New Varieties Of Apples Coming Up

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30810, 23 July 1965, Page 6

New Varieties Of Apples Coming Up

“Cox's Orange Pippin.” . "Golden Queen.” "Billington,” "Winter Cole;" these are but a few of the many well- [ known fruit variety names. [Soon, however, we may be[come familiar with quite a [number of new ones. i The Fruit Research Division is constantly trying the more popular kinds and vari-i efies of fruits grown in other [ ■ countries, to test their suitability in New Zealand I Experiments are also being made to produce new or improved forms from existing stock, and of course there are always these lucky finds which may crop up in the home garden or the commercial orchard. One of the most prominent chance finds of recent years is the apple, Seedling 77 This has now been officially named Splendour by the American nursery which bought the overseas patent rights. The seedling was found in a Napier garden and it closely resembles a Golden Delicious but for the colour of the skin, which is a bright rose-red wash almost completely covering a pale ’yellow ground colour. Flesh [is yellow, firm, very juicy and [ sweet. [ It has been found to be I of exceptional quality and keeps well. The fruit is persistent on the tree, crops heavily and apparently regularly so, but bears a characteristic of the Golden Delicious in that its thin skin renders it rather more easily liable to injury from careless spraying and bruising from rough handling. It ripens after Rome Beauty. APPLE CROSS Freyberg is another new apple introduction which is already available for planting in the garden. It is the result of a cross between a Golden Delicious and a Cox's Orange Pippin. The skin is predominantly yellow with a faint tinge of red all over. The flesh is crisp, pale yellow, juicy and sweet. It ripens early in April. From Canada comes a new variety of the Mclntosh type, which has been heavily planted on the Nort American continent. It is called Spartan and it ripens a few days before Jonathan to which it is considered superior. It is dark red in colour with darker stripes and has a white, crisp flesh which is both very juicy and sweet. It has proved to be a heavy cropper.

producing regular crops of good quality apples which keep longer than Jonathan. Mr Kidd, who perpetuated the Kidd’s Orange Red. has raised another apple. Kidd’s D. 8. which appears likely to be as good if not better than his first success. Kidd's D. 8 is a seedling of Kidd's Orange Red Cross with Golden Delicious. Maturing at approximately the same time as Cox’s Orange Pippin it is a yellow apple with bright scarlet stripes and resembles a Golden Delicious in shape and has the same long stalk. It is yellow fleshed, firm, juicy, sweet and slightly aromatic. It has an extended harvesting period which is assisted by the persistence of the fruit on the tree and. although liable to damage from careless spraying, it has not been found susceptible to bitter pit. It has the attributes of being an excellent keeper. EARLY VARIETY Scarlet Pimpernel is a very early ripening apple which matures before even Irish Peach and Gravenstein: it is actually the earliest of those on trial in the Fruit Research Division to ripen. As is to be expected of an early season apple, it will not keep for very long, perhaps two weeks. It is pale cream in colour with a bright rose-red blush and darker stripes. The flesh is white and similar in other aspects to previously mentioned varieties although perhaps not as sweet. Scarlet Pimpernel is a red sport of the American variety Stark's Earliest. Some other apples of which more will be heard include the culinary variety Tyrrestrup, and such desert varieties as Braeburn. Early Mclntosh, Summerland and Lobo.