Farming Innovation Programme: Research starter Round 3, full stage - Study of historic orchards, to find 'natural survivors' and assess for natural low-carbon potential, and climate survivability

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Saving unique apples, will help secure a brighter future for orchards apples and cider in the UK.There are apple varieties with amazing flavours, keeping qualities and the ability to survive the rapidly changing climate. But if we don't find them, they will be lost forever.Building on a micro trial which itself revealed several varieties unknown to any collection, we will scour the ancient orchards of the Westcountry, needing only a small piece of leaf from each tree, and using rapid sequencing, we will find the rare trees, sample and analyse the fruit - test it for eating, cooking and cider, and observe tree health.The results will give us back apples thought lost forever. We will be able to take a flavour Time Machine and understand what was important hundreds of years ago. Rediscovering ancient fruit also gives apple breeders access to genes thought lost, genes which may hold the key to climate survival.