From barth@ncatfyv.uark.eduTue Mar 21 11:25:56 1995
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 1995 09:30:42 -0600 (CST)
From: Bart Hall-Beyer <barth@ncatfyv.uark.edu>
To: zavery007@aol.com
Cc: london@sunsite.unc.edu, sustag-public@ces.ncsu.edu
Subject: Apples & Vitamins

Mr. Avery:

The general thrust that 'modern' apples have lower vitamin levels,
particularly Vitamin C, is true, but not because anyone has
intentionally bred the vitamins out of them.

McIntosh, a cultivar very popular in Canada and the northeastern US,
has something like 2 mg/100g, compared to potatoes at 5 mg.  Both Red
and Yellow Delicious are also low in vitamin C, but I'm going from
memory here.  Other less known, but still modern, cultivars (such as
Idared) have vitamin C levels an order of magnitude higher.  Some
cultivars are in the low 30 mg/100g range.

McIntosh, however, dates from 1796, and its probable parent, Fameuse
(or Snow Apple) dates from about the 14th Century.  It was well known
when brought to Quebec from France in the early 17th Century; its
vitamin C levels are about the same as McIntosh.

'Modern,' then, presumably refers to market popularity rather than
age of origin; as the story of McIntosh/Fameuse clearly demonstrates.
Vitamin levels, however, have not received the attention in breeding
programs that other factors (like scab resistance) have, _or_ that
vitamins have received in some vegetable breeding programs.

The Chemical Rubber Company (CRC) Press in Boca Raton, FL has
published a wonderful book on vitamins in agriculture, and as soon as
it is returned to the library I will quote you some of the refereed
stuff you seem to crave.

Bart Hall-Beyer

Fayetteville, Arkansas
