The model replaces the old “push” system, in which everyone involved - breeder, nursery operator, grower, packer, marketer and retailer - pushed varieties such as red delicious that were less prone to bruising, could be stored for a year, had a long shelf life, were easy to grow and weren’t susceptible to disease. The university and its Yakima-based commercialization partner, Proprietary Variety Management (PVM), are trying to refine a new industry economic model being used for “premium” apple varieties. The new apple, a variety named WA 38 by researchers and branded the Cosmic Crisp for marketing purposes, is leading WSU into uncharted territory. Barritt’s quest for better commercial apples has resulted in what growers and industry players believe will replace the aging Red Delicious and the grass-roots consumer favorite, the Honeycrisp. Horticulturalist Barritt also thought the state’s popular varieties were obsolete and was already lobbying Washington State University (WSU) and the industry to fund an apple breeding program, which eventually began in 1994. It ultimately would cause some growers, packers and other industry players to go out of business.

And in the 1990s, the state’s reliance on the Red Delicious - notorious for looking appetizing even when it turns mealy from long storage - was leading the industry into a tailspin. Growers know it can take 20 to 30 years to breed and select a new variety viable enough for commercialization. The Fuji was bred in Japan and the hugely popular - and expensive - Honeycrisp was created in Minnesota (and became Minnesota’s official state fruit in 2006). The Golden Delicious got its start in West Virginia, the Gala in New Zealand and the Granny Smith in Australia. Washington’s most successful apple, the Red Delicious, was developed in Iowa. “All the cool stuff was coming from somewhere else.”

“When I got out of college, I was absolutely shocked that our industry was Reds and Goldens and that any new variety seemed to come from some other country,” says Kershaw, whose family started growing pears and apples in Yakima in the 1900s. Washington state is widely known as one of the best places in the world to grow apples, but it isn’t particularly well known for breeding them - a fact that bothered growers like Robert Kershaw and scientists like Bruce Barritt in the 1990s.

Ruby red frost apple