they produce seeds within a single year that grow into offspring with predictable characteristics. This allows us to breed thousands of combinations of parents, select the best offspring, and repeat the process—successfully breeding new varieties in as little as three years and bringing them to market just as fast.
However, fruit trees are unpredictable. Due to their complicated genetics, even if we crossbreed parents with good characteristics, most of their offspring will grow poorly or produce mediocre fruit. That’s why, back in the early 1800s, the McIntosh family had to cut branches from their original tree to graft onto the roots of other trees.
Fruit trees are also slow to develop. Growing them from seeds can take decades. If you manage to grow one with promising characteristics, you still need to graft it onto various roots in different locations to test whether its clones grow well under different conditions, which takes another decade. If the clones grow well, farmers might then graft branches to roots in their own orchards and wait another decade for the branches to grow into trees and produce apples. Finally, after decades of development, the variety is ready for stores!
But because consumer preferences can change, there’s no guarantee that they’ll even like it. This is why successful apple varieties don’t come around very often; the most popular ones are, on average, 120 years old. This trend is consistent across all fruit trees. For example, the Navel orange is 200 years old, and you might have eaten the same variety of pear as historical figures like Abraham Lincoln or enjoyed the same kind of fig as Cleopatra.
Despite the long odds, every few decades, tree breeders strike gold. The Honeycrisp apple, for instance, debuted in 1991 after decades of breeding, growing, and testing. Thanks to its honey-like flavor, crisp texture, and long shelf-life, it has been a best-seller ever since.
And who knows what other new varieties might be on the horizon?
This video was brought to you by the creators of the Honeycrisp variety: the University of Minnesota, where Senior Research Fellow David Bedford and Professor Jim Luby in the Department of Horticultural Science have been breeding apples for decades. In that same department, Professor Emily Hoover is working to improve the rootstocks used for commercial apple growing. Additionally, in the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, Professors James Anderson and Don Wyse breed corn and both annual and perennial wheat. These researchers, along with students, faculty, and staff across all fields of study, are working to address the Grand Challenges facing society, including sustainable food production.
Thanks, University of Minnesota!
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Apple – A round fruit with red, green, or yellow skin and a sweet taste, commonly grown on trees in orchards. – Example sentence: The apple tree in our school garden produces delicious fruit every fall.
Genetics – The study of heredity and the variation of inherited characteristics in living organisms. – Example sentence: In our biology class, we learned how genetics can determine the color of a flower’s petals.
Grafting – A horticultural technique where tissues from one plant are inserted into those of another so that the two sets of vascular tissues may join together. – Example sentence: Farmers often use grafting to produce apple trees that can resist certain diseases.
Varieties – Different forms or types of a particular species of plant or animal, often bred for specific traits. – Example sentence: There are many varieties of apples, each with its own unique flavor and texture.
Breeding – The process of mating selected organisms to produce offspring with desired traits. – Example sentence: Scientists are breeding new varieties of crops that can withstand extreme weather conditions.
Crops – Plants grown in large quantities for food, fiber, or other products. – Example sentence: Corn and wheat are two of the most important crops grown in the United States.
Pests – Organisms, typically insects, that damage crops or other plants. – Example sentence: Farmers use natural methods to control pests and protect their crops.
Diseases – Illnesses or conditions that affect plants, often caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi. – Example sentence: The spread of plant diseases can significantly reduce the yield of a crop.
Sustainable – Practices that do not deplete resources or harm the environment, allowing for long-term ecological balance. – Example sentence: Sustainable farming practices help preserve the soil and reduce pollution.
Research – The systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources to establish facts and reach new conclusions. – Example sentence: Research in genetics has led to the development of crops that are more resistant to drought.
