THE secret history of the Herefordshire cider apple could soon be uncovered by scientists at a top university.
Herefordshire-based cider company Bulmers is ploughing cash into research into the ancestry of the cider apple, being led by Dr Barrie Juniper, Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow in the University of Oxford's plant sciences department.
Apples have been shown to have genetic links to ancient wild fruit, still found in isolated areas of central Asia and China.
However, research has never focused on the cider apple until Dr Juniper trekked to the remote areas and collected DNA samples of the wild fruit.
"Modern techniques could yield conclusive proof of what genetics and plant scientists have only assumed," said Chris Fairs, orchards adviser at Bulmers.
The research team will collect leaf samples from the county's old cider apple trees and hope to analyse the fruit's origins using molecular biological analysis.
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