The World of Apples

Apple varieties, China

Huaguan

Bred in Zhengzhou, China, from Golden Delicious and Fuji; sold in North America under the trade mark Autumn Glory

History

Huaguan (华冠) was bred at the Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences2 from a cross of Golden Delicious and Fuji1. According to the breeders’ own papers it was named and published in 1990, in a report by Wang Yulin and his colleagues on the breeding of two new apples, Huaguan and Huashuai3. In 2004 the science and technology department of Henan province gave the institute a first-class award for breeding and spreading Huaguan and its spur-type form2.

By the late 1990s Huaguan was grown on more than 33,000 hectares, mainly in south-central Shanxi, east-central Shaanxi and western Henan; among new apples bred in China, only Qinguan covered more ground3. It was first taken abroad in 1996, with successful trials reported in 2000, and its fruit was first exported in 19973. A 2021 report on a study of the pedigrees of 273 Chinese-bred apples held it up as an example of what Golden Delicious and Fuji have given Chinese breeding: a mid- to late-season apple that bears early, crops heavily and reliably, adapts well and withstands stress1.

In North America the apple is sold under the trade mark Autumn Glory: the International Federation for Produce Standards’ database of price look-up codes lists Autumn Glory as another name for Huaguan, under code 36014, and Domex Superfresh Growers, founded in 1981 in Washington’s Yakima Valley, grows and markets it exclusively in North America, in central Washington5,6. In 2015 the firm’s vice-president of marketing called it “our trademarked variety”6. In 2011 the Chicago Tribune described Autumn Glory as a new variety, with only enough fruit for the West Coast7.

The fruit

A 2015 release announcing a promotion of the apple describes firm-fleshed, red-and-gold fruit with a sweet flavour and “just a hint of cinnamon”6; Superfresh Growers adds crispness and notes of caramel5, and the Tribune found it very sweet and juicy7. A 2013 Chinese patent application on growing Huaguan describes a smooth, thick, tough skin without russet and with small, sparse dots, and pale yellow, crisp, juicy flesh with a balanced, aromatic sweet-sour flavour8. In China it ripens around the Mid-Autumn Festival8; in the United States it is picked from mid- to late October7, and Superfresh sells it from October to June5.

Growing

According to the patent application, Huaguan begins to bear at three years and yields about 1,200 kg per mu (18 tonnes per hectare) at four years, and an average of up to 2,200 kg per mu (33 tonnes per hectare) at full bearing8. The crown is nearly round and half-spreading, with moderate branching; the tree fruits mainly on short and medium shoots and from axillary buds, bears well year after year and sets fruit freely, but it needs a pollinator such as Starking, Golden Delicious or Red Fuji8.

Uses

Superfresh Growers recommends it for eating fresh and for sweet and savoury dishes, juices and cocktails5.

Family tree

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

Offspring in the atlas

  • Huashuo × Meiba; China, approved 2009
Golden Delicious Fuji Huaguan
Where Huaguan came from. The lines lead to its parents: Golden Delicious (United States) and Fuji (Japan).

Sources

  1. 三百苹果品种按图索“亲” (Three hundred apple varieties traced to their parents; in Chinese), Wang Fang, China Science Daily (Zhongguo Kexue Bao), on ScienceNet, 2021-05-10. Supports: a report of a pedigree study of 273 apple cultivars bred in China, published in Scientia Agricultura Sinica; Golden Delicious and Delicious from the United States and Fuji from Japan as important parents in Chinese cross-breeding; Huaguan, bred from Golden Delicious × Fuji, a mid- to late-season cultivar with early bearing, high and stable yields, good adaptability, strong resistance to stress and good all-round characters.
  2. 中国农业科学院、省级科技奖励 (Academy and provincial science and technology awards; in Chinese), Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Supports: the institute, founded in 1960, a national research institution for fruit trees, apples among them; among its awards, a first-class award from the Henan Provincial Department of Science and Technology, dated 19 July 2004, for the breeding and extension of the apple cultivars Huaguan and spur-type Huaguan.
  3. 书稿中遇到“目前”“近几年”等词语，核实很重要！ (Checking "at present" and "in recent years" in manuscripts; in Chinese), Zhang Suming, China Agricultural University Press; Beijing Normal University Publishing Science Research Institute, 2023-01-10. Supports: citing the breeders' papers, among them Wang Yulin, Zhang Shunni, Guo Guonan and others, a breeding report on the new apple cultivars Huaguan and Huashuai (Journal of Fruit Science, 1990): Huaguan named and published in 1990; more than 33,000 hectares by the late 1990s, mainly in south-central Shanxi, east-central Shaanxi and western Henan, second in area only to Qinguan among China's own new apple cultivars; introduced abroad in 1996, with successful trials reported in 2000; export sales from 1997.
  4. PLU 3601: Apples, Huaguan, International Federation for Produce Standards (IFPS), PLU code database. Supports: price look-up code 3601 for apples of the variety Huaguan (Malus domestica), "AKA Autumn Glory".
  5. Autumn Glory, Superfresh Growers. Supports: Autumn Glory, marked as a registered trade mark, "grown and marketed exclusively in North America by Superfresh Growers"; grown in central Washington; sweet and crisp, with notes of caramel and cinnamon; to be eaten fresh or used in sweet and savoury dishes, juices and cocktails; conventional fruit available from October to June and organic from October to March.
  6. Domex Superfresh Growers partners with The Produce Mom to promote Autumn Glory apples, The Produce Mom (press release), Perishable News, 2015-02-04. Supports: Domex Superfresh Growers, founded in 1981 in Washington's Yakima Valley, "the exclusive grower and marketer of Autumn Glory apples"; Autumn Glory "a cross between Fuji and Golden Delicious apples"; "firm-fleshed, red-and-gold apples" with "a sweet flavor with just a hint of cinnamon"; "a perfect choice for snacks"; the firm's vice-president of marketing calling it "our trademarked variety".
  7. Age of the apple: RubyMac, Zestar and other new varieties cropping up, Susan Taylor, Chicago Tribune; archived copy, Internet Archive, 2011-09-14. Supports: Autumn Glory "A cross between a Fuji and a Golden Delicious", a new variety, very sweet and juicy with a hint of cinnamon; "Picked in mid- to late October"; supply then only enough for the West Coast.
  8. CN103548636A: 一种华冠苹果树的种植方法 (A method of planting Huaguan apple trees; patent application, in Chinese), Ning Feng, for Suzhou Xiangcheng District Weitang Fenghuangjing Agricultural Development Co.; via Google Patents, 2014-02-05. Supports: filed on 8 November 2013; its background: Huaguan bears in its third year, yields about 1,200 kg per mu at four years and an average of up to 2,200 kg per mu at full bearing; a nearly round crown, half-spreading, with medium branching and budding; fruit mainly on short and medium fruiting shoots, with strong continuous bearing, strong bearing from axillary flower buds and high fruit set; ripening usually around the Mid-Autumn Festival; a smooth skin without russet, with small, sparse dots, thick and tough; pale yellow flesh; a balanced sweet-sour, aromatic flavour; juicy, crisp and sweet; pollinators needed, Starking, Golden Delicious or Red Fuji, without which fruit set falls greatly.

  • Hanfu

    A cold-hardy cross of Dongguang and Fuji from Shenyang, grown on about 26,700 hectares around that city by 2016

    China, bred from 1978

  • Huashuo

    Bred in Zhengzhou from Meiba and Huaguan, an early August apple put forward as a Chinese-bred alternative to Gala

    China, approved 2009

  • Qinguan

    Bred in Shaanxi from Golden Delicious and Jiguan, it once covered 150,000 hectares of Chinese orchards

    China, by 1967