Find a bad apple in the bunch? Researchers in Australia want to fix that.
A Queensland team has spent 20 years developing a deep red variety that they claim is naturally long-lasting.
The new, sweet apple with the decidedly non-catchy name, "RS103-130," can remain edible and crispy for up to 14 days in a regular fruit bowl and four months in the refrigerator.
And if genetic modification gives you the creeps, no worries here. RS103-130 was produced conventionally using a gene from an Asiatic apple variety that has a proven resistance to rot.
Apple farmers should also have to use few or no fungicides, the researchers claim, since it has a naturally strong resistance to the most common apple disease.
The only big remaining question is whether people will like them.
Queensland authorities claim initial taste tests have scored very well. But other, similarly newfangled apples have tanked when they were finally distributed to actual consumers.
The Queensland government is now seeking a commercial partner to distribute the fruit and hopes to begin selling it next year. Only then will they know for sure whether consumers are biting.
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