<p style="text-indent:0px; line-height:12px;"><span style="font-weight:bold;line-height:130%"> Kentville, NS, Canada</span><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">By ANUK Staff<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">4.25.13</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Scientists at the Atlantic Food and Horticultural Research Centre in Kentville are working on a new apple variety, the Orangutan.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">It has a tangy, citrus flavor like an orange and the bushy branches of the tree hang like the swooping arms of its tree-climbing namesake.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Only a select few have tasted the orange-yellow flesh of this medium-sized apple, whose orange blush may baffle some.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">They were picked last October and have been in cold storage since. Some of the tartness has mellowed, but they are still tangy, with a hint of citrus, according to the Chronicle Herald.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Research Biologist Karen Burgher-MacLellan, is intrigued by the apple’s attributes. She has been working on new breeds for more than two decades.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">“It’s a very unique name for a unique apple,” Burgher-MacLellan said in an interview in her lab. “There’s a niche for tangy apples. … Right now, the trend is to produce very sweet apples.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The new fruit tree was first crossbred in 1985. It took five to 10 years for it to produce fruit. Over the next 10 years, the apple underwent tests focusing on storage capabilities, taste, disease resistance and commercial rootstock potential.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The Orangutan passed the rigid scientific muster and is now available for grower licensing, meaning nurseries and apple farmers can apply to grow it.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Local breeding is important to keep improving the genetics of the foods that we eat, Burgher-MacLellan said. It also allows products to be grown and tested under local conditions and climate.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">“It has a unique flavour, and some people really like tart and sour apples,” said Marina Myra, a biologist overseeing cultivar evaluation and trials for the Nova Scotia Fruit Growers’ Association.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">“And its size is very attractive for growers, who want bigger apples.’’<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The market will decide its fate, Myra said. But even if growers license and start growing the trees, the apples are still years away from market.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1125158-scientists-take-bite-out-of-new-apple" target="_new">Apple Report </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
