Stark Bro?s introduces three new apple varieties

Stark Bro’s Nurseries & Orchards Co. has announced the arrival of three new apples to the market: Stark® Scarlet Crush™, Stark® Ruby Darling™, and Stark® Franklin Cider™. Each new variety represents an industry breakthrough for growers. All will be available for the 2017 season. Stark® Scarlet Crush™ is a Honeycrisp/Pink Lady® cross with sweet and citrusy notes, and Honeycrisp’s characteristic snap and juice. Stark® Ruby Darling™, a natural hybrid of Honeycrisp and Gala, is a large, cherry-red fruit with a distinctive crunch and extra-large cells of sweet juice. Perhaps the best news for growers is that both of these crosses can be grown farther south than the original, and they also extend the notoriously short Honeycrisp season. “Both crosses have good, uniform fruit shape, attractiveness, eating quality and firmness,” says Ken Lane, Stark Bro’s Chief Marketing Officer. “The real benefit is in their ripening time, which is from late September through early October, giving commercial growers a longer, much more profitable harvest window for Honeycrisp.” The company’s third new apple, Stark® Franklin Cider™, is high in tannins, acids and sugar, an unusual complete set of sought-after characteristics that will have considerable appeal to hard-cider producers. All three apples were discovered the same way Stark Bro’s Red Delicious and Golden Delicious were discovered: growers sent samples to the company for evaluation.