Other than Empire, which is featured on pp16-19, the variety name on most shippers’ lips on the US east coast this season is Honeycrisp. But while all agree it has potential, the question is how much?
Honeycrisp, which until now is almost exclusively sold in the domestic market, is in fact dubbed “the apple from hell” by Steve Reissen, owner of Sun Orchard in western New York State, due to the difficulty it causes everyone in the supply chain. “It is the most difficult variety to grow and manage culturally. However, when the fruit is good, it certainly pays, and it is developing a cult following. The American public is snapping it up at $60 a box right now, which ensures excellent returns back to the grower,” he told FPJ.
Bill Gerling, general manager of nearby Lake Ridge Fruit Company, whose facility will handle 30,000 bushels of Honeycrisp this season, said: “The real challenge is whether we can maintain the cost structure in the supply chain of the variety in order to make it profitable. We are still on a learning curve when it comes to handling it during packing and storage.
“The problem is, you can’t put it into a 32°F store. We ran it at 50°F the first 10 days it was in here. It is also susceptible to bitter pit and packouts are ok, but certainly not great. There are a lot of challenges, but as long as the premiums are there, it has the potential to be an outstanding variety,” Gerling said.
“There is a whole lot coming in from Washington so it remains to be seen what that does to the market colour and flavour wise, but it seems to be a cool weather variety and it is a question of how Honeycrisp performs in Washington’s growing conditions.” l
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