In this Issue:
VEGETABLE NEWS
Review and Recommendations for Late-Season Corn Earworm Control in Sweet Corn—2004
Corn Leaf Aphid Update from Illinois
APPLE NEWS
A Stella is Born: How a Minnesota Apple Grower Developed an Apple of His Own
| Vol 1 No. 12 | August 9, 2004 |
A Stella Is Born: How a Minnesota Apple Grower Developed An Apple of His Own
Neil Cunningham, MDA Biocontrol Specialist
The way Bill Cox (shown left, with Stella mother tree)talks about apples, you might think he was talking about human personalities. Ask him about Viking and it seems as if he’s describing a moody boss or parent figure: “Good if you catch them on the right day.” Ask him about Liberty or Honeycrisp and he will list their strengths and weaknesses on shelf life, taste, texture, pest resistance, color, etc. in a way that seems like the composite results of a personality test.
But ask him about Stella Minnesota, and it’s clear he has a sweet spot for this particular pomme personality. Not only is Stella (officially Stella Minnesota) the variety he’s been developing for over a decade—it’s an authentic Minnesota discovery that Cox received a patent for in 2003.
The Stella saga began in 1988 when Cox was looking for an early variety to plant. To his good fortune, thousands of apple seedlings just so happened to spring from a garden mulch pile where he spread cider pulp. After hand-selecting a number of saplings that showed interesting characteristics, he planted an experimental row in his orchard. From there he waited about 10 years for the young trees to mature and produce fruit. Cox says it takes up to a decade to find out how the fruit of a particular tree tastes.
As it turns out, one of the trees (and tastes) that interested him the most would later turn out to be Stella Minnesota. Stella was originally called “Stellar” to reflect the star cluster dots on its skin—but the name was changed after Cox and his wife Nancy discovered there was already a peach variety named Stellar. So they shortened it to Stella, which coincidentally happened to be the name of Nancy’s mother.
Interestingly, another tree in Cox’s experimental row yielded another unexpected variety —Sweet Nuthin. Although there are now only two Sweet Nuthin trees in the Cox orchard, its trademark flavor appears to be developing a cult following. “Kids love [Sweet Nuthins],” says Nancy, who sums up the apples this way: “They’re sweet, but there’s nothing much to them.”
Asked if his method of apple development is unusual, Cox will admit the idea of investing in an untested apple is “a chance.” He says new apple varieties are typically developed over several decades by teams of scientists working for large land grant universities. (Cox notes that Honeycrisp took 30 years to develop.) But that did not stop Cox. Now he has about 70 Stella trees on his ten acre orchard in Cleveland, and armed with a U.S. patent, he plans to convert the entire orchard to Stella.
If Cox is worried about his product’s future, he doesn’t show it. Although only one in about 10,000 trees in the University of Minnesota’s breeding program produces a tree with enough desirable traits to propagate, Cox believes Stella has what it takes to compete—plus, he believes Stella’s homegrown status gives the product a local competitive advantage over more common varieties—of which many are imported from places like China, South America, and New Zealand.
Cox and his wife share enthusiasm about Stella’s future, and while sitting in their kitchen they eagerly talk about spreading the word about their apples in ways that sound like a cross between proud parents and a pair of rock band promoters.
“No one has ever said they didn’t like [Stella],” he says matter of factly. “It’s an early fruit that’s harder than most summer apples, and has a good shelf life. The tree is compact which makes it easier to grow...and it doesn’t turn brown when you cut it.”
And the flavor?
“It’s kind of surprising,” he says, grinning.
Bill and Nancy Cox will be celebrating their 30 th year in the apple business sometime in October 2004. They live and work at Cox Appple Orchard in Cleveland, Minnesota. For more information about Cox Apple Orchard or Stella Minnesota, visit http://coxappleorchard.com/index2.ivnu
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Co-Editors: Bill Hutchison, Department of Entomology,
University of Minnesota, hutch002@umn.edu
Jeanne Ciborowski, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Ag. Resources Division,jeanne.ciborowski@state.mn.us
Suzanne Wold-Burkness, Department of Entomology, University of
Minnesota, woldx018@umn.edu
The Newsletter is published weekly from May through August, cooperatively, by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and the University of Minnesota (U of MN). Reports are posted on the U of MN and MDA web sites on Fridays. If you have suggestions and/or comments, please send your contributions by 4 p.m., Tuesday to Jeanne Ciborowski, 651-297-3217, jeanne.ciborowski@state.mn.us , MDA, 90 W. Plato Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55107-2094. You can access the Newsletter at the U of MN web site in htm. format at: www.vegedge.umn.edu/MNFruit&VegNews/mnindex.htm and at the MDA web site in pdf. format at: www.mda.state.mn.us/biocon/fruitreports/default.htm
Partial funding for this publication is provided through partnership agreements with the Minnesota Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association and the United States Department of Agriculture – Risk Management Agency (RMA) and the RMA Community Outreach and Assistance Partnership Program. These institutions are equal opportunity providers.
DISCLAIMER
References to products in this publication is not intended to be an endorsement to the exclusion of others which may have similar uses. Any person using products listed in this publication assumes full responsibility for their use in accordance with current manufacturer directions.
Last Revised August 9, 2004.
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