Black Diamond Apples

[rsivulka]

Just came across this article.

[marknmt]

Reminds me of Red Delicious, but without the waist. Be fun to try.

[Paul]

I saw this article several times and I really think it’s just a photoshopped Red Delicious/Red Chief or some other bud mutation. I have seen similar ones with black strawberry too

[applenut]

Still think King David is prettier and tops in flavor; I’m not interested in any sport of Red Delicious.

[tjasko]

When you guys say you think these are fake, what are you picturing? Do you think the article is made up, or the farmers are dying their apples?

[ILParadiseFarm]

It pretty much says it in the article, these are a variety called Chinese red delicious, probably a sport or maybe not. The only real thing that makes them unique is the exposure to the sun they get and the weather conditions of that climate. We’ve seen this in other apples, the same apple growing at 2 different locations, one turns red the other almost black. We see it a lot in pears too, some people can grow pears that turn bright red while for others they always stay yellow. There is a thread here on the forum that discusses this in detail I believe.

Calling them black diamond when they are really red delicious is the lie but if I were trying to sell them I wouldn’t want to call them red delicious either. Did the photographer use trickery in his images? I don’t know, compare the image below with a normal red delicious apple. There are some darker ones in the bottom photo but none that are dark purple looking. It could be unique if it is a sport but I would bet if you or I got a hold of a scion and grew it, it would not look like it does in the top photo.

It’s not as over faked as this…

Chinese gardeners grow black diamond apples, which are sold in limited quantities and are presented in gift packaging of 6-8 pieces.

Grade Hua-Niu developed by vaccinations. The apples have a brilliant purple color and a pleasant texture, said Yu Wenxin, head of the company Dandong Tianluo Sheng Nong E-Commerce Trade Co., Ltd.

Unique apples grow in Ningchi (Tibet), where there is a lot of sunshine and there is a big difference between day and night temperatures, www.agroxxi.ru writes.

The garden occupies 50 hectares, it was founded in 2012. Only in 2015, 20 thousand trees brought the first quality fruits. In 2017, production will be about 50 kg. Black apples will be put on the market at the end of the year.

Now looking at this image… I don’t know?

[marknmt]

I have seen RD in the groceries here in Montana that are pretty black-red, especially toward the bottom end. Those apples were from Washington state.

[ILParadiseFarm]

Those Red Delicious apples above in the sample photo are from Washington State too. The title said so on the image anyway.

These ones are from outer space I believe…

[BlueBerry]

I’ll wager one thing, it tastes better than Red Delicious from Kroger I bet you!
Partly because it is tree-ripened.

[fruitnut]

Apple color and shape are highly dependent on weather. Warmer areas have fatter/squatter/shorter apples and they have less color. Also those RD with the waist have likely been sprayed with a growth regulator. That’s in addition to weather factors that induce a longer apple.

[Pioneeress]

So are the dark purple apples pictured King David? Also would Arkansas Black apples darkened if in a particular climate?

[castanea]

I have no doubt the Chinese are growing a dark apple variety they call Black Diamond. I also have no doubt they are manipulating the photos to make it darker than it really is. I have no doubt they are exaggerating most if not all of its good qualities. The article says it is somehow related to the Huaniu variety from New Zealand that looks a little like Red Delicious. The Chinese sometimes try to sell Huaniu by claiming it is Red Delicious. It isn’t, and if it were the Chinese probably would never eat it. They don’t like apples like Red Delicious. More than half the apples sold in China are Fuji or cultivars related to Fuji.

[applenut]

Yes, these are King David. This one below is grown in Riverside, CA with the bloom polished off. The bloom makes them look a bit darker when picked off the tree.

Arkansas Black also colors up well in the heat, the below apples are from Orange County by the former El Toro marine base

[Kartik141]

Can anyone will help me to buy the black diamond apple plants please if you guys have any information please share

[castanea]

I don’ think there’s any way to buy them except to visit the area where they are grown, or talk to a wholesale fruit seller in Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou.

[Arhus76]

I saw someone on FB who proposed it, but I can not find the link … nor the group.

[rsivulka]

The problem is that even if this turns out to be genuine, there’s no way you’re just going to get it shipped to you with all the regulations we have about trees, seeds, and produce coming into our country.

[castanea]

You would need a USDA import permit for plants but I don’t think there’s any chance that anyone in China would sell these trees, or wood from these trees. The best you could do would be to eat some fruits in China and bring in the seeds.

[rsivulka]

Seeds with a permit. I tried bringing seeds in last year from France and they were all confiscated. I had no idea of the rules. Nonetheless, seeds from apples don’t yield the same variety.

[castanea]

I know the seedlings will not be the same, but they may have some of the good qualities of this fruit. The tree producing this fruit may be a seedling of Huaniu and it does apparently have some similarities to Huaniu.