The Minnesota climate is colder than most fruit-producing regions. No wonder that the first apple breeding efforts in Minnesota looked to Russia, when in 1865 about 150 apple varieties were imported for testing. Recently, U of M scientists looked to Asian apples again when they went to Kazakstan to collect hundreds of fruit and seeds from the native apples of the region that represent the wild ancestors of our domesticated apples.

In the early 1900s, U of M plant breeders collected wild trees as well as cultivars from New England and other Midwest breeders. Thousands of crosses were made from those parent trees, and the record-breaking cold winter of 1917-18 helped sort out the winners and the losers. Some progeny of 'Malinda'--a New England apple--survived and led to the successful apples released in the 1920s, including 'Haralson' and 'Beacon.' And some of 'Malinda's' genes live on in varieties released decades later: 'Honeygold' and even 'Honeycrisp' (TM).

Apple seedlings are put through harsh trials of cold and disease. Today U of M researchers create severe winter conditions in laboratory freezers, inoculate seedlings with diseases, and use dwarf rootstocks to reduce the years that a tree needs to produce fruit. But the research to arrive at desired qualities and characteristics still takes decades.

University scientists also work to help growers adopt strategies that can improve winter survival and pest management, such as the tactic of bagging apples on the trees when they are small to avoid pesticide use throughout the growing season.

For almost a century, U of M researchers have persevered in breeding hardy, high-quality apples that can thrive in harsh conditions of extremely cold winters and hot, dry summers.