Why Citizen Scientists Are Working to Cultivate New Apple Varieties Apr 05, 2021 Long before scientists started breeding varieties, new types of apples spawned naturally over many years. Photography by Ellen Cavalli
Ellen Cavalli has a modest apple-hoarding problem. On the back porch of her home, located on the Sonoma County farm where she makes cider with her husband, sits a large refrigerator filled with her collection of more than 100 different kinds of apples and crab apples which have names like Arkansas Black, Dabinett, Hewe’s Virginia, Rhode Island Greening and Porter’s Perfection as well as a small handful of pears and quince.