MN55

An early Minnesota apple from a 1997 Honeycrisp cross; sold under the trade marks First Kiss and Rave

Origin: Excelsior, Minnesota (University of Minnesota), United States, 1997
Raised by: David Bedford and James Luby, University of Minnesota
Parentage: Honeycrisp × AA-44 Honeycrisp (female) × AA-44, a selection from an Arkansas breeding programme also called Monark (male), cross AE 97102 of 1997, as the plant patent records.
Uses: Dessert
Picked: August, in Excelsior, Minnesota
Keeps: 150 to 180 days in common storage at about 1 °C, according to the patent; up to five months, according to the university
Skin: Smooth, with some hammered mottling and a light bloom; 75 to 95 per cent red over yellow-green, with a little russet around the stalk
Flesh: Very crisp, coarse and juicy, keeping its texture in storage
Flavour: Somewhat acid when picked early, well balanced when fully ripe; called lively and tart by the university
Sold as: First Kiss; Rave (trade marks)

History

In the late 1990s the University of Minnesota’s apple breeders David Bedford and James Luby set out to breed an apple with the taste and texture of Honeycrisp that could be picked by the Labor Day weekend². Their cross AE 97102, made in 1997, used Honeycrisp as the female parent and, as the male, AA-44, an early-ripening selection from the University of Arkansas’s breeding programme also known as Monark^1,2. They selected one seedling, tree 181 in row 14 of block 80C at the university’s research centre at Excelsior, first propagated it by budding in 1998 and observed it there for ten years¹.

US Plant Patent 26,412, applied for in February 2014, was granted on 16 February 2016, with Bedford and Luby as inventors¹; the university gives 2016 as the year of release⁴. In 2018, when the first fruit was due in Minnesota, the university called it the 27th apple its breeding programme had released².

The university describes First Kiss apples as brands of the MN55 cultivar, which is protected by plant patent in the United States and by plant breeders’ rights in other countries³. Fruit grown in Minnesota is sold under the trade mark First Kiss^2,4; fruit grown elsewhere was licensed exclusively to Stemilt Growers of Wenatchee, Washington, to be sold under the trade mark Rave². Both marks are registered to the university^2,3. In 2026 Rave was licensed through the university’s Superior Fruit Innovations programme, meant for direct-market orchards³.

The fruit

The fruit is medium to large, 7.1 to 7.6 cm across and 6.3 to 6.9 cm high, round-conical and mostly symmetrical, and weighs 195.2 g on average¹. The smooth skin, with some hammered mottling and a light bloom, is 75 to 95 per cent red over a yellow-green ground, with a little russet around the stalk¹. The flesh is very crisp, coarse and juicy, and keeps its texture and juice in storage; cut, it browns to a medium degree¹. The patent finds the flavour somewhat acid when picked early but well balanced when fully ripe, with 0.74 per cent titratable acidity and 13.7° Brix¹; the university calls the apple scarlet, “extraordinarily juicy” and lively and tart^2,4.

At Excelsior it ripens about the third week of August, one to two weeks before Minneiska and three to four weeks before Honeycrisp^1,2. It keeps for 150 to 180 days in common storage at about 1 °C, which the patent calls unusually long for an early apple¹.

Growing

The tree is vigorous and upright to spreading, bearing on both spurs and shoots, and is hardy in USDA zone 4¹, or 4A according to the university⁴. It showed no resistance to apple scab on leaves or fruit, has some tendency to crop in alternate years, and is self-incompatible¹.

Uses

The patent describes it as a fresh-market apple, particularly suited for dessert¹.

Where the sources disagree

Storage. 150 to 180 days in common storage, according to the patent¹; up to five months after harvest, according to the university’s list of its varieties⁴.

Family tree

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

MN55 United States, 1997
- Seed parent Honeycrisp United States, about 1960
  - Parent Keepsake United States, 1936
    - Parent MN 447
    - Parent Northern Spy United States, about 1800
  - Parent MN1627
- Pollen parent AA-44

Where MN55 came from.

Sources

Apple tree named 'MN55' (US Plant Patent 26,412), David Bedford and James Luby, inventors; Regents of the University of Minnesota, assignee; Google Patents, 2016-02-16. Supports: varietal denomination 'MN55'; selected as tree 181 in row 14 of block 80C at a research centre in Excelsior, Minn., from cross AE 97102 made in 1997 between Honeycrisp, the female parent, and AA-44 (syn. Monark), a selection from an Arkansas breeding programme, the male parent; first propagated by budding in 1998 at Excelsior; ten years of observation there; priority date 13 March 2013, filed 18 February 2014, granted 16 February 2016; ripening about the third week of August at Excelsior, one to two weeks before Minneiska and three to four weeks before Honeycrisp; fruit globose-conical, mostly symmetrical, 7.1–7.6 cm across and 6.3–6.9 cm high, average 195.2 g; skin smooth with some hammered mottling, light bloom, 75 to 95% red over a yellow-green ground, very little russet, around the stalk; texture "very crisp and course; retained during storage", juicy; flavour "somewhat acidic when harvested early but well balanced at full maturity"; 0.74 titratable acidity, 13.7° Brix; flesh browning medium; storage life "150 to 180 days in common stage (average temperature of 34° F.)", unusually long for an early variety and longer than Minneiska's; tree upright to spreading, vigorous, bearing on spurs and shoots; no observed resistance to apple scab; USDA zone 4; some tendency to be biennial; self-incompatible; for fresh fruit, "particularly suitable as a dessert apple".
UMN plant breeders introduce First Kiss Apple, University of Minnesota, 2018-08-07. Supports: work begun in the late 1990s by David Bedford and Jim Luby to breed an apple with the taste and texture of Honeycrisp ready to pick by the Labor Day weekend; Honeycrisp crossed with "an early ripening variety from the University of Arkansas known as 'AA44'"; trials at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum's Horticultural Research Center; harvest in mid- to late August, up to four weeks before Honeycrisp; scarlet red, with a "lively, tart flavor"; the first, limited supply in Minnesota due in autumn 2018; the 27th apple released by the breeding programme; fruit grown outside Minnesota under an exclusive licence with Stemilt Growers of Wenatchee, Washington, marketed as Rave, and only Minnesota-grown fruit as First Kiss; Rave and First Kiss (MN55 cultivar) registered trade marks of the University.
Apple licensing & commercialization, Minnesota Hardy, University of Minnesota. Supports: "First Kiss apples are brands of the MN55 apple cultivar", protected by the US Plant Patent Act and by plant breeders' rights in other countries; Rave (MN55) licensed through the University's Superior Fruit Innovations programme, a licensing model "developed to give direct-market orchards access" to its varieties; Rave and First Kiss registered trade marks of the Regents of the University of Minnesota.
All University of Minnesota Apple Varieties, Minnesota Hardy, University of Minnesota. Supports: Rave and First Kiss: "Extraordinarily juicy", tart and deeply coloured, ripening early but keeping "for up to five months post-harvest"; the First Kiss name identifying Minnesota-grown fruit; hardy to zone 4A; ripening mid- to late August; released in 2016.