Cover Story Proud ‘parents’


Chance discovery by pickers in a new apple planting owned byWilf and SallyMennell led to development of the now- popular Ambrosia variety.


By Judie Steeves N


ot every grower is likely to discover a new apple variety— particularly one with attributes that make it really special—growing wild in their orchard.


But, not every grower would let it grow and watch it, and even fewer would recognize its potential even if it did grow to produce fruit.


So, it’s not entirely luck that Wilf and Sally Mennell of Cawston became the father and mother of the popular Ambrosia apple variety.


They did a lot of things right, the first of which was permitting a chance


JUDIE STEEVES


Cawston orchardists Wilf and Sally Mennell enjoy a photo-op with a basket of Ambrosias.


seedling found growing among the young apple trees in a new planting, to continue to grow.


It was the early 1990s and they were replanting their orchard from Red and Golden Delicious trees to Jonagolds when the seedling was first noticed. Wilf figures it’s likely of Delicious parentage. “We were negligent in our weeding, so it survived,” is how he phrases it today, when describing what led to the creation of this new variety.


When it bore fruit, Mennell says, the pickers discovered it but, despite being asked to leave the fruit on that young tree, they enjoyed it so much they stripped it bare. He grafted branches onto another rootstock and began testing it in


different parts of the orchard on an M26 rootstock. It produced a beautiful bi-


coloured apple that tasted like honey, with a crisp, juicy crunch, but tender, smooth skin.


Further, it proved to be slow to oxidize, which made it ideal for cutting up for platters and lunches because it doesn’t turn brown immediately. It’s a perfect selection for preparing ahead of time since it stays attractive. It’s also a low-acid apple so it’s good for both kids and


the elderly, although it also doesn’t seem to be too sweet, noted Mennell.


“It was like the food of the gods, so we named it Ambrosia,” he recalls.


His brothers, Brian and Robert, are organic growers in the Similkameen and they began to sell the apple into the organic market, where there’s more interaction between growers and consumers, and it was a big hit. There was such a demand for more that the couple approached the B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association’s Okanagan Plant Improvement Company for further testing.


That led to it being planted in other areas in the valley, where it was found it grows better in some locations than in others, remembers Sally. Because of the challenges of getting a new variety in to the market and getting recognition for it, they partnered with PICO and began growing it in different areas.


To maintain control of quantity and quality, the New Variety Development Council was formed in 2001 by a group of growers who wanted to see the new apple succeed, and a levy was put on every box of apples sold, to go toward research and promotion. (see story on page8). “It’s a very grower-friendly variety,” notes Sally. “With grower collaboration, unusual things happened.” Consumers were so enthusiastic about the Ambrosia that there wasn’t enough for stores at first. Today, however, there are more than 300,000 cartons produced and sold here annually, and the number is increasing.


British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Winter 2010-11 7


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