Bloom conditions for the nectarines were the same as for the peaches, and bloom was also later than usual for them. Hardired, a yellow fleshed nectarine ripe about 10-15 days after Redhaven, is looking better all the time as the best adapted of currently available nectarines. It is consistently productive, good flavored and attractive. Fruits tend to be small but will size well if thinned.

Productivity ratings of nectarine cultivars and selections, 2000

The Harrow selections HW 108 and HW 109 continue to perform well, although some cracking was seen in both this year. They are yellow fleshed with good color, flavor and texture. HW 108 ripens with Redhaven and HW 109 is about 5-7 days later. The white fleshed varieties Crystal Red and Crystal Rose have not matched their best (1998) but the young trees need further evaluation.

New: Fruiting for the first time this year was the Harrow selection HW 110, a colorful yellow fleshed nectarine ripe about a week after Redhaven. We look forward to seeing how it does in 2001.

Proposed Discard:
Arctic Glo – Cracks, not reliably productive
Arctic Rose – Unproductive
Arctic Queen – Unproductive
Crimson Snow – Unproductive
 

Plum

Weather was reasonably good for pollination throughout the plum bloom period, and most varieties set a good crop. In the early season, Early Laxton, Beauty and young trees of Methley were all productive. The two purple-leaf plums Cocheco and Hollywood both cropped well. Hollywood is the better flavored and more attractive of the two.

European plums Imperial Epineuse, Valor and Victory produced heavy crops of high quality fruit. Seneca produced a good yield of the usual high quality. All of these are proven producers, well worth trying in any fruit garden. Queen Victoria, a classic English variety ripe in mid season, was notably good this year. Longjohn, a European type introduced by Geneva, was productive, with distinctive long oval shaped fruit of good flavor. Schoolhouse, a yellow plum of local origin, produced a reliable crop this year, although some fruits showed cracking and gum pockets. Polly is a very late ripening Italian type, flavorful and moderately productive. The fruit tends to color early before it is truly ripe, so be careful not to pick too soon.

Plum ripening order 2000

Numbered selections from Geneva, New York are in process of evaluation. We will be checking on any that are likely to be introduced. One of the most interesting was NY 77.610.1, nicknamed "Rosy Gage" for its pink blushed appearance. It has dense, richly flavored flesh with very high sugar content, but several picks are needed for complete harvest. NY 71.387.1 is a smaller Italian type, firm and sweet, ripe in early September.
Proposed Discard:
NY 58.900.12 – Mediocre quality
Red Ace – Variable size, drops, astringent
 

Pear

Bloom and fruit set were abundant on pears in 2000. Opening the season in mid July was a very early variety, Bella de Guigno, with attractive mild-flavored fruit good right off the tree. About two weeks later Ubileen and Harrow Delight followed, both with good quality fruit. Do not let fruit of Ubileen hang on the tree, to prevent internal browning. We still need to determine accurate harvest timing for this variety.

In the pear test plot, mature trees of Bosc, Comice, Concorde and Conference again had heavy yields of excellent quality fruit. Fruit from standard Bosc and from Bronze Beauty and Golden Russet strains all were fully russeted and quite attractive. Starkrimson trees reached full productivity this year. Mature trees of this variety have proven to be heavy, reliable producers but apparently it takes a few years after planting to establish high yields.

A trial plot of disease resistant pear selections from the Appalachian research station of the University of West Virginia produced a full crop this year. Some promising ones may be worth introduction, at least for our region. USDA 71655-014 is a rather small, red-blushed sweet pear resembling Comice in shape. USDA 66131-021 is a medium size pear with good flavor and attractive allover russet. USDA 78304-057, ripe in late September, is similar to Bartlett in appearance, with Bartlett's aromatic flavor.

Pear ripening order 2000

New: A sport of Comice with fully russeted skin, Taylor's Gold, produced a few fruit for evaluation. This variety appears to have good potential and we look forward to seeing more of it in 2001. Young trees of Cascade so far do not show a tendency to alternate bearing. The German variety Forelle is named for its spotted skin resembling a trout ("forelle" in German). Trees appear to be productive but quality and storage life need further evaluation. Honeysweet, a Stark Nursery introduction, produced a full crop for evaluation. The fruits are small, with firm, sweet flesh, similar to Seckel in appearance, and somewhat larger in size. Two new introductions from Geneva, NY 10346 and NY 10348, produced sample fruit for evaluation in 2000, with appearance similar to Highland and good to very good flavor ratings. NY 10365 had only a few fruit, not enough to test. All of these selections will be evaluated further in 2001.
Proposed Discard
Blancia – Unproductive
 

Asian Pear

The 2000 season saw a good set of most varieties. Earliest ripening was Hamese #1, with sweet yellow-skinned fruit. Ichiban Nashi had a lot of fruit but was somewhat smaller than usual. Shinseiki, Chojuro and Yongi all produced good crops of well sized fruit. Kosui was excellent this year in production, size and quality of fruit. Trees of Yoinashi, damaged by Pseudomonas in 1999, recovered somewhat this season though yields were still somewhat below normal. Mishirasu produced good yields on young trees. The fruit is very large, heavily russeted and not especially attractive but good flavor and productivity recommend it for home orchards and specialty markets. Young trees of Atago produced very well again in 2000, with excellent finish, flavor and appearance. This is a promising variety for high quality fruit in the late season.

Proposed Discard
None
 

Apple

In 2000 the fruit set was good in general, although certain McIntosh types were not as productive as usual. Hand thinning was insufficient in some cases, resulting in smaller fruit. In determining optimum harvest for a specific variety, we relied extensively on indices of starch conversion, fruit firmness, and soluble solids (sugars) as well as external color. Yields of most varieties were good and fruit quality was high.
 

Standard/Commercial (sweets and tarts)

Gravenstein, in both red and common strains, is the classic culinary apple, unsurpassed in taste tests for applesauce. Several red strains of Gala are currently on trial. Regal Gala (Fulford) stands out for its size, uniformity, good flavor and even color, 50-70% red blush. Royal, Ultrared, and Galaxy strains all had very good color, as expected in small trees with high light exposure. Young trees of Brookfield, Imperial and Pacific strains produced some fruit and will be further evaluated in 2001.

Strains of Jonagold being evaluated for their potential in both commercial and home orchards include Jonagored, Rubinstar, DeCoster, Jomured , King (Jored), and Jonica as well as young trees of Crimson Jonagold. This season all the Jonagold strains were slow to develop color, in terms of commercial markets, and even by the end of the season many fruits were still below the required standards. In most cases flavor and storage quality were acceptable.

Young trees of Honeycrisp produced a crop in 2000. This variety looks good for potential commercial production in our area. If harvested when fully ripe, fruit stays crisp in storage well into spring. Fruit picked too early will develop scald in storage, and it is recommended that storage temperatures be kept at 34-36^o F for best results

Melrose and Red Boskoop are reliable, late keeping varieties that produced very well this year. Braeburn produced a good crop with little russet. Hillwell (red) strain yielded attractive fruit, most of which was 90% colored or better. Commercial production of Braeburn has some potential, especially on M9 rootstock which contributes to earlier ripening.
 

Japanese (mostly sweets)

One of the longest established Japanese introductions, Akane is firm and crisp with a lively flavor, more acid than many Japanese types. Fruits do not store well so they are best left on the tree and harvested as they ripen over 3-4 weeks. Homei Tsugaru and Hatsuaki are good flavored and reliably productive. Homei Tsugaru is of particular interest because of its low acid; it has been doing well in direct markets. Sayaka produces good crops, but the large to very large size of fruit is a market drawback.

Yellow apples worth noting for good flavor and keeping quality are Shizuka and Mutsu. Shizuka is very productive, flavorful, and more attractive than Mutsu, which ripens 7-10 days later in most years. Mutsu is of excellent quality but may not ripen fully in cooler areas. Young trees of Mutsu were not as productive this year as in 1999. Orin is best suited to warmer climate conditions where it develops good flavor.

Beni Shogun, a new earlier ripening Fuji type, looks very promising for both home orchardists who want to grow Fuji and for potential commercial markets. It ripens two to three weeks ahead of the standard Fuji strains, with very attractive color and full flavor, although russeting is sometimes a problem. It also keeps well for a midseason apple.

Late strains of Fuji (Standard, Yataka, and Akifu) did not color well in 2000, and were not harvested until early November. Much of the fruit had water core and russeting, which would seriously reduce the quality for commercial markets.
 

Sweet

Ripe in the early season, Sunrise again proved to be a reliable, heavy producer of good quality fruit. Aroma is not as productive, although individual fruits tend to be large. Like many early varieties, variable color and ripeness make it necessary to do repeated pickings. Sweet apples are popular in Japan and many Japanese apples such as Homei Tsugaru, Sayaka, Senshu and Fuji (above)would fall into this category. Gala and its strains are also noted for sweet flavor
 

Cox Types (sweet-tart to tart)

Alkmene is a productive tree with medium-small, sweet- tart fruit. Fiesta is productive but lacks the spicy flavor of most Cox types, being rather sweet and mild; it also tends to biennial bearing. Two red strains of Elstar from Europe that we have evaluated since 1987 have been named. Elista (Daliest) and Elton (Daliter) both have the lively tart flavor of Elstar. We are keeping Elista, which usually has more highly red colored fruit. Rubinette has very good sweet-tart flavor, but its small size and russeted finish limit its use to home orchards. Karmijn de Sonnaville is only moderately productive but its high acid (tartness) and high sugar content make it very popular as a gourmet apple. From the New Jersey breeding program, SunCrisp ([Cortland x Cox Orange Pippin] X Golden Delicious) has milder flavor, hangs well on the tree, and stores well.

Corail (Pinova) is a new introduction from Germany, ([Cox Orange Pippin x Duchess of Oldenburg] X Golden Delicious). This apple looked good in the late season. Ripe in early to mid October, it is an attractive yellow with some coppery pink blush, and crisp, sweet-tart flesh.
 

McIntosh Types (mostly sweet-tart)

The McIntosh variety is very popular in the eastern States. Mac strains and crosses also adapt well to conditions here. Jonamac, Spartan, and Empire are all good choices. Thome Empire is eye-catching with its unusual blackish-red color, however, trees on M9 appear somewhat lacking in vigor. Redcort, a red sport of Cortland, has a unique tart flavor at first picking and retains its firmness for later pickings. Empire and Redcort store better than the other Mac types.

Compact Mac is a tree of upright-columnar habit with good quality fruit, useful where space is limited. Two new Mac types, Morspur Mac and Improved McIntosh, produced fruit for evaluation in 2000. They will be compared with earlier introductions Marshall Mac and Pioneer Mac. Royal Court, a sport of Cortland, produced its first fruit this year, with good 100%r red color and very firm, rather tart flesh. Royal Empire, another red sport of Empire, also fruited for the first time. Red color, fruit finish, and flavor were all very good, and we will want to compare it with Thome Empire for long term productivity and color.

From the Geneva program, NY 428 is a selection of McIntosh type, that is productive and stores well, with very good quality. We will report on whether it is likely to be named in future.
 

Russet Types

Russet in apples can range from a light netting of tan skin to thick, lumpy and brown. Often russet apples have denser flesh than non-russet types, and many have good storage quality. Roxbury Russet is one of the earliest known American apples, dating to 1639. It has good reported disease resistance, sweet-tart flavor, and is moderately productive. Ashmead's Kernel is a classic late keeping russet variety of very good quality, with sweet-tart flavor. Canada Grise (Reinette Gris du Canada) is a late ripening apple, very tart with dense, hard flesh, primarily for culinary uses. A Geneva selection, NY 486 has lightly russeted golden skin and complex sweet-tart flavor; it is still being evaluated.
 

Cider Apples

Trees in a replicated plot of cider apples -selected for hard (fermented) cider production- were harvested for pressing by a group of local cider makers. The plot established in 1994 contains five trees each of the varieties Brown Snout, Foxwhelp, Muscadet de Dieppe, Taylor's, Vilberie and Yarlington Mill. Young trees were added to the replicated plot in late 1999 and included Brown's Apple, Chisel Jersey, Dabinett, Harry Masters' Jersey, Kingston Black and Michelin. For anyone who is interested in hard cider making, contact Chuck Holland (P.O. Box 66, Port Gamble, WA 98364) of the Northwest Cider Society.

New

Recent B.C. introductions Silken (ripe mid September) and Creston (ripe early October) were topworked on mature trees in 1998 and produced good yields in 2000. Both are large yellow apples with rather russeted appearance; Silken rated well for flavor and crispness.

Cameo produced enough fruit to evaluate this year; it is a sweet type with an attractive pinkish red stripe.

In the Colonnade series, Emerald Spire had a full crop of orange-blushed green fruit with sweet-tart flavor and rather tender flesh texture. Crimson Spire was less productive than in its first season, but the dark red fruit is attractive and flavorful. Golden Sentinel produced its first fruit in 2000, rather small in size but with good flavor and aromatic, dense flesh. The Colonnade apples with their narrow upright growth habit are well suited for small yards and container growing.

Proposed Discard:

Arlet – fully evaluated, color and quality variable
Beni No Mai – unattractive, bland, poor quality
Fuji, Akifu – fully evaluated, not notably better than standard
Fuji, Yataka – fully evaluated, inferior to Beni Shogun in our area
Golden Glory – flavor bland
Runkel – bland flavor, not well adapted here
Scarlet Gala – poor color compared to other red strains, otherwise same as standard
 

Disease Resistant Cultivars and Selections

In December 1999 the test block that was planted in 1990 was removed and a new disease resistant plot established. Those varieties and selections that performed well in 1990-99 were moved into the new plot, as well as the young trees planted in 1998-99 that have just begun to be evaluated. Many selections that have not done well were eliminated and only the best have been kept. Young trees from the nursery were also planted into the block and a new, scab-immune cross from Canada, Belmac, was added to the trial.

All of the transplanted trees set a crop of fruit but due to the stress of transplant, in most cases the fruit was untypical and of lower quality. For that reason, though bloom and harvest dates were recorded, no fruit evaluation was made in the 2000 season. Regular evaluations will be resumed in the 2001 season.

Listed below are the disease resistant cultivars and selections included in the new block (*new variety or selection .)

Unusual Fruit

With the help of a special donation in 1997, we initiated a planting of unusual fruit for evaluation that we hope to increase in future. We are testing a number of uncommon kinds of tree and bush fruit to see if they are well adapted to western Washington conditions, and note any specific cultural needs that may apply to growing them in our area. Among the fruit kinds that have been planted are figs, kiwi varieties (both Actinidia deliciosa and A. arguta clones), black, red and white currants, persimmons, paw paws, and seedless grape varieties. Some of the uncommon bush fruits include aronia, mulberry, elderberry, honeyberry, sea buckthorn, mountain ash, cornelian cherry, azerole, and sorbus.

In 2000 both aronia and sea buckthorn produced fruit; the latter in particular appears to be very productive even when young. The sea buckthorn fruits are yellow-orange, small (about 3/8"-1/2" in length) and oval-cylindrical; the orange juice is subacid to tart and very similar in flavor to citrus. Aronia fruits were sought out by birds, so any plantings should probably be netted.

Fruit was produced on several varieties of the cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) and we will compare the varieties in 2001 for fruit quality. Some of them are very flavorful, though the plants as yet are not very productive. The plot of currants in general produced well, and though harvest data was not taken, fruit was picked by members at the harvest days.

We have also been managing trial plots of strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry varieties and selections, which are part of the research program of Dr. Pat Moore at the Puyallup research station. Anyone interested in the results of these projects can obtain specific reports from him.. Annual project reports are also available on the Fruit Horticulture web site – see "Berries."
 

Ornamental Crabapple

The evaluation of ornamental crabapples for disease resistance begun in 1984 continues with new additions. A rootstock trial initiated in 1997, involving a test of several proven disease resistant varieties on different size controlling rootstocks, will be concluded this year due to lack of continued funding. We had hoped to conduct this trial for a couple more years to gather additional data. However, the data gathered so far will be analyzed and any significant conclusions reported.

Among the most promising recent introductions is 'Adirondack'. It has excellent disease resistance, an upright growing habit, and persistent pinkish orange fruit to add winter color. The flowers are white. 'Lancelot' (white bloom, small yellow fruit) is a good choice for small sites; its compact dwarf habit adapts well to patio and container growing. Two consistently high rated varieties are Golden Raindrops (yellow fruit) and Evereste (large red orange fruit). Both are immune to scab. 'Silver Moon' is a late blooming white flowered variety that has very good scab resistance. The tree is large and vigorous, well suited to parks and larger landscape sites. 'Prairifire' is the best of the pink-flowered crabapples, though somewhat less resistant to scab.

Several other pink-flowering crabapples are well adapted to this climate. 'Louisa' has soft pink flowers and a strongly weeping habit, useful as a specimen tree. 'Louisa' grafted 4'-5' high on the rootstock is an ornamental tree similar to weeping cherry. For a low, broad spreading effect (about 6' in height), 'Candymint Sargent' is a good choice, with purple-bronze foliage and darker-edged pink flowers. 'Prairie Maid', with pink flowers contrasting to bronze-green leaves, is very attractive in spring and summer. The red fruit is often taken by birds.

We are still seeking a pink flowered tree with true columnar habit and good disease resistance. 'Maypole', in the Colonnade series of upright apples, has attractive deep pink flowers and bronze green leaves, but the dark red fruits may be too large for street ornamental uses.

Several new acquisitions from the National Crabapple Evaluation Project and other sources were added to the trial in 1999-2000. These are: 'Tea Crab' (M. hupehensis from NCEP), 'Cinderella' and 'King Arthur' (Lake County Nursery), 'Guinevere' and 'American Spirit' (Hilltop Nursery) and 'Pink Princess' (J. Frank Schmidt Co.).

Some seedlings of local origin may have potential for future development. Pink Cloud has pink double flowers, bronze leaves and large, tart red fruit. It also appears to have some resistance to scab. Another seedling cross is a semi-double, white flowered tree with narrowly upright habit which would be suitable for street side ornamental planting, especially as it sets little or no fruit to drop and make a mess. A cross of Alkmene X Prima made here at the station in 1990 resulted in an upright-spreading crabapple with scab immunity; it has white flowers and large, persistent bright yellow fruit, tart but edible. Pollination trials in 1998 showed that this seedling will pollinate both Jonagold and Fuji. These seedlings are being evaluated for possible introduction.
 

Acknowledgments

The assistance and support in our tree fruit projects provided by the members and board of the Western Washington Fruit Research Foundation, the Western Cascade Fruit Society, the Seattle Tree Fruit Society, and those at the Northwest Agricultural Research Foundation, the Washington State Nursery and Landscape Association and local fruit growers are most gratefully acknowledged. The contribution of nurseries that have donated trees and materials, and the many individual volunteers who have given their time and help are also very much appreciated, and recognized with our thanks.