Apple growers in Nova Scotia are banking on a new variety to give the industry a bump not seen since the introduction of the Honey Crisp in the 1990s.
The Honey Crisp, a high-end, high priced-apple, helped save Nova Scotia's tree fruit industry in 1996 by promoting a unique apple that could be grown better in Nova Scotia than anywhere else. About 70 per cent of the crop is exported to U.S. markets.
The success of that fruit earned the Annapolis Valley a sought-after spot in the Next Big Thing, a club of professional apple growers that owns the rights to the SweeTango. The 45-member cooperative has growers from Nova Scotia to Washington State.
The SweeTango is a cross between a Honey Crisp and a Zestar and only a limited number of growers have the rights to it in North America. It was developed by the same apple breeders at the University of Minnesota who created the Honey Crisp.
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