Apple Altai Blue

This summer variety was obtained at the Siberian Institute of Horticulture named after M. A. Lisavensky in 1937 by crossing Purple Early with Yellow Apricot. Breeders: M. A. Lisavensky, I. A. Kukharsky, M. A. Sizemova, V. A. Sirotkina. It has been registered since 1959 for the West Siberian region. Not suitable for new plantings.

Trees are medium-sized with a moderately dense, spreading crown. The main fruiting occurs on simple ring branches and fruiting spurs, on 1-3-year-old shoots.

Shoots are light brown, slightly hairy, with small light lenticels. Leaves are medium-sized, elliptical, wavy, dark green, hairy underneath, with serrated edges, long petioles, hairy, with small stipules.

Fruits (see illustration) are very small (21-35 g), flat-round. Main color is yellow, covering color is dark red, blurred on most of the fruit, skin has an intense blue bloom. Pedicel is long, thin, hairy, calyx is wide and rusty. Receptacle is large and open. Disk is small and ribbed.

Flesh is orange with red veins, tart-sweet, acceptable flavor. Chemical composition of fruits: total sugars — 10.1% (7.7-14.4), titratable acids — 1.41% (1.03-1.77), tannins — 100 mg/100g (83-124), ascorbic acid — 16.5 mg/100g (4.0-29.5), P-active compounds — 194 mg/100g (191-296), pectic substances — 4.07% dry weight.

Harvesting maturity — late August, storage life up to 30 days.

Fruit production begins on the 3rd-4th year. Yield is average, fruiting is regular. Cold hardiness is high. In particularly severe winters, it suffers slight frost damage. Lost resistance to scab, now affected moderately.

Advantages of the variety: high cold hardiness, early fruiting.

Disadvantages of the variety: very small fruits.

The variety Altai Blue was used to develop the variety Altai Speckled.