The Braeburn is a

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...

that is firm to the touch with a red/orange vertical streaky appearance on a yellow/green background. Its color intensity varies with different growing conditions. It was discovered as a

chance seedling A chance seedling is a plant that is the product of unintentional breeding. Identifying the parent plants of a chance seedling may be difficult. It may be necessary to genetically analyse the seedling and surrounding plants to be sure. Plants tha ...

in 1952 by the farmer O. Moran from Waiwhero in the Moutere Hills near Motueka,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

. It was then cultivated by the Williams Brothers nursery as a potential export variety. A study published in 2020 indicated Braeburn is the offspring of Delicious and Sturmer Pippin, with Lady Hamilton as a sibling. The apple itself is named after Braeburn Orchard near Motueka, where it was first commercially grown. Braeburn apples have a combination of sweet and tart flavor. They are available October through April in the northern hemisphere and are medium to large in size. They are a popular fruit for growers because of their ability to store well when chilled. Braeburn apples are useful in cooking as they hold their shape and do not release a great deal of liquid, making them well-suited for tarts. According to the

US Apple Association USApple Association is a Virginia-based nonprofit membership association for growers, marketers, equipment producers and allied organizations dealing with apples, within forty states of the United States of America. It advocates on behalf of 7,50 ...

website it is one of the fifteen most popular apple cultivars in the United States.

Braeburn browning disorder

Apples can be preserved by short, medium or long-term storage. Braeburn can turn brown inside during commercial long term storage, and it's usually not possible to tell if an apple has the Braeburn browning disorder until a person bites or cuts into it. Apples respond dramatically to both temperature and atmosphere modification. Rapid temperature reduction and the exacting maintenance of low temperature close to the chilling point of the variety can provide good to medium quality product following 3 to 6 months of storage and in some cases longer. However, modern commercial warehouses couple temperature management with controlled atmosphere (CA) for long-term storage of apples. Braeburn can be stored at 0 °C in the air for 3–4 months, and in CA for 8–10 months, with only a slight susceptibility to scalding although it is sensitive to carbon dioxide. The variety has a relatively impermeable skin, which restricts diffusion of gases into and out of the fruit, leading to high internal carbon dioxide concentrations. The browning disorder seems worse in overmature fruit, fruit from lightly cropped trees, and large fruit, but it can show up on different trees in different years, and in some regions, but not others. Maintaining the superior qualities of Braeburn while eliminating Braeburn browning disorder led to the development of the

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

cultivar. Since Braeburn is such a desirable variety, commercial orchards and trees in regions and locations that have proven not susceptible to the browning disorder are being maintained. Since most home orchardists do not attempt very long term storage, they do not encounter the browning disorder.

Disease susceptibility

Braeburn has high susceptibility to scab,Dr. Stephen Miller of the USDA Fruit Research Lab in Kearneysville, West Virginia.

powdery mildew Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that affects a wide range of plants. Powdery mildew diseases are caused by many different species of ascomycete fungi in the order Erysiphales. Powdery mildew is one of the easier plant diseases to identify, a ...

, cedar apple rust, and fire blight.

References

{{Apples, state=collapsed Motueka New Zealand apples Apple cultivars

Braeburn browning disorder

Disease susceptibility

See also

References