Apple Avangard

Autumn variety developed at the Far Eastern Research Institute of Agriculture by A.V. Bolonyev through pollination in 1941 of the Efremovskoe No. 6 variety using a pollen mixture of Antonovka and Belfler-Chinese. It is recommended for the Far Eastern region and cultivated in collective and home gardens in Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krai, as well as in Amur, Jewish Autonomous, and Sakhalin Oblasts.

Medium-growth tree with moderate branching. The crown is elongated-round in early years and spreading during heavy fruiting, with skeletal branches having a brownish tint and a slanted-vertical position. Branches of subsequent orders diverge at a right angle.

Shoots are yellowish-brown, slightly curved, medium in length and thickness, round in cross-section, with medium internode length, medium pubescence. Buds are small, convex, rarely spaced. Buds are pressed, with dark-brown, egg-shaped outer scales. Leaves are directed sideways, medium-sized, oval-elongated with a rounded base. Leaf margin varies from toothed to doubly-toothed-toothed. Color is green.

Fruits (see photo) are small (average weight 36 g, maximum 45 g), flat or flat-round, slightly angled. Main color is light-yellow, covered with a continuous carmine blush covering nearly the entire fruit. Peduncle is thin, long, situated in a shallow, medium-width depression. Calyx is closed, very small, easily separates from the fruit or sheds like in early varieties. Sub-calyx depression is funnel-shaped, shallow, rust-colored. Fruits are very attractive in appearance.

Flesh is white, finely textured, juicy, slightly acidic-sweet, pleasant to taste. In terms of flavor, it is a good table apple for fresh consumption, as well as for jam, pickling, and making marmalade. Fruits contain: water — 87%, dry matter — 13%, total sugars — 9%, acids — 0.8%, tannins — 0.4%, pectin — 0.5%, ascorbic acid — 18 mg/100g.

Fruits ripen in the first decade of September, become suitable for consumption after 10-12 days, and can be stored fresh until the end of November. Fruit attachment is good.

Begins fruiting on the third to fourth year of grafting. Fruit production is abundant and annual. At 4 years of age, it yields up to 3.5 kg of fruit, at 5 years — up to 11 kg, at 11 years — up to 30 kg per tree. Productive period lasts up to 17 years.

Cold resistance and sunburn resistance of the variety are relatively high. The variety is resistant to scab and monilial burn.

Advantages of the variety: regular yields of fruits with good flavor, resistance to fruit drop, relative resistance to the most aggressive diseases.

Disadvantages of the variety: small fruits, insufficient storability, not competitive on the modern market.

The variety is interesting for use in breeding.