Apple Cultivars for Puget Sound (EB 1436)
Crabapples for Western Washington Landscapes (EB1809). Photographs and descriptions of the best rated crabapples. Growing Jonagold in Western Washington (EB1804) Establishing and maintaining a commercial ‘Jonagold’ orchard. |
Apple Variety Trials
Apple Evaluations
Apple cultivar trials were begun in 1963 by Dr. Bob Norton. At that time the varieties available to home orchardists were often unsuited to local conditions, with problems of disease susceptibility, poor flavor and inferior keeping quality. In the years since, there have been notable improvements in variety selection for flavor, quality, disease resistance, and suitability for home garden production.
Several of the apples highly rated for home orchards have also proven suitable for commercial production. This is especially true where growers can make use of niche marketing or farm-market outlets to offer a specialized selection of high quality apples, with unique and distinctive flavor.
For a summary of apple variety trial results, see 2004 Annual Report
Complete list of apple cultivars and selections currently planted in 2007
Apple bloom data: Current Archive
Disease Resistant Apple Trials
Scab Immune Apple Trials
Cultivars and selections from various breeding programs have been on trial since 1990 in a separate block, which is not sprayed with fungicides, to evaluate the range of disease resistance. Most of the apples on trial, though immune to scab, are susceptible to other diseases such as powdery mildew.
EB 0937 Fruit Handbook for Western Washington: Varieties and Culture (Revised 2006) contains information on the best scab immune apples for home gardens.
Complete list of disease resistant apple varieties and selections 2007
For bloom data on disease resistant apples, see the apple bloom data, also listed above.
Disease Resistant Ornamental Crabapple Trial
Complete list of crabapples currently planted in 2007
Top Rated Crabapples for western Washington
Crabapple bloom data: Current Archive
Information on bloom duration and winter fruit persistence from the NCEP trial at Secrest Arboretum in Wooster, Ohio can be found in Ohio State University Bulletin: Duration of Fruit Effectiveness & Blossom Longevity in Ornamental Crabapples.
Perhaps the most comprehensive book on crabapples now available is Flowering Crabapples: The Genus Malus by the late Fr. John Fiala.
Cider Apple Test Plot
Hard Cider Apple Varieties
A small collection of cider apples specifically bred for hard cider production was evaluated from 1978 to 1998, selecting for variety productivity and ease of growing. In 1994 six new varieties were added in a larger planting, which was expanded in 1999 with new trees from varieties in the earlier trial. In 2001–2002 new varieties from France and England were added. Beginning In 2002, varietal ciders were produced on-station using fruit from the trial, with the advice of an expert cider maker. The ciders are then sampled and evaluated for quality and marketability.
Cider School Classes have been offered in collaboration with Peter Mitchell, an internationally known expert in hard cider and perry production from Worcester, England. The classes emphasize practical aspects of cider making and include intensive hands-on laboratory work as well as field trips to orchards and cideries.
The Northwest Cider Society is a group of cider makers and orchardists from western Washington, Oregon and British Columbia who have organized to promote the production and appreciation of hard (fermented) cider. President Ron Irvine can be contacted to find out more on their organization and activities.Cider apple varieties tested at Mount Vernon, 2007
Cider Apples Annual Report (2007) – Evaluation of Apple Cultivars for Hard Cider Production
Cider Apples Annual Report Archives
Old-time apple varieties, a list of apple varieties commonly found in old Pacific Northwest orchards compiled by R.A. Norton from an orchard reference book dated 1914.
Cultural Trials
Jonagold Test Plot Trials (1994–2001)
his plot was established in 1994 as a site for cultural research on commercial apple production, and was set up to duplicate the conditions (rootstock, tree spacing, training methods, etc.) and variety strains typical of area orchards. Four strains – standard Jonagold, DeCoster, King (Jored) and Jonagored – were planted on M9 rootstock at 800 trees per acre. Spacing was 12' between rows and 4.5' between trees, with 4 replications across the block for a total of 480 trees. Crabapple pollinators (White Angel and Centennial) were set in between each 12-tree section of row. Irrigation was by a drip system, and trees were trained to a 2-wire trellis using a variant of the central leader method. Research performed in this block included a nutrition study of potassium-magnesium, scab and mildew spray trials, and thinning trials. The trial concluded in 2001.
The bulletin EB 1804 Growing Jonagold in Western Washington includes information derived from this trial on establishing and maintaining a commercial ‘Jonagold’ orchard. It covers topics including orchard site selection, soil testing and amendment, nutrition requirements, spacing, rootstocks, pruning, and harvest, much of which is applicable to apple growing in general.
Jonagold Nutrition Studies
Jonagold Fertigation Trial Results
Completion Report: The Effect of Potassium and Magnesium Applied Fertility on Jonagold Apple Quality