Fruit & Vegetable Breeding Success 2019

290+ fruit & vegetable varieties developed at Cornell AgriTech since 1880

Our breeders are committed to releasing new varieties of apples, grapes, berries and vegetables that support the prosperity of New York farms and food businesses.

By combining traditional methods with the latest molecular techniques, such as marker-assisted selection, our breeders are able to improve fruit quality, productivity, insect and disease resistance, tolerance to cold weather and the growth habits of trees and vines. The information below is based on available data for the featured fruit and vegetable varieties in the U.S.

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Apples

Cornell AgriTech’s apple breeding program is the oldest in the United States. Led by Susan Brown, Herman M. Cohn Professor of Agriculture and Life Science, the program supports New York’s robust apple industry, valued at $262 million annually.

Brown’s most recent apple varieties—Snapdragon, released in 2015 and RubyFrost, released in 2014— have seen steady growth in terms of sales and acreage. The apple varieties are shipped to all 50 states and have also been popular in some international markets including Canada, Vietnam and Israel.

Different colored apples in a row — Apples bred by Susan Brown, Herman M. Cohn professor of agriculture and life science. photo credit: Allison Usavage

'Snapdragon'

1,000 acres are grown in New York state

9,103% sales increase since its release in 2015

147

growers in New York state produce Ruby Frost and Snapdragon

'RubyFrost'

400 acres are grown in New York state

Berries

Cornell AgriTech’s berry breeding program is the oldest continuous program of its kind in the U.S. In the history of the program, the Jewel strawberry and Heritage raspberry have been most successful with over 100 million Jewel strawberry plants sold since 1985 and over 50 million Heritage raspberry plants sold since 1969.

Today, the program is led by Courtney Weber, professor of horticulture. Details below reflect available data for varieties that Weber has developed since 2000, excluding his most recent varieties as there is limited data for those varieties at this time.

A man picks raspberries in a field — Courtney Weber works with raspberries at Cornell AgriTech.

'Clancy' strawberry

4.7M+ plants sold

658 acres planted

'L’Amour' strawberry

5.6M+ plants sold

775 acres planted

'Double Gold' raspberry

79K+ plants sold
55 acres planted

'Crimson Night' raspberry

Sold in small batches to home owners

47K+ plants sold
33 acres planted

'Crimson Giant' raspberry

812K+ plants sold

560 acres planted

'Purple Wonder' strawberry

Sold in small batches to home owners

10K+ plants sold

Grapes

Since 2010, Bruce Reisch, professor of horticulture, has released six disease resistant grape varieties that grow well in cool climates. While not enough preliminary data is available for Everest, a grape variety released in 2018, the data below corresponds with the performance of other grape varieties in the U.S. since 2010.

'Valvin Muscat'

160+ acres planted

$8.5M+ in wine sales

118,000+ vines sold

'Aromella'

64+ acres planted

$3.8M+ in wine sales

44,000+ vines sold

'Corot Noir'

64+ acres planted

$4.3M+ in wine sales

45,000+ vines sold

'Arandell'

40+ acres planted

$2.4M+ in wine sales

30,000+ vines sold

'Noiret'

166+ acres planted

$11.3M+ in wine sales

116,000+ vines sold

New tomatoes that are out of this world

Phillip Griffiths, associate professor of plant breeding and genetics, released seven new tomato varieties in 2019—six of which are part of what he calls the ‘Galaxy Suite,’ a group of grape tomatoes with astronomical names offering outstanding flavor in novel shapes and colors. These include Starling, Sungrazer, Comet, Supernova, Midnight Pear and Moonbeam.

Griffiths also released one green tomato in 2019, which he named Jaded.

A man picks tomatoes in a field — Phillip Griffiths, professor of horticulture, holds a bin of moonbeam tomatoes

Fruit & vegetable breeding success 2019