Cripps Pink

'Cripps Pink' (Pink Lady)
Hybrid parentage 'Lady Williams' × 'Golden Delicious'
Cultivar 'Cripps Pink'
Origin Australia, 1973

'Cripps Pink' is a cultivar of apple, from which apples meeting quality standards can be sold under the trade mark name Pink Lady. 'Cripps Pink' was originally bred by John Cripps at the (then named) Western Australia Department of Agriculture by crossing the Australian apple 'Lady Williams' with a 'Golden Delicious' to combine the firm long-storing property of 'Lady Williams' with the sweetness and lack of storage scald of 'Golden Delicious'.[1]

Registered trade mark

Pink Lady apples for sale on a UK market stall

'Cripps Pink' is owned and licensed by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA), which has plant breeders’ rights in multiple countries. The peak industry body for Australian apple and pear growers – Apple and Pear Australia Limited (APAL) – owns and manages within their territory the intellectual property in the Pink Lady family of trade marks, which is registered in more than 80 territories. Pink Lady America manages the Pink Lady family of trademarks in the United States and Mexico for Brandt's Fruit Trees of Washington State who own the series of trademarks in these countries.

Registration of the Pink Lady trade mark in Australia has been a challenging process. This is primarily due to the apple being widely known by the industry and public by the trade mark name, Pink Lady, rather than the cultivar name, 'Cripps Pink'.

Growth and development

The apple shape is ellipsoid, it has a distinctive blush mixed with a green "background", and taste is tart. 'Cripps Pink' requires a long, 200-day growth period and a hot climate, making them difficult to grow in more temperate latitudes or climates subjected to early winter freezes.

They are principally grown in Australia, but are also grown in New Zealand, Chile, Canada, Argentina, South Africa, Uruguay, Brazil, Japan, Italy, Spain, France, Serbia, Israel and in the United States since the late 1990s.

In the United Kingdom, the Pink Lady brand has increased in popularity in the 20 years since the first shipment of apples from Australia. In 2012, for the first time, Pink Lady brand apples replaced 'Granny Smith' apples from the number three spot by value in the United Kingdom.[2]

Cultivation

Pink lady apples growing in the Granite Belt, Queensland, Australia

Pink Lady brand apples must meet certain trade mark quality specifications. Criteria for the specifications include sugar content, firmness, blemishes and colour. Inspections are regularly performed to ensure both the quality and traceability of the apple from the orchard to the shop.

'Cripps Pink' apples are the earliest to blossom (late March/early April in the Northern Hemisphere and late September/early October in the Southern Hemisphere), and some of the last to be harvested (end of October/early November in the Northern Hemisphere and late April/early May for the Southern Hemisphere). It is the significant change in temperature between night and day in the autumn that gives the apples their colouring. However, they must also be well exposed. Therefore, the trees must be carefully pruned and their fruit production well managed.

Mutations

'Rosy Glow' apples

Several natural occurring mutations, called sports, of the 'Cripps Pink' cultivar have been discovered and adopted into cultivation. A number have either achieved registration, or are seeking registration of plant breeders’ rights or Plant Patents in multiple countries.

Rosy Glow and Lady in Red have been accepted by APAL and Pink Lady America into the Pink Lady business model, allowing fruit of the improved variety, which meets the Pink Lady quality criteria, to be sold as Pink Lady brand apples. In general, the improved selections produce apples with a larger area of blush.[10] The benefit of higher colour is the potential of higher packouts, and better fruit colour in hotter growing areas. The earlier-maturing strains also allow growing regions to expand, as crops can be grown without fear of losing the crop to winter freeze.[11] Pink Lady America has also accepted the early clones listed as PLMAS98 (Maslin) and PLBAR B1 (Barnsby) as well as Ruby Pink and PLFOG99 into their business model for the Pink Lady brand.[12]

See also

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ J.E.L. Cripps, L.A. Richards, and A.M. Mairata (1993), "'Pink Lady' Apple" (PDF), HortScience 28 (10): 1057–1057
  2. ↑ Godwin, Sandra. "Pink Lady apples shine." The Weekly Times 4 April 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2012
  3. ↑ IP Australia, Plant Breeders Rights Database, Application no. 1997/304. Accessed 7 September 2012
  4. ↑ United States Patent and Trademark Office, Plant Patent Database, PP18,787. Accessed 7 September 2012
  5. ↑ United States Patent and Trademark Office, Plant Patent Database, PP21,412. Accessed 7 September 2012
  6. ↑ United States Patent and Trademark Office, Plant Patent Database, PP16,725. Accessed 7 September 2012
  7. ↑ United States Patent and Trademark Office, Plant Patent Database, PP21,606. Accessed 7 September 2012
  8. ↑ IP Australia, Plant Breeders Rights Database, Application no. 2006/247. Accessed 7 September 2012
  9. ↑ United States Patent and Trademark Office, Plant Patent Database, PP19,826. Accessed 7 September 2012
  10. ↑ "Improved selections improve marketing options for Pink Lady." Fresh Plaza 12 July 2007. Retrieved 7 September 2012
  11. ↑ Warner, Geraldine. "Cripps Pink is in expansion mode" Good Fruit Grower 15 March 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2012
  12. ↑ Fresh Plaza March 9 2015

External links

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