Apple Belfler Bashkir

Early spring variety from the Bashkir Research Institute of Agriculture. Obtained by crossing the varieties Bashkir Krasavets and Belfler-Chinese. Authors: R. I. Bolotina, G. A. Mansurov, T. G. Demina.

Widely grown in the forest-steppe and steppe zones of fruit cultivation in Bashkortostan. Passed state testing since 1991.

Medium-sized tree. Moderate crown density, round. Branches straight, compactly arranged at an angle close to straight, branch tips pointing upward. Bark on the trunk and main branches smooth, greenish.

Shoots thick, straight, round in cross-section, reddish-brown, hairy, internodes short. Buds sparse, small, convex, light-gray. Buds oval, pressed, strongly hairy. Leaves large, broadly egg-shaped, short-pointed, green, matte. Margin finely serrated, wavy. Leaf blade flat, wrinkled, with delicate venation, slightly hairy, green. Petiole medium length, thick, slightly colored, hairy, stipules small, elongated.

Flowers medium-sized, pinkish, fragrant, small-cup-shaped, stigma filament longer than stamens, without hairs.

Fruits medium (85-145 g), one-dimensional, regular shape, round-oval, surface smooth. Skin tender, smooth, with slight waxy coating. Color in edible maturity greenish, with blurred striped pink blush on the smaller part of the fruit, in consumer maturity — greenish-yellow, covering — striped purplish blush on the larger part of the fruit. Subcutaneous spots few, light-green, barely noticeable. Peduncle medium length and thickness, obliquely positioned. Calyx tube conical, deep, narrow, without rust. Calyx not shed, closed. Receptacle small, slightly ribbed. Core medium, onion-like. Seed chambers semi-open, large, membranous. Subcalyx tube short, triangular. Seeds medium, egg-shaped, brown.

Flesh greenish-white, medium density, tender, fine-grained, juicy, nearly flavorless, with strong aroma. Content in fruits: 18.4% dry matter, 12.7% sugars, 0.17-0.26% acids, 0.94% pectin, 10.5 mg/100g ascorbic acid.

Optimal harvest time — first decade of September.

Fruits stored until end of February. Fruit attachment strong. Fruit quality for commercial and consumer use high, transportability good.

Self-sterile variety. Blooms in mid-season. Pollinators — Bashkir Krasavets, Antonovka, Seyanets Titovka, etc., varieties with matching bloom time.

Yield in favorable years exceeds 210 centners per hectare. Fruit-bearing regular. Tree longevity and winter hardiness medium, drought resistance high. Variety insufficiently resistant to scab, fruit moth infestation moderate, aphids — weak.

Advantages of the variety: original flavorless-sweet fruits, suitable for therapeutic-dietary nutrition.