There’s nothing new in Greg Peck’s variety trials. At least, not in the way you might expect.

Rather, he’s giving old apple varieties, prized for cider making, a new look to see which could be promising performers in a modern, high-density orchard.

“We’re reinventing the wheel from a century ago,” said Peck, a horticulture professor at Cornell University, of his growing research program into how best to grow cider apples in New York.

But while the flavors that make good hard cider haven’t changed much in 100 years, efficient horticultural practices have evolved.

Meanwhile, the American cider industry boom — nearing a $1.3 billion industry according to recent estimates — has been built on dessert apples, sweet and sometimes sharp fruit designed for eating fresh, rather than traditional bittersharp and bittersweet fruit grown for cider.

Craft cider-makers are increasingly interested in traditional varieties, if they can get them.

A report released earlier this year by Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Harvest New York program found supply chain challenges are limiting industry growth: Cider-makers have trouble sourcing or affording cider apples, but growers are concerned about investing in unfamiliar cultivars with increased disease risks and question the long-term stability of the cider market.