A Devon cider company is working with scientists from the University of Bristol to identify and preserve unique and threatened varieties of apple trees.
Sandford Orchards, which has the oldest working mill in the UK, said the “ground-breaking research” was aiming to fingerprint thousands of cider apple trees in order to locate and propagate different varieties.
Experts have spent the summer taking DNA samples from hundreds of Sandford Orchards’ trees including in the older orchards in the Crediton area.
Keith Edwards, professor of crop genetics at Bristol University, is leading the research which aims to identify and map the traditional cider apple varieties.
By punching a small hole in leaves from individual trees, his team is able to collect samples for DNA testing, while geographically tagging the particular tree using the What3Words geo-positioning system.
Professor Edwards explained: “We thought that, being well-established orchards, we might only find a few different cider apple varieties in each, but that has not been the case. We have fingerprinted around 400 samples and I believe there will be a great many different varieties, many of them unique.”
Sandford Orchards is waiting for the results of the research but Barny Butterfield, chief cidermaker at the company, said the outcome "could only be positive” for the environment - and cider lovers.
He said by mapping the apple trees, Sandford Orchards would be able to preserve them for future generations and ensure diversity of stock.
“Apples are at the heart of everything that we do,” he said. “We take our stewardship of these precious natural wonders very seriously."
Mr Butterfield said using genetic-fingerprinting techniques the business has been able to map particular varieties
“[We can] see where it crops up in places like Devon and Somerset," he added.
"That allows us to start building the picture so that hopefully we can reclaim some old varieties which make great cider.
“You only need one apple tree to propagate a whole new orchard so once we have identified key varieties that we would like to increase our stock of we can start planning for the future. Using the new techniques we will find apples that could be important in changing the type of ciders we make."
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