Summary 



More spur-type trees than standard- type trees can be planted 

 per acre because they are smaller. Allegedly, yields per acre will 

 be higher on spur-type trees but data to support this claim are 

 limited. In this study, the spur-type and standard- type strains 

 have been equally fruitful. 



Among the standard- type strains Turner Red was more productive 

 per tree than Richared and Red Prince. Unfortunately under our 

 conditions, red color on Turner Red fruits lacked somewhat in uni- 

 formity. 



Fruits of Royal Red, Starkrimson, Sturdeespur and Rogers Red 

 were rated highest for color. Gardner Red appears suitable for growers 

 who like bright red color rather than dark red color. Based on the 

 severity of water core at harvest, the fruits of Starkrimson seemed 

 to mature somewhat later than those of the other strains. 



A**** A ************** 



SPUR-STRAINS OF MCINTOSH 



William J. Lord 

 Department of Plant and Soil Sciences 



Spur-strains of Mcintosh are now common in Massachusetts. The 

 question was asked about how they differ from their parent - Summer- 

 land Red Mcintosh - and from each other. 



Strains common in Massachusetts are Macspur, Morspur and Stark- 

 spur (Gatzke strain) , all of which originated in British Columbia. 

 Dr. D. V. Fisher discussed the origin and characteristics of these 

 strains in Fruit Varieties and Horticultural Digest , Vol. 24, in 1970. 

 Strain B (Macspur) was discovered in a small block of Mcintosh on 

 seedling roots planted in 1960 or 1961 in the Mervyn Greenslade 

 Orchard in Summerland. Strain C [Starkspur (Gatzke strain)] occurred 

 as a single tree sport on a seedling rootstock planted in about 1960 

 in Oyama. Six apparently identical whole tree mutants occurred in 

 a large block in the Kelowna district. These were designated as 

 strain D and later named Morspur. 



Lapins and Fisher in 1974 ( Can. J. Plant Sci 54:359-361) reported 

 that the degree of spuriness was very high in Morspur and Macspur, 

 high in Dewar (Strain E) , and moderate in Starkspur. However, in 

 our commercial orchards in New England, we are finding that the degree 

 of spuriness is highly variable in Macspur, with some trees exhibiting 

 branching and spur development characteristic of standard Mcintosh . 



