Apple breeding is quite a long game, says Matt Clark, associate professor in the University of Minnesota’s Department of Horticultural Science and director of research at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. The university’s renowned fruit breeding program has created household names such as Honeycrisp and SweeTango as well as Rave, Zestar and countless others.
Clark says he and his university colleague, David Bedford, senior research fellow and apple breeder, have varieties in different stages of development that will likely be released by their successors.
“The work we’re doing in 2025 — the breeding decisions we’re making now are for 2050 and beyond,” Clark says. “We try to be thinking about the future and setting up the next Matt Clark and David Bedford team in 25 years. I keep saying, the crosses I’m making now, I hope to be retired by the time they’re released.”…