New Apple Varieties Developed

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The University of Arkansas is waiting for U.S. patents on three new apple varieties.

Curt Rom, an associate professor of horticulture at the university, said two of the apples are red and one is yellow.

The only one with a name is the Arkcharm, a tart, firm, red apple good for eating and cooking, which ripens in early or mid-July.

The other red variety bears large fruit - with a diameter of 3 inches or more - that ripens in mid- to late July. The third variety is a large, oblong, yellow apple described as "tart sweet."

Rom said a university committee will name the latter two varieties, which will be available to growers in 1993.

Arkcharm already is available and is popular in Europe, where fruit patenting is easier than in the United States, Rom said.

Grower John Aselage, who uses some of the university's experimental trees in his orchard, said the new, unnamed yellow apple is popular with customers, and can be stored for several months without losing its flavor.

Rom said the university's apple-breeding program is one of only five in North America.

When the program began in 1965, one goal was to develop a red apple that would ripen before early August, Rom said. August is when the first traditional red apples, the Jonathans, ripen. Rom said the program has succeeded in developing a red apple that ripens in late May.

Researchers also are breeding apples that won't ripen until November to compete with apples coming into the country from Australia, Chile and Japan, Rom said.

Another goal was to develop Golden Delicious-type apples for the fresh and processing markets. The program has developed several varieties that eventually should help extend the season from early August to as long as late October.