Washington State University apple breeder Bruce Barritt began making crosses in 1994, planted his first trees in 1997, and by 2000, he was rushing through a young orchard, taking bites out of new apples and looking for potential. Growers were impatient for new varieties, but finding winners takes time, he stressed. “My belief is there’ll be a continual need for new products in our industry and that the need for new products will actually accelerate — as everything else seems to have — so the profitable life of a variety may not be very long,” he said. “It’s hard to […]