A long process: Finding the next popular apple variety takes time tenacity
Washington State University tree fruit students cut samples of the new WA 64 apple at the Washington State Tree Fruit Association annual meeting in early December.
CHERYL SCHWEIZER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Samples of the brand-new WA 64 sit on a table at the annual horticultural convention.
KENNEWICK — For all the research, all the focus groups, all the test marketing, it is the consumer who ultimately decides the success of something new or different. That’s as true in the tree fruit industry as anywhere else — the apple variety that was the queen of the orchard in 1967, or 1997 or 2017, might have a fraction of market share today. Or maybe it’s not on the market at all.
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