The World of Apples

Apple varieties, United States

Howell TC2

Red-skinned, red-fleshed seedling of Airlie Red Flesh, raised at Prosser, Washington, and selected in 2010

History

Howell TC2 was raised at Prosser, Washington, by Bill Howell1,4, a technologist in plant virology at Washington State University’s research centre there from 1973 to 20124. Wanting colour in the sliced apples then appearing in snack packs, he planted three red-fleshed varieties from a Michigan nursery; their fruit was poor, so he raised seedlings from them after Honeycrisp had pollinated them4. Capital Press reported that he had planted the state’s first Honeycrisp trees on his farm near Prosser in 19944.

The patent records TC2 as an open-pollinated seedling of Airlie Red Flesh from 2001, most likely fathered by Honeycrisp, and chosen in 2010 for the quality of its fruit and the red colour of its flesh1,2; Howell TC3, from the same parentage, was selected the same year2. Howell applied for a patent on 31 December 2014, and US Plant Patent 28,545 was granted on 24 October 20171,2.

The fruit is sold under the trade mark Lucy Rose2,3, one of the Lucy family of trade marks with Lucy Glo and Lucy Gem3. Proprietary Variety Management of Yakima chose the names with focus groups and oversees the release, and Chelan Fresh Marketing and Stemilt Growers were licensed to grow, pack and sell the fruit4. The first Lucy apples, a “couple thousand boxes”, came from the 2018 crop, and about 8,000 boxes of 18 kg (40 lb) from the 2019 crop4. A second cultivar, Howell TC11, is now also listed under Lucy Rose3.

The fruit

The fruit is medium-sized and rounded, about 7.4 cm wide and as tall, and weighs about 180 g1,2. A red blush covers about 90 per cent of the yellow skin1,2. The flesh is red marked with white, crisp and very juicy, with a faint aroma, 15 °Brix and a sweet-tart taste with notes of berry1,2; its marketer calls it sweet with a hint of berry5. In the patent trials at Prosser and Wapato it ripened about seven days after Honeycrisp1,2; Proprietary Variety Management gives mid-September, and early October for Howell TC113. It keeps well for four months in common storage1.

Growing

The tree is of low to moderate vigour1,2. At Prosser it began to flower on 23 April and was in full bloom on 2 May, about three days after Honeycrisp, with pink flowers1. It proved hardy at Prosser and Wapato, and no resistance or susceptibility to disease was noted1. Howell has said that his red-fleshed apples do best on cooler, high sites, and that a shortage of such sites limits them4.

Uses

The patent gives it for fresh sale and processing1. Chelan Fresh presents it as a crisp snacking apple, for salads and for baking; Lucy apples are in the shops from about October to February5.

Where the sources disagree

  • Parentage. The patent records an open-pollinated seedling of Airlie Red Flesh, with Honeycrisp only the likely pollen parent1, and the register lists Airlie Red Flesh, open-pollinated2; Proprietary Variety Management and Chelan Fresh call it a cross of Airlie Red Flesh and Honeycrisp3,5. Howell himself called the red-fleshed parent a crab apple4.
  • When it was selected. In 2010 according to the patent and the register1,2; Capital Press reported that Howell had the apple by 20094.

Family tree

Parents, grandparents and great-grandparents, as the entries in the atlas record them.

  • Howell TC2 United States, 2001
Newell-Kimzey Honeycrisp Howell TC2
Where Howell TC2 came from. The lines lead to its parents: Newell-Kimzey (United States) and Honeycrisp (United States).

Sources

  1. Apple tree named 'Howell TC2' (US Plant Patent 28,545), William Edward Howell, inventor; Google Patents, 2017-10-24. Supports: variety denomination 'Howell TC2'; inventor William Edward Howell; application filed 31 December 2014, granted 24 October 2017; created in a planned breeding programme at Prosser, Washington, from "an open pollination cross in 2001" of Airlie Red Flesh (seed parent) "with the likely pollen parent being 'Honeycrisp'"; selected in 2010 for fruit quality and red flesh; description from the 2013 and 2017 seasons at Prosser and Wapato; tree vigour low to moderate; first bloom 23 April and full bloom 2 May at Prosser; Table 1: pink bloom, 3 days after Honeycrisp; fruit 7.4 cm wide and 7.4 cm high, 180 g, rounded; yellow ground with a red blush over 90 per cent; white lenticels; flesh red with white, crisp and very juicy; 15 °Brix; faint aroma; harvest about 7 days after Honeycrisp; "Crisp, juicy, sweet-tart with berry notes"; "Stores well in common storage for 4 months"; hardy at Prosser and Wapato; no disease resistance or susceptibility noted; use "Fresh Market and processing".
  2. Register of New Fruit and Nut Cultivars List 50: Apple (Howell TC2), Ksenija Gasic, John E. Preece and David Karp; apple section by Sarah Kostick and Kate Evans; HortScience 55(7): 1164–1201 (read in the Internet Archive's copy of the journal page), 2020. Supports: entry "Howell TC2 (Lucy Rose)" and the cross-reference "Lucy Rose. See Howell TC2"; origin Prosser, Washington, by W. E. Howell; "Airlie Red Flesh O.P.; crossed 2001; selected 2010"; USPP 28,545 of 24 October 2017; fruit medium, 7.4 cm across, rounded, 90 per cent red over a yellow ground; flesh red, crisp, very juicy; sweet-tart with notes of berry; ripens 7 days after Honeycrisp; vigour low to moderate; Howell TC3 from the same parentage, crossed 2001 and selected 2010.
  3. Lucy Rose, Proprietary Variety Management (PVM), Brandt's Fruit Trees. Supports: the cultivars "Howell TC2" and "Howell TC11" listed under the trade mark Lucy Rose; the Lucy family "licensed under the tradenames" Lucy Glo, Lucy Rose and Lucy Gem; parentage given as "Arlie Red Flesh x Honeycrisp"; harvest "TC2 mid-September, TC11 early October".
  4. New apple varieties red inside and out, Dan Wheat, Capital Press, 2019-12-31. Supports: Bill Howell the breeder and grower in Prosser; a research technologist in plant virology at Washington State University's Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center in Prosser from 1973 to 2012; his farm near Prosser, where he "planted the first Honeycrisp apples in the state" in 1994; the wish for colour in sliced-apple snack packs; three red-fleshed varieties planted from a Michigan nursery, "not very good quality fruit"; seed collected from them after pollination by Honeycrisp; "by 2009" he had what he later trademarked as Lucy Rose and Lucy Glo; Howell calling the other parent "a crab apple"; Proprietary Variety Management of Yakima choosing the names with focus groups and overseeing commercialisation; Chelan Fresh Marketing and Stemilt Growers licensed to grow, pack and sell; a "couple thousand boxes" sold from the 2018 crop and about 8,000 40-pound boxes from the 2019 crop; finding enough cooler, high-elevation sites, where they grow best, the limiting factor.
  5. Lucy Apple, Chelan Fresh. Supports: Lucy Rose "a sweet flavor with a hint of berry", red outside and naturally red inside; "the perfect crisp, snacking apple", for fresh salads and baking; Lucy apples in shops "from about October – February"; presented as a cross of Honeycrisp and Airlie Red Flesh.

All 235 varieties from United States