---
title: "Apples, Adapted"
date: 2023-04-17T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/apples-adapted"
section: Articles
---
# Apples, Adapted

*April 17, 2023* — by [Kimbra Cutlip](/author/kimbra-cutlip)


> New Fruit From UMD Could Weather Changing Climate and Labor Shortages to Boost Grower Profits

*Red apples Tap 2 Kathleen 1920x1080 — Two new apples developed by a UMD team—one red and one yellow (below)—are far easier to grow and could be better suited to a warming climate than traditional varieties.*

Here’s a crisp rejoinder to climate change: Through careful crossbreeding and selection, University of Maryland researchers have developed what may just be the perfect apples for American growers trying to adapt to a changing world.

The two new apples, a yellow and a red one, are heat-tolerant, blight-tolerant, low-maintenance, easy to harvest and not least, delicious-tasting. Both were recently approved for patents and are awaiting the final grant from the U.S. Patent Office.

They address a growing suite of problems for the apple industry. While the fruit has always been labor-intensive to bring to market, with trees that need to be trained, pruned and harvested by hand, apple farming has been among the hardest hit parts of the agriculture sector. According to[ USApple](https://usapple.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/USAPPLE-INDUSTRYOUTLOOK-2022.pdf), the nonprofit apple industry association, labor shortages caused an average 3% drop in U.S. crop production employment annually from 2016 to 2021, but apple orchard employment plummeted by 22% a year. Meanwhile, the wages farmers must pay have risen at the same time the price of fresh apples has fallen.



*yellow apples on tree*




**Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Climate Change](https://today.umd.edu/topic/climate-change), [Plant Science and Landscape Architecture](https://today.umd.edu/topic/plant-science-and-landscape-architecture), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [College of Agriculture and Natural Resources](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-agriculture-and-natural-resources)