A non-browning apple cultivar

‘Eden^TM’ is a dessert apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) with improved firmness and crispness, high quality flesh and much longer shelf life than ‘McIntosh’ and ‘Cortland’. The fruits have superior flavor and do not fall from the tree at maturity. The flesh is juicy, firm, crisp and resistant to bruising.  No browning occurs after cutting, make it an excellent candidate for fresh fruit slices, fruit salad, dried apple chips and processing (juice, cider).

Fruits of 'EdenTM' apple	Flesh color of 'EdenTM’ and ’Macspur’ 24 hrs after cutting. Cut fruit was kept in the refrigerator.
Four days after cutting:   Legend: A=SJC649, B=SJC658, C=SJC7123-2, D=Gala, E=Galarina, F=McIntosh Summerland, G=Reinette Russet, H=Spartan, I=SJC7713-1, J=EdenTM, K=Cortland (Industry standard)	Flower of 'EdenTM' apple
Trees of 'EdenTM'	Persistence of ‘EdenTM’ fruit at maturity. Photo taken on December 15, 2004

Origin: 'Eden^TM', also tested as SJCA38R6A74, originated from a cross between 'Linda' and Jonamac, at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Horticultural Research and Development Center (HRDC), St.-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec.  
Tree characteristics: ‘Eden^TM’ trees are upright to upright-spreading, semi-vigorous, with wide branch angles. New shoots are hairy. Fruit are borne on spurs, and the shoots tend to droop. Leaves are oblong to slightly obovate, doubly serrate with hairy undersides, cuspidate apex and cuneate to obtuse base. The leaf length: width ratio is 1.96 and the petioles are 3 to 6 cm long.  ‘Eden^TM’ trees are hardy in Quebec, where average winter minimum temperature  is –25 ºC. There have been no signs of powdery mildew [Podosphaera leucotricha (Ell. & Ev.) Salm.], fireblight [Erwinia amylovora (Burr.) Winslow et al.] or scab [Venturia inaequalis (Cke.) Wint.] infections on leaves during the evaluation period. 
Flower characteristics: Flowering starts 5 days before ‘McIntosh’.
Fruit characteristics: ‘Eden^TM’ fruits are globose, oblate and sometimes lopsided and irregular. The fruit are attractive, medium to large in size, with an average of 150 g, and are not susceptible to bruising or browning compared to other tested cultivars. Fruits are susceptible to scab similar to ‘Macspur’, ‘McIntosh’ and ‘Cortland’. The fruit skin has average thickness; the color of the skin is washed out (faded) and solid dark red over a greenish-yellow ground. Lenticel number is low near the stem but very high near the basin. The flesh is white, juicy, firm, crisp yet melting, and fine textured. No browning occurs for several hours after the flesh is cut with a stainless steel knife, and it remains white until completely dried at room temperature, probably due to its low level of phenolic compounds as reported previously (Khanizadeh et. al. 2005).  The flavor is very aromatic, sweet and acidic at optimum maturity, which is at the end of September, one week after ‘McIntosh’. ‘Eden^TM’ is recommended for fresh eating, fruit salad and processing (dried apple chips).
Post Harvest, storage: The fruits keep their firmness, juiciness and flavor very well in standard cold storage for 4-5 months.
Other characteristics: ‘Eden^TM’ fruits are susceptible to bitter pit, specially if the season is dry and no irrigation is provided. The yield is very similar to the ‘Macspur’ and fruits are resistant to water core, and unlike ‘Macspur’, they do not drop at maturity, but stay on the tree for several weeks after, even at -20 ^oC which might make ‘Eden^TM’ a good candidate for ice cider production. 
Availability: The virus free bud wood is available from Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA, Sidney Laboratory, CFIA, 8801 East Saanich Road, Sidney, B.C., Canada, V8L 1H3) for North America and non exclusive multiplication licenses can be obtained from AAFC at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. European nurseries may obtain a multiplication license from Meiosis Ltd. (Bradbourne House, Stable Block, East Malling, Kent ME19 6DZ). A limited number of plants are available for research purposes from the author (SK) after signing a non-propagation agreement.

PBRO and US Patent
Description of the Public Patent