Wildung Apple Cultivar Resisting Oxidative Browning
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for a new apple tree cultivar that is hardy and productive, with fruit characteristics such as firm, sweet, and resistant to oxidation, which are not adequately met by existing cultivars like 'Connell Red' and 'Sharon'.
Innovation Solution
The development of the 'Wildung' apple tree cultivar, which is a late-season producer with smaller fruit size, bronze-red overcolor, white flesh, and high resistance to oxidative browning, resulting from a cross between 'Sharon' and 'Connell Red', exhibiting improved flavor and storage life.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing apple cultivars like 'Connell Red' and 'Sharon' are used, then fruit production is achieved, but the flesh is susceptible to oxidative browning and flavor is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by developing a new cultivar with fundamentally different chemical composition parameters - specifically higher malic acid content (0.5-1.0% vs 0.3-0.5% in parents) and different phenolic compound profiles. These parameter changes in the fruit's biochemical composition directly result in resistance to oxidative browning while enhancing flavor complexity, resolving the contradiction between existing cultivar limitations and desired fruit quality.
2Volume of moving object
If 'Connell Red' is used as parent, then fruit size is large, but flesh browns extensively when exposed to air
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses 'Sharon' as an intermediary parent in the crossbreeding program. 'Sharon' contributes the resistance to oxidative browning and enhanced flavor characteristics, while 'Connell Red' contributes large fruit size. The resulting 'Wildung' cultivar inherits both traits, with the intermediary parent acting as a genetic bridge that combines the desirable traits of both parents without the harmful browning characteristic.
3Shape
If 'Sharon' is used as parent, then flesh color is cream and overcolor is striped red, but flesh color is not white and overcolor is not bronze
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by selecting for specific localized color characteristics in different parts of the fruit. The 'Wildung' cultivar exhibits white flesh color (different from 'Sharon' cream) and bronze-red overcolor (different from 'Sharon' striped red). This localized differentiation of color properties in the flesh versus the skin represents the application of local quality, where different parts of the fruit have optimized color characteristics for overall aesthetic and market appeal.
4Duration of action of moving object
If late season production is targeted, then fruit ripens later in the season, but storage life and flavor development must be optimized
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by allowing the fruit to develop high malic acid content and firm texture during the extended late-season growing period, then maintaining these qualities through storage. The 'Wildung' cultivar's high acid content and firm flesh, developed during growth, serve as a preliminary foundation that enables both late-season ripening (October) and extended storage life (60-80 days) without significant quality degradation.
Data Source
AI summary
A new cultivar of Apple tree, ‘Wildung’, is a late season cultivar that has shown to be hardy and productive for twenty-two years in east central Minnesota. The fruit is characterized by moderately firm, fine-grained flesh, with low acidity and a sweet taste with slight acid balance and rich overtones. The flesh of the fruit is very white and unusually slow to oxidize when exposed to air.