Most tasters found little difference between Imperial Mcintosh, Macfree, and 

 Nova Easy-gro. While all had similar textures Nova Easy-gro, and Macfree were 

 judged to have slightly less flavor than Imperial Mcintosh. Wi 61345-2 was 

 generally agreed to be a tasty and slightly tart apple. While not as firm as 

 Imperial Mcintosh, NY 61345-2 was rated as the first choice of most tasters. 

 Liberty compared well with Imperial Mcintosh, but was not as sweet and did 

 not store as well. 



When tasters were shown nonlabelled fruit of all the cultivars, all comments 

 were favorable. More than 80% of the tasters agreed that they would purchase 

 the fruit if available in roadside stands or in supermarkets. 



In 1983, we will be adding the following new cultivars to our planting: 



Redfree: Redfree is a medium size (2-3/4") apple with 90% good red 



color and smooth, waxy, russet-free skin. Flesh is white, 

 crisp and juicy. Retains quality for two months or more in 

 storage. Fruit ripens 3 weeks before Prima and 7 weeks before 

 Delicious. Immune to scab and cedar rust, moderately resistant 

 to fire blight and mildew. 



Jonaf ree: Closely resembles and matures with Jonathan. Fruits are 

 2-1/2 to 2-3/4", 75% medium red, with a smooth russet-free 

 skin. Flesh is pale, crisp, and juicy. Immune to scab and 

 resistant to fire blight and cedar-apple rust. Moderately 

 susceptible to mildew. Fruit hangs well to maturity and do 

 not develop Jonathan spot. 



King Luscious : A very large, highly-colored apple with good keeping, eating 

 and cooking qualities. The skin is a deep red with a beautiful 

 bloom. The flesh is pure white, with excellent flavor. Season 

 of ripening is with Rome Beauty and Stayman, although it may 

 be picked sooner for cooking purposes. The tree is a young 

 and annual bearer, blooming a week after Rome Beauty, to 

 make it almost completely frost-proof. The tree is semi- 

 dwarf in habit, sets it scaffold branches well, and needs 

 little pruning. Both tree and fruit are resistant to apple 

 scab. U.S. Plant Patent No, 1994. 



Redfree and Jonaf ree are being obtained from Hilltop Nurseries. King 

 Luscious will come from Bountiful Ridge Nurseries. 



All of the trees in the Disease Resistance block will be labelled this 

 spring by name. Please feel free to examine them when you visit the Horticultural 

 Research Center. For additional information on disease resistant apple trees, 

 contact Dr. William J. Manning in the Department of Plant Pathology. 



This activity is supported by the Massachusetts Cooperative Extension Service. 



