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The University of Minnesota’s breeding program, famous for creating the Honeycrisp apple, has launched six new varieties of apples and grapes that it’s licensing to growers.
The Superior Fruit Innovations program promises access to top-performing fruits, such as the Big Flirt Apple and the LumiGlo grape.
Adam Bolton, a technology licensing officer at the University, said the program is meant to level the playing field for small-scale growers who compete with larger wholesale growers.
“A small orchard really wants to distinguish itself with new varieties,” Bolton said. “They can have a bunch of varieties at their little farm stand. They're not competing with other shelf space at the grocery store.”
Among the fruits Bolton said the U of M has to offer growers is the SuperSnap, a sequel to the Honeycrisp apple that the university developed decades ago.
“So Honeycrisp is a great apple, great flavor, great eating experience,” Bolston said. “I would argue that SuperSnap is even better than Honeycrisp.”
Growers will pay $1 per tree purchased from the University. Additionally, after four years, growers will pay royalties in the form of an annual fee of one dollar per tree.
“The beauty of that is those royalties essentially come back to help fund our research and our breeding team,” Bolton said.
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