Much as Bruce Barritt likes apples, the task he faces is daunting. Dr. Barritt is Washington State University’s apple breeder, and one day each week in the fall, he tastes 70 or more new apple selections in his search for a promising new variety. At harvest, he and his assistants, Bonnie Konishi and Marc Dilley, walk the breeding program’s test plots looking for good candidates. From the 15,000 or so selections being grown, they’ll usually pick fruit from 500 to 700 to take a closer look at. Those apples are evaluated immediately and again after two months in regular storage. […]