# Red Delicious

Red Delicious is a variety of apple with a red exterior and sweet taste that was first recognized in Madison County, Iowa, in 1872. Today, the name Red Delicious comprises more than 50 cultivars (cultivated varieties). It was the most produced apple cultivar in the United States from 1968 until 2018, when it was surpassed by Gala. It also lost that title in Canada at around the same time.

## Origins

The Red Delicious originated at an orchard in 1872 as "a round, blushed yellow fruit of surpassing sweetness" by chance seedling. Stark Nurseries held a competition in 1892 to find an apple to replace the 'Black Ben Davis' apple. The winner was a red and yellow striped apple sent by Jesse Hiatt, a farmer in Peru, Iowa, who called it "Hawkeye" in honor of his home state. Stark Nurseries bought the rights from Hiatt, renamed the variety "Stark Delicious", and began propagating it. Another apple tree, later named the 'Golden Delicious', was also marketed by Stark Nurseries after it was purchased from a farmer in Clay County, West Virginia, in 1914; the 'Delicious' became the 'Red Delicious' as a retronym.

## Rise and fall in demand

The Red Delicious originally became popular thanks to not just its visual appeal but also its durability in storage, making transportation easy. Starting in the 1950s, changes in grocery buying habits led to consumers prioritizing visual appearance. As a result, commercial growers increasingly selected for longer storage and cosmetic appeal rather than flavor. Consumers at that time associated redness with ripeness. But the selection of redder fruit caused deselection of flavor, and the genes that produced the yellow stripes on the original fruit were on the same chromosomes as those for the flavor-producing compounds. Breeding for uniformity and long shelf life favored a thicker skin.
While the Red Delicious had enjoyed moderate success in the market place, its popularity only took off in the mid-twentieth century. It became the most popular apple in the United States during the 1940s. By the 1980s, Red Delicious represented three-quarters of the harvest in Washington State. Nevertheless, the selection for beauty and long storage over taste was not popular among consumers. Later, as other cultivars entered supermarkets, demand for the Red Delicious declined. Modern consumers tend to prefer sweeter and crunchier varieties. By the 1990s, reliance on the now-unwanted Red Delicious had helped to push Washington state's apple industry "to the edge" of collapse. In 2000, Congress approved and President Bill Clinton signed a bill to bail out the apple industry, after apple growers had lost $760 million since 1997.
Farmers began to replace their orchards with other cultivars such as Gala, Fuji, and Honeycrisp. By 2000, this cultivar made up less than one half of the Washington state output, and in 2003, the crop had shrunk to 37% of the state's harvest, which totaled 103 million boxes. Although Red Delicious still remained the single largest variety produced in the state in 2005, others were growing in popularity, notably the Fuji and Gala varieties. By 2014 the Washington Apple Commission was recommending growers plan to export 60% or more of production. In 2018, the Gala overtook the Red Delicious in U.S. sales for the first time. According to the U.S. Apple Association, production of the Gala grew 5.8% in 2018 compared to the previous year, whereas that of the Red Delicious fell 11%. However, exporting the Red Delicious was still a viable option because other countries, notably India, still had high demand for the apple. The COVID-19 pandemic was projected to continue reducing demand for the Red Delicious as many cafeterias and other typical sales points for the apple were closed. Despite these challenges, during the mid-2020s, the Red Delicious remained one of the most produced apples in the United States.

## Sports (mutations)

Over the years many propagable mutations, or sports, have been identified in 'Red Delicious' apple trees.

### Patented

In addition to those propagated without any patent applications (or cut out because they were seen as inferior), 42 sports have been patented in the United States:
| Date | Inventor | Marketed as | Mutated from | Assignee | Habit | Pattern | Earlier | Color | Plant patent number |
| Apr 3, 1934 | Henry Shotwell | Shotwell Delicious | Delicious | C&O | standard | less stripe | 2 wk. | 3-4 times | US plant patent 90 |
| May 18, 1954 | Plough | Royalred$^{1805}$ | Richared | C&O | standard | blush | 10 d. | lighter | US plant patent 1278 |
| Aug 23, 1955 | Brauns | Red King$^{1811}$ | Starking | Van Well | standard | stripe | 2 wk. | more complete | US plant patent 1411 |
| Feb 12, 1957 | Bisbee | Starkrimson | Starking | Stark | spur | blush | "earlier" | similar | US plant patent 1565 |
| Feb 3, 1959 | Frazier & Jenkins | | Starking | Elon J. Gilbert | standard | blush | 10 d. | brighter | US plant patent 1805 |
| Feb 17, 1959 | Hamilton | Chelan Red | | Hamilton | standard | blush | 2 wk. | darker | US plant patent 1811 |
| Mar 24, 1959 | Gilbert | Redspur | Starking | C&O | spur | blush | later | brighter | US plant patent 1822 |
| Feb 23, 1960 | Hutchinson | Top Red$^{3556}$ | Shotwell | C&O | standard | striped | 2-3 wk. | darker | US plant patent 1916 |
| Apr 5, 1960 | Wood | Woods, Starkspur$^{2606}$ | Starking | Stark | spur | striped | 1 wk. | deeper | US plant patent 1930 |
| Sep 24, 1963 | Gould | | Red Delicious | Miller&Miller | standard | blush | "early" | more intense | US plant patent 2285 |
| Aug 11, 1964 | Gilbert Miller | Sturdyspur | Starking | Cons. Orch. Co | spur | blush | "early" | dark | US plant patent 2433 |
| Aug 25, 1964 | Frank Rypczynski | "Frank", Super Starking$^{5569}$ | Starking | Stark | standard | subdued stripes | 30 d. | fuller | US plant patent 2440 |
| Mar 15, 1966 | C.L. Cooper, Washington, US | Regal Chelan Spur | Welspur | | spur | stripe | 10-14d. | more intense | US plant patent 2606 |
| June 4, 1968 | Trumbull | Oregon Spur$^{4819}$ | Red King | Van Well | spur | stripe | 2 wk. | darker | US plant patent 2816 |
| Dec 23, 1969 | Herbert Diede Washington, US | Red Bouquet | Starking | Stark | standard | | | more intense | US plant patent 2956 |
| Feb 2, 1971 | Matson | Stark Earlibrite$^{5547}$ | Ryan Red | Stark | standard | blush | 1 month | bright | US plant patent 3025 |
| Mar 2, 1971 | Maxam | | Starking | | standard | blush | | deeper | US plant patent 3035 |
| Apr 13, 1971 | Norton | | Vance | | spur | | 2-3 wk. | brilliant | US plant patent 3040 |
| Feb 19, 1974 | Coke | Rose Red | Starking | Rose | spur | blush | from start | dark | US plant patent 3485 |
| May 7, 1974 | Pagnelli | | Starking | Stark | spur | blush | | brighter | US plant patent 3541 |
| May 28, 1974 | A.M. Ward, Washington, US | Early Red One$^{4839}$ | Brauns | Van Well | standard | stripe | 4 wk. | darker blackish-purple | US plant patent 3556 |
| May 28, 1974 | Flanagan | | Starking | Stark | spur | stripe | before Topred | brighter, lighter | US plant patent 3557 |
| June 11, 1974 | Slusarenko | | unknown | Stark | standard | stripe | 4 d. before #2440 | red | US plant patent 3567 |
| June 25, 1974 | Fred Campbell, Washington, US | Red Chief$^{3578}$ | Starkrimson | Hilltop | spur | stripe | "earlier" | deeper, brighter | US plant patent 3578 |
| Apr 13, 1976 | A.G. Staniforth, B.C. Canada | Spured Royal Delicious | Royal Delicious | Okanogan Nursery | | | | | USPP 3864 |
| May 11, 1976 | C.L. Cooper, Washington, US | Starkspur Prime Red | Topred Delicious | Stark | tree smaller than Topred Delicious | | | | USPP 3882 |
| Nov. 29, 1977 | Silvers | Silverspur | Hi Early | McCormick | spur | stripe | 2 wk. before Hi Early | bright | US plant patent 4159 |
| Jan 30, 1979 | Craig | | Bright 'N Early | | spur | stripe | 2 wk. | darker, heavier | US plant patent 4372 |
| Aug 12, 1980 | Perleberg | Ace | Starkrimson or Oregon Red | | spur | stripe | 18 d. | bright but deep | US plant patent 4587 |
| Jan 19, 1982 | Garretson | | Starking | Carlton | <spur / dwarf | blush | | bright | US plant patent 4801 |
| Feb 2, 1982 | Green | Oregon Spur II$^{6190}$ | Oregon Spur | Wells & Wade | spur | stripe | 10 d. | dark | US plant patent 4819 |
| Apr 20, 1982 | Evans et al. | Scarlet Spur$^{6190}$ | Oregon Spur | Van Well | spur | blush | 2 wk. | red stem | US plant patent 4839 |
| Nov 9, 1982 | Coke&Smith | Super Clone$^{4926M}$ | Starking | McCormick, Bountiful Ridge | spur, dwarfing | stripe | no change, late bloom | light | US plant patent 4926 |
| Nov 13, 1984 | Kemp | Top Spur$^{5334}$ | Starkrimson | C&O | spur | stripe | 5-7 d. | deeper, brighter | US plant patent 5334 |
| Mar 26, 1985 | Hanners | Eve's Delight | Spokane Beauty | | stripe | | | light | US plant patent 5421 |
| May 21, 1985 | Jenkins | Jenred,$^{5472}$ Starkspur,$^{5472}$ Ultrastripe$^{5472}$ | Oregon Spur | Stark | spur | stripe | 15 d. | more consistent | US plant patent 5472 |
| Sep 3, 1985 | Hare | Hared,$^{5547}$ Dixiered,$^{5547}$ Starkspur$^{5547}$ | Oregon Spur | Stark | spur | blush | 15-20 d. | dark | US plant patent 5547 |
| Oct 8, 1985 | Gonzalez | Rico$^{7237}$ | Sharp Red | Merleley & al. | standard | stripe | 20 d. | | US plant patent 5569 |
| May 31, 1988 | Sandidge | Super Chief | Red Chief | Van Well Nursery | spur | stripe | 18 d. | red stem | US plant patent 6190 |
| Mar 28, 1989 | J. E. Valle, Washington, US | Vallee Spur$^{6702}$ | Red Chief | | spur | blush | 2 wk. | dark red with bloom | US plant patent 6702 |
| May 29, 1990 | Sali | Sali$^{7237}$ | Redspur | | semi-spur | blush | "earliest" | purple tinge | US plant patent 7237 |
| Aug 4, 1992 | Arden Winkel, Michigan, US | Earlichief | Redchief | Inter-Plant Patent Marketing | spur | blush | 5-10 d. | brighter | US plant patent 7928 |
| Mar 23, 1999 | Deutscher | Cumberland Spur$^{10,832}$ | Oregon Spur | | spur | blush | 10-14 d. | complete | US plant patent 10832 |
| May 4, 2004 | Burchinal | Adams Apple, Burchinal Red Delicious$^{14,757}$ | Oregon Spur II | | spur | blush | immediately | more uniform, deeper, purple, bloom | US plant patent 14757 |
In 1977, the application for #4159 noted the "starchy and bland taste of some of the newer varieties".
The plant patent for #4926 promoted the sport as a dwarfing interstock, a dwarfing rootstock for pears, or to produce "crab apple"-sized 'Delicious' apples.

## Progeny

* Ambrosia: Golden Delicious × Starking Delicious (suspected)
* Empire: McIntosh × Red Delicious
* Fuji: Ralls Janet × Red Delicious
* Melrose: Jonathan × Red Delicious