Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Volume 34 Number 2 1993 Article 8

1-1-1993

A tale of two ladies : Pink Lady and Sundowner

John Cripps

Eleanor Melvin-Carter

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Recommended Citation Cripps, John and Melvin-Carter, Eleanor (1993) "A tale of two ladies : Pink Lady and Sundowner," Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4: Vol. 34 : No. 2 , Article 8. Available at: https://researchlibrary.agric.wa.gov.au/journal_agriculture4/vol34/iss2/8

This article is brought to you for free and open access by Research Library. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4 by an authorized administrator of Research Library. For more information, please contact [email protected]. .... By John Cripps and Eleanor Melvin-Carter breeding in Western Australia Horticultural Research Officers, South Perth Pink Lady . A small apple breeding program started in It is five years since the first Western Australian• Western Australia in 1972 using bred Pink Lady and Sundowner apples were sold and Lady Williams as parents. on the local market. In that time, these crisp, These varieties were selected to combine the sweet flavoursome apples have become long storage ability and high flavour of top-selling, premium fruit. Lady Williams with the sweetness of Golden Delicious. The story is no different overseas. Trial shipments to London, Taiwan and Singapore have indicated It was also hoped that the physiological disor• a big demand for the unique Pink Lady apple - ders bitter pit and superficial scald could be far more than Western Australia avoided in some of the progeny of the cross. can presently supply. Golden Delicious is subject to bitter pit but does not show superficial scald, whereas Lady One million fruiting Pink Lady apple trees are Williams scalds but does not pit. Golden needed to meet anticipated export sales. Today, Delicious also produces seedlings with variable there are only 100,000 trees in the ground, of winter chilling requirements so that low chill which about half are bearing fruit. varieties can be selected.

New high quality apple varieties are Australia's Golden Delicious is a chance seedling found in only hope of re-entering export markets on a West Virginia, USA in about 1890. It possibly large and sustained scale at profitable prices. originated from . Lady Williams was discovered in Donnybrook, Western Australia in 1935 and is a chance seedling thought to have a parentage of Rokewood x . Rokewood is a hard apple, grown and stored in the days before refrigera• tion. Granny Smith stores well, but is highly susceptible to superficial scald.

Sundowner apple tree in flower.

64 W.A JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE Vol34 1993 Initially, the Department of Agriculture's apple Fortunately, once a new selection is made, breeding program had a low priority and used apple breeders can multiply material quickly by TOP LEFT: After three poor quality land. About 10,000 seedlings had clonal propagation. This is simply dividing an weeks the bags are removed, and if a fruit been produced by 1985 when Pink Lady and individual plant into a number of parts that all has set it is marked with Sundowner seedlings were released to a grow and have the same genetic make up. tape. rather disinterested industry. However, Cloning, therefore, offsets the slow pace of TOP RIGHT: The white, Western Australia's principal nurseryman and genetic gain and the long pre-fruiting (juvenile) grease-proofed bags two growers recognised their potential. phase because there is no need to breed stable, enclose pollinated From about 1987, interest in these apples seed-propagated hybrid varieties. flowers of the female grew tremendously. parent. Hybridisation and cross pollination Similarly, interest in apple breeding also grew Apples are bred by bagging up flowers of the and the apple industry started partially male parent before they open and, when open, funding the program. In 1988, apple breeding snipping off the anthers to collect the pollen. began at the Department of Agriculture's Anthers are dried at 25°C until they dehisce Manjimup Horticultural Research Centre . (burst open) to release the pollen. Flowers of The total number of seedlings planted annu• the female parent are selected at the balloon ally in Western Australia rose from about 700 (large unopened) stage. Other flowers at the to 20,000 by 1990. wrong stage are removed from the cluster, as are petals and anthers from the flowers to be , , Rokewood, Pink Lady, pollinated. A tiny paintbrush is used to brush Sundowner, Golden Delicious, , pollen on to the stigmas of the female parent and Lady Williams were all used as parents in and the flower cluster is enclosed in a paper this bigger apple breeding program in which bag. Three weeks later the bag is removed, and the performance of various parent apples and if a fruit has set it is marked with tape. Later, the type of progeny produced can then be the ripened fruit is harvested. studied. The present aim is to breed varieties that ripen before Pink Lady to replace stand• Seeds are taken from this fruit, stored in damp ard varieties such as Granny Smith and Red sand at 2°C for eight weeks or longer and then Delicious. planted in small pots. When seedlings are 15 to 20 cm high, they are planted in the field at 7000 Pink Lady and Sundowner apples, the first two to the hectare. varieties to be released from the breeding program, are now in commercial production Four to eight years later when the seedling throughout Australia. trees are about two metres high, they may produce fruit, but in the meantime some Genetics selection takes place. Seedlings highly suscepti• Apple breeding relies on large populations of ble to mildew, and those with small leaves, are seedlings and mass selection to find the very eliminated because potential commercial few seedlings with some desirable varieties usually have above average sized characteristics. This is because several genes, leaves. not one gene, control inheritance of desired characteristics in apples. Apples are highly The world scene heterozygous, that is they have a diverse Until recently, Australia had lagged behind genetic make up, and produce highly variable other apple-growing countries in its progeny that may have characteristics not breeding program. Many have argued that .. shown by their parents. breeding apples is a vast gamble; it is too Collecting pollen from expensive, takes too long and the results are apple blossom. too uncertain. It is possible to grow 100,000 seedlings and not to produce a commercial

W.A JOURNAL OF AGRJCULTURE Vol. :U 1993 65 variety. Sadly, even if commercial varieties moderate. An open central leader with some are released they may not be planted by shoots tied down to encourage cropping and growers or find favour with consumers. On fruit colouring must be developed. research stations, endless lines of seedlings fail to arouse much excitement or to interest The fruit, which ripens from late April to early visitors, and apple breeding has not been May, is tall, oblong and slightly conical, with a successfully promoted to growers and to the very deep set eye in the base ( calyx). The community. background colour of the skin is light green, changing to yellow when ripe and overlaid with For best results, a commercial apple variety a pink to red blush, depending on the climate in should be bred and selected in its own which the apple is grown. High summer sun• environment. Unfortunately for Australia, shine hours and cool autumns improve skin almost all overseas apple breeding programs colour and flavour. The skin is relatively thin. are in temperate climates with comparatively The apple can be bruised when ripe, if not short growing seasons so that their progeny handled carefully. Pink Lady is not prone to does not flourish in our environment. We scald in store if harvested at the optimum believe that this makes an Australian apple maturity, however it may scald if harvested breeding program essential, rather than immature. desirable. Pink Lady is a crisp apple with dense firm fine Furthermore, many apple varieties, for flesh and a good balance between sugar and example Red Delicious and Granny Smith, are acid, which are apple characteristics most chance seedlings, that is trees grown from sought after by consumers. seed of unknown parentage that were found to have commercial value. In the past 50 Sundowner years, however, some of the best apple Although Sundowner has the same parentage as varieties were bred. They include Gala (a Pink Lady, it is a highly different apple. It flowers cross between Red Delicious, Cox's Orange early in spring, showing that it has a low winter and Golden Delicious) from New Zealand and chilling requirement. It ripens late in May and so Fuji (Red Delicious and ) from is suited to apple-growing areas with long, hot Japan. summers and warm autumns. Economic returns The fruit is mainly dark red with pronounced In today's dollars, the Western Australian lenticel (superficial) spotting but shaded fruit apple breeding program has spent more than may be mainly green. It is medium in size. It is $3 million in its search for a variety that looks slightly more acid than Pink Lady when har• and tastes good, stores well and has a long vested but when allowed to mature in store it is ~ very sweet. The fruit is oblong to square and the S owner shelf life. On the other hand, if there were as ,Appes/ many Pink Lady trees as there are Red Deli• calyx may be rather open. The flesh tends to be ...... cious trees in Australia, (2.7 million) and the coarser, but the fruit is more resistant to bruis• Pink Lady trees produced four boxes of fruit ing than Pink Lady. each, fetching $10 more than other varieties (a conservative figure), growers would pocket Sundowner appears to have a slightly shorter an extra $100 million each year. This con• storage and shelf life than Pink Lady. Like Pink servative estimate shows that apple breeding Lady, it is best stored in controlled atmosphere. can give a good return on invested funds. Sundowner does not grow as vigorously as Pink Lady; it has wider branch angles and so trees Pink Lady are more manageable. It flowers abundantly and The Pink Lady apple is named after a cocktail, sets very heavily so that chemical thinning is but the name is appropriate since the apple often necessary. On the other hand, it is a tends to be partially pink-skinned and is bred reliable producer. However, in the 1990-91 from Lady Williams. season water core (breakdown of the cell walls around the core) was a problem. In the subse• The tree is vigorous with large leaves close quent season, water core did not appear. together, growth is dense and upright but branch angles are good. Summer pruning and The variety proved very popular in London. branch thinning are essential if abundant fruit buds are to be produced. Cropping is

66 W.A JOURNAL OF AGRICULTUREVol .34 /993 Other new apple varieties which could be exported Gala Gala ripens in February. Trees need picking three to five times because all fruit on a tree Demonstrations• at an does not ripen at the same time. apple promotion in Se/fridges, London, U.K Gala crops regularly and heavily. It is a high Tastings introduce quality, crisp, juicy and sweet apple, but has consumers to the many a thin skin and bruises relatively easily. new apple varieties Colour is distinctive, with partial pink-orange available today. stripes and a cream background.

Storage life is short, three months at the Fuji most, but this is sufficient for an early Fuji is a very sweet, juicy apple that ripens in variety. April and has a long storage life. It is subject to water core, which may not be a disadvan• Western Australia has a two-week export tage in south-east Asian markets. window for Gala apples because its Gala ripens two weeks before New Zealand-grown fruit. Good prices are received in south-east Red Fuji Asia during this period. A dull red mutation of Fuji, Red Fuji is subject to russet (browning of the skin). Skin colour Royal Gala is generally better in areas with cool au• Royal Gala is a more highly coloured muta• tumns. This variety may have export poten• tion of ordinary Gala and ripens a week to 10 tial but it is already widely grown in all apple days later. Its export potential has not yet exporting countries around the world. Its been tested, but its attractive appearance very sweet and rather bland fruit flavour suits and good eating quality suggest that it has a Asian palates. Growth is vigorous, with much bright future. As with ordinary Gala, trees fruit carried on the tips of branches. It is a are vigorous and cropping is regular. reliable producer.

The changing scene in the Western Australian apple industry In the 1960s, the local apple industry was firmly been partly caused by breeding programs and based on exports with half the crop sent partly by a change in public taste towards new overseas. Granny Smith was the dominant and slightly sweeter apples. variety and constituted two-thirds of our orchards. Exports declined in the 1970s owing Testing export markets to an increase in the price of fuel oil and an Australia's apple exports have declined in the overvalued Australian dollar, and a tree pull past 20 years from 7 per cent of the world ... scheme was instituted. export market or 142,000 tonnes to 1 per cent Rosalyn Cross, of Argyle, packing Pink By 1984, half the apple trees in the State had lady apples for been removed, but owing to increased use of export. irrigation and generally better technology, Nlmbel' of trees plmled la Wemna .wm.11a .. production remained the same. More fruit was tla"ee ..-.e,a j put on the local market or processed, but 1114 1977 lNl smaller quantities were still exported to south• east Asia. Exports to Europe ceased in 1990 I owing to competition from countries with lower Granny Smith 836,090 499,625 233,692 Jooathao 126,183 labour costs. 72.995 29,231 Yates 118,007 58,3.55 8,121 Cleopatra 90,274 In 1983, only 11,804 new apple trees were 25,908 6.596 Delicious planted, but numbers planted then increased to 64,187 25,849 2,774 Red Delicious 36,056 in 1986 and 92,993 in 1990 (see table). 52.650 150,618 Golden Delk:ious 20,176 This increase resulted from the release of new 19.~ 57,665 9,422 2,500 varieties such as Gala, Royal Gala, Fuji, Red Fuji, 7.858 Lady Williams 19,293 113,195 Pink Lady and Sundowner. Plantings of Golden Pink lady 78,000 Delicious and Lady Williams increased, and at Sundowner 39,000 the same time, the number of Granny Smith, Gala 42,000 , Yates, Dougherty and Cleopatra trees Royal Gala 47,000 declined rapidly. The change in varietal mix has Fuji 14,000

W.A JOURNAL OF AGRJCUL1VRE Vol. 34 1993 67 In 1992, the• Sundowner logo was readily visible on refrigerated apple-transport trucks throughout the State.

or 23,000 tonnes. Other countries went down Lady fruit in the bottom of boxes was bruised, a different path and to remain competitive, probably during unloading. The Sundowner devalued their currencies, had lower labour was a much less bruised variety. Selfridges costs or restructured their industry by commented that the load should be on pallets planting new varieties. The world's apple so that individual boxes would not be handled markets are still vastly over-supplied with until the fruit was unpacked in the retail store. standard varieties such as Red Delicious and In the tastings at Selfridges, slightly more Granny Smith, while new high quality varie• customers preferred Pink Lady to Sundowner, ties such as Royal Gala and sell well but all appreciated being given a choice of at profitable prices. varieties. Fruit sold quickly at the equivalent of more than $6 a kilogram. The Western Australian Apple and Pear Council, local exporters and the Western At the same time, 160 boxes of 125 size Pink Australian Department of Agriculture have Lady were sold in Marks and Spencers stores test marketed sales of Pink Lady in overseas in packs of four apples at the equivalent of markets, although it will be several years $1.10 per apple. before enough Pink Lady apples are grown for export. Markets differ in that Asians like a Taiwan sweet, rather bland apple for example Red In 1992, Australia shipped 70 tonnes of apples Delicious and Red Fuji, while Europeans to Taiwan under that country's quota system. prefer a crisp, highly flavoured even rather Western Australia sent one l~tonne container acid apple such as Cox's Orange. There is a of Pink Lady to Taiwan in late July. Fruit ar• growing international demand for apples that rived in good condition. Sales through the are different. This is exemplified by a change Wellcome chain store were brisk, at $8.64 a in surface colour from all green or red to kilogram when the product was promoted and partial red or pink. tastings were available. However, without John Cripps promotion, sales slowed. Hong Kong can be A few boxes of fruit were sent to Hong Kong in Taiwan is a small, but high priced market for contacted 1989 for consumer appraisal, and in 1991 quality apples. It is hoped that Australia's on more fruit was sent to Singapore and London. quota will increase in future years. In a consumer survey in Singapore ( con• (09) 368 3222 ducted by Frank Flannagan of Edith Cowan The future University, Mount Lawley Campus), 67 per • Pink Lady and Sundowner compete well cent of consumers who tasted Pink Lady said with other export apple varieties and are a they preferred it to Washington State Red premium product for which high prices are Delicious because it was a crisper apple with paid. a better flavour. • Large quantities could be sold overseas at London profitable prices, but sustained promotion is After a successful trade launch of Pink Lady essential in new markets. apples in London in 1991, a few boxes of fruit were sent to Selfridges' store, where consum• • Thanks to successful publicity and initiative ers' comments about the taste of this apple shown by the Department of Agriculture in ranged from "enthusiastic" to "ecstatic". As a developing a Pink Lady logo, the apple is well result of this success, Western Australia's known amongst the fruit importing trade and growers sent a total of 10 tonnes of Pink Lady retailers around the world. and Sundowner apples for sale in Selfridges in July 1992. Growers were paid $40 a box (18.6 • Any further new apple varieties produced kg) for the bare (unpacked) fruit of Pink Lady by the Western Australian breeding program and $30 for Sundowner compared with the are unlikely to be available until the end of the normal export price for bare fruit of $4.50 a decade, owing to the slow speed of the breed• box for Granny Smith. ing, selection and testing process. However, they will be protected by Plant Variety Rights, Fruit was supplied by several growers but which in tum means that money will flow back into the program. packed in one shed. The shipment arrived in 0 London in good condition, but some Pink

68 W.A JOIJRNAL OF AGRJCUL1VR£Voi.34 1993