Meet Aaron, the 2025 recipient of the New Zealand Fruitgrowers Charitable Trust postgraduate scholarship. In this video, Aaron takes us through his fascinating Master’s project focused on the Jim Dunckley Heritage Orchard in Dunedin.
With over 10,000 heritage apple cultivars worldwide, records often get lost over time. Aaron is acting as an “Apple Detective,” using genotyping (DNA analysis) to identify lost varieties. By using 50,000 SNPs (DNA markers), he compares local samples against international databases to uncover the true identity of these trees.
Key Highlights of the Research:
- The Goal: To preserve genetic diversity and resilience for future breeding.
- The Method: Using “SNPs” (single mutations in DNA) to fingerprint apples. If the DNA matches, the apples are the same.
- The Findings: Out of 336 samples, 274 were successfully named. Interestingly, many trees were mislabeled in old records (e.g., trees labeled “Lord Lamborne” were actually “Granny Smith”).
- The Mystery: 62 apples remain unidentified. These may be unique, local New Zealand seedlings with no match in international databases.
- Future Work: Aaron plans to use pedigree analysis to build family trees for these mystery apples and sample more historic sites across Otago.