DAFWA director general Rob Delane (left), Fruit West chairman Ben Darbyshire and WA agriculture minister Ken Baston (right) with some of the new apples.
The Western Australian department of agriculture and food (DAFWA) has developed a dark-skinned variety of apple, unofficially dubbed the 'black apple'.
The sweet, crunchy apple has been in development for more than twenty years, and is a hybrid of Royal Gala and Cripps Red, harvested between mid-April and early May.
Western Australian agriculture minister Ken Baston said the new variety is grower-friendly and suits all major Australian apple production regions.
“Colour development on the skin is important for consumers and our new apple colours up well in Western Australian growing conditions - better than apples which prefer colder climates,” said Baston in a press release
“If the new apple is well received by consumers, its royalty stream will help underpin the future of Australian apple breeding.”
Fruit West will manage the marketing of the new apple and expects the product to hit shelves in 2016.
“This new variety has such appeal to the eye with its really dark colour and it has a lovely sweetness to it,” Fruit West’s director Anna Lister told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“Constantly people are breeding new varieties of apples, but when you get something as distinctive as this, and whether we like it or not, consumers do actually buy with their eyes, but it ticks all the boxes and follow up with a great flavour profile.”
DAFWA has developed several premium apple varieties including Sundowner and Pink Lady, which is now sold in more than 30 countries.
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