Scarlet Gala . This strain produces a striped red 

 fruit that may have better flavor than other red-color- 

 ing strains. 



Spur Gala-Go-Red . This striped strain is the only 

 spur-type Gala that has been identified. It is reported 

 that Spur-Gala-Go-Red may produce larger, earlier- 

 coloring, and brighter fruit than Royal Gala. This 

 strain is not included in our trial but it is on order for 

 delivery in 1990. 



Galaxy . It is a well-colored, solid-blush strain with 

 a dark overstripe. Trees of this strain are not presently 

 available. 



Jonagold 



This cultivar was released in 1 968 by the New York 

 Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva and is a 

 cross between Golden Delicious and Jonathan. It has 

 become very popular in Europe, especially in Belgium 

 and Holland. Jonagold consistently receives high rat- 

 ings for flavor. Last year Jonagold was the best tasting 

 (except maybe for Gala) of all apples evaluated at the 

 Horticultural Research Center. However, it may not 

 have a long storage life. By the end of November acid 

 levels had declined to the point where the taste was 

 bland. Previous to that point, it was a superior and 

 outstanding apple. 



Jonagold is a large yellow apple with a red blush or 

 cheek. It requires at least as much if not more direct 

 sunlight for red color to develop than Mcintosh. It is 

 reported to ripen with Golden Delicious. We feel that 

 it should have been harvested between October 4 and 

 8 at the Horticultural Research Center. It is a triploid, 

 so the trees are vigorous and cannot be used as polliniz- 

 ers for other cultivars. There are many red-coloring 

 strains of Jonagold, but these have not been evaluated 

 extensively. 



There was intense interest in Jonagold in the 

 Pacific Northwest until recently. However, two abnor- 

 mally warm growing seasons exposed the susceptibil- 

 ity of Jonagold to sunscald and reduced fruit quality. 

 Consequently, Jonagold probably will be grown only in 

 the cooler areas in the Northwest. The cool nights and 

 sunny days in September and early October, climatic 

 conditions which make New England an ideal place to 

 grow Mcintosh, may also make New England the best 

 place in the United States to grow Jonagold. The 

 quality of this apple is excellent at harvest. The biggest 

 question about Jonagold is how long can it be kept in 

 storage before becoming bland and unappealing. 



A number of red-coloring strains of Jonagold have 

 been identified, but few are presently available. We 

 will attempt to keep growers in New England updated 

 as these strains become available and reliable informa- 

 tion is generated. 



Cultivars That Show Considerable 



Promise That Are Worthy of at Least 



Limited Planting 



Red Fuji 



We reported in an earlier article [Fruit Notes 

 54(1):10] on the Red Fuji apples grown at the Horticul- 

 tural Research Center. We have observed some of 

 these fruit periodically from regular storage. Of the 

 apples that we grow, these fruit appear to maintain 

 flavor and firmness in regular storage much longer 

 than any other. Pressure tests made on March 28, 1989 

 after 22 weeks in regular storage, revealed that flesh 

 firmness averaged over 16 lbs. Fruit harvested with a 

 green ground color averaged over 18 lbs and their 

 flavor was still very good. Fruit that were hai-vested 

 with a yellowish-green giound color were somewhat 

 bland and flesh firmness averaged about 14.5 lbs. 



This cultivar is being planted extensively in Cali- 

 fornia and the Pacific Northwest. Fuji normally has a 

 red or pink cheek on a greenish yellow ground color. 

 Even the red-coloring strains do not develop the in- 

 tense red color characteristic of red-coloring strains of 

 other apple cultivars. However, growers in the North- 

 east may have an advantage growing it since red color 

 and desirable acid levels should develop more in our cli- 

 mate. In 1988 it ripened at about the same time as 

 Rome Beauty. It is a vigorous tree and we feel that it 

 should be grown on rootstocks no more vigorous than 

 M.26. 



There are several red-coloring strains available but 

 all are largely untested in this country. We currently 

 have 4 strains of Red Fuji under evaluation at the 

 Horticultural Research Center. 



Liberty 



Of the disease-resistant cultivars available, Lib- 

 erty is clearly the one with the highest fruit quality. 

 However, Liberty should not be considered as a spe- 

 cialty cultivar to be gi-own only in situations where no 

 fungicides are used. Liberty is an apple that should be 

 grown on its own merits. In taste tests conducted in 

 Oregon and Washington and reported by Bob Stebbins 

 at the most recent New England Fruit Meetings, Lib- 

 erty was rated equal to or higher than Empire. It is a 

 medium-sized, oblate fruit with red color over a yellow 

 ground color, veiy similar in appearance to Empire. It 

 is crisp and juicy, and qualities of one of its parents, 

 Macoun, are quite apparent. It ripens with Empire. 

 Trees are semivigorous and productive. It is likely that 

 Liberty trees will require thinning to the same degree 

 as Empire to obtain adequate fruit size. 



Fruit Notes, Summer, 1989 



