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Falstaff, while its paternal grandparents are Royal Gal a and Braeburn. It's a bicolored apple that resembles Royal Gala in appearance and size, but doesn't split. Its blocky shape is reminiscent of European apples, but Don Zornes, sales manager at the Honey Bear Tree Fruit Company, said that gives Smitten "rack distinction" in the American grocery store. Steensma said he's thrilled that Smitten is bicolored, rather than red, because that will distinguish it on the retail shelf from the new strains of Gala, Fuji, and now Honeycrisp. But what growers really want to know is: Does it give high yields? Is it a grower-friendly tree? Does it crop annu- ally? Does it give good packouts? Steensma answers in the affirmative, noting that the fruit also has all the characteristics that consumers look for. It's crunchy, it's sweet, and it has great flavor. That's why the catch phrase for this variety is "Once bitten, for- ever Smitten." "And it's honestly true," Steensma said. "We've handed them to growers, and they're just flat hooked on these things." Zornes concurred: "Everyone we give Smitten to, they love it. We know we're onto something big." New Zealand Smitten (cultivar PremA17) originated from a cross made in 1995. It was named in 2010 when the New Zea- land marketing rights were assigned to Seventeen Lim- ited, a partnership of six New Zealand companies: D.M. Palmer NZ, ENZA, Heartland Group, Johnny Appleseed Holdings, Mr. Apple New Zealand, and PickMee Fruit Company. There are now between 100 and 150 acres planted in New Zealand. Pegasus Premium Fruit Company imported budwood into Washington State from New Zealand, and Brandt's www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER OCTOBER 2014 29 EUROPEAN CONSUMERS like bicolored apples E uropean consumers prefer bicolored apples and in some countries, including Germany, they associate dark red apples with mealiness. European Fruit Magazine reported recently on research by Katrin Korsten from the Nied- errhein University of Applied Sciences in Germany, who investigated whether consumers prefer a particular color of apple. Consumers said they preferred bicolored apples over single-colored apples, though it didn't matter whether the bicolored apples were red/green or red/yellow. They associated a combi- nation of red and yellow with sweetness, freshness, juiciness, naturalness, and harmony. In contrast, they associated a full dark red color with mealiness and judged them as artificial and unnatural. Green is associated with freshness, sourness, and underripeness. Korsten also had consumers evaluate different strains of certain varieties. With Gala, the dark- red Annaglo strain was judged less favorably than the orange/red striped Gala strain Jugala, while the dark-red striped Brookfield Gala was in the middle. —G. Warner For more information, see "Colour the most important consumer criterion for apples," European Fruit Magazine, June 2014 at www.fruitmagazine.eu. Smitten resembles its grandparent Gala but is less prone to splitting and stores well. "Everyone we give Smitten to, they love it. We know we're onto something big." — Don Zornes THANK YOU GOLFERS AND SPONSORS of the 21st Annual WSHA Memorial Scholarship Golf Tournament The tournament, held August 5, 2014, at the Lake Chelan Municipal Golf Course was another success! 2014 HEADLINE TOURNAMENT SPONSORS To learn more about the Washington State Horticultural Association Memorial Golf Tournament, contact WSHA: 2900 Euclid Avenue | Wenatchee, WA 98801 Phone (509) 665-9641 | Fax (509) 665-8541 | Web-site www.wahort.org WOMEN'S DIVISION First Place Stemilt Growers: Eva Lauve, Kristie Taylor, Paula Weedman, Mandy Hanko MEN'S DIVISION First Place Nichino America: Aaron Gale, Lee Gale, Neil Johnson, Greg McPherson 2014 FIRST PLACE TEAMS Visit www.wahort.org to view pictures and results from the tournament.