Ontario apple growers searching for next great apple

Growers on an apple farm in Harrow, Ont are among the select few Ontario farmerson the hunt for the next great apple.

Leslie Huffman-Balsillie runs the Fruit Wagon with her husband Doug. Their farm is one of 12 in Ontario that grow test apples as part of a Canada-wide experimental program to find apples that are a hit with consumers and are suited to grow here.

"There are more than 8,000 different varieties of apple around the world. We grow about 15 varieties on a commercial basis in Ontario," Huffman-Balsillie explained.

• Apple season to be a good one after dry, sunny summer
• Apple orchards in eastern Ontario experiencing 'weird, wonderful flavours' after drought

"There's a wide range of things we're looking for," she said. "Growers want high-quality fruit, good size, good flavour, firmness, everyone likes crispy and juicy apples, some want them sweet, some want them a bit on the tart side."

Commercial apples are harvested in late-July and into November in Ontario. Part of the trick finding new apples is finding an apple that tastes good off the tree, Huffman-Balsillie said.

"If you're an apple-grower, your biggest markets aregood, eating apples," she said.

Ontario spreads its apple-growing test sites throughout the province. Test orchards are located in Georgian Bay, near Lake Ontario, in Niagara, Norfolk County and in the Southwest. They will harvest apples from varieties developed in B.C.

One of the newest doesn't even have a common name, it's still known only by the code SPA 7-66. Balsillie planted that variety in 2012 and is seeing that harvest this year.

"Those growers are taking them to consumers and saying, 'If you're brave youcan try them. You can taste them, you can cook them,'' she said. "So far, I've been very impressed with all of them."