[ccurtsinger]

I grew up in MN and always loved Honeycrisp, but after relocating I was surprised to hear people describe them as tasteless or mealy. It turns out they vary a lot depending on growing region. Cold hardy apples produce very different fruit in warmer climates. I have heard this is a big part of why the SweeTango brand has been limited to a small number of growers in select regions.

Minor correction for the title: "SweeTango" has just one 'T' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SweeTango)

[dpflan]

I think the idea of keeping apples to their proper growing climate is a crucial point: these new tasty apple discoveries occur in the UMN orchard, and once selected, a branded apple really will do well on the market if its quantity is constrained and only grown by a few farmers. So, with the UMN orchard as ground zero for the apple discoveries, it would seem that farmers nearer to the orchard have a huge advantage with regard to actually taking an apple from lab orchard to farm to market.

Tainting the identity of the Honeycrisp for example because it was grown in the wrong climate would be something any farmer growing Honeycrisps would want to prevent, else risk the bad impression and lower sales.

[dpflan]

Thanks for pointing out the typo - I've fixed the title now!