For 20-plus years, an apple created by Washington State University has been known by a mix of numbers and initials. It’s now time for apple lovers to give WA 64 a name.

An online contest at https://wa64contest.com seeks a name for this pink-hued, firmly crisp, sweet and tart apple.

“It’s taken more than two decades to bring WA 64 from a single tree to release,” said Jeremy Tamsen, director of innovation and commercialization for WSU’s College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences. “We hope it makes a big splash in the market, but we need the right name.”

A hybrid of Honeycrisp and Cripps Pink, a variety better known as the trademarked Pink Lady apple, WA 64 has outstanding eating and storage qualities, according to WSU.

First bred in Wenatchee in 1998, WA 64 was trialed at a handful of research orchards in Washington and then officially released last summer. Trees will be widely available to the state’s growers in 2026, with the apple itself reaching grocery stores in 2029. WSU is selecting a commercial licensee to manage the rollout to growers.

WA 64’s release follows the successful launch in 2019 of Cosmic Crisp, a cross of Enterprise and Honeycrisp that is now among the 10 best-selling U.S. apple varieties by sales and volume.

Royalties from sales of trees and apples support apple breeding research at WSU. Funded by the Washington State Department of Agriculture and the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission, scientists are also studying the best ways to grow and harvest WA 64.

Source: CAHNRS News/WSU