Apple Ben-Davis

A winter, old variety originated in one of the southern states of North America. Previously, it was regionally cultivated in the Krasnodar Krai and selected by the Maykop Experimental Station of VIR for production testing in the foothill zone of the North Caucasus. It was tested in the Volgograd region at the Ilvolsky GSO. Ben-Davis remains popular among the population, so it is still propagated.

Trees are fast-growing, relatively tall, with rounded-conical, irregular broadly-oval, or rounded weeping crowns. Fruit set is concentrated on spurs.

Shoots are weakly to moderately hairy, thin, straight, light-brown with a reddish tint and large elongated stipules.

Leaves are positioned at a 90-degree angle to the shoots, medium-sized, fairly narrow, egg-shaped but more often elliptical. The leaf blade is green, slightly wrinkled, shiny, wavy-edged, with fine, occasionally medium single, sometimes doubly-toothed or serrated margins. The apex is narrowly wedge-shaped, the base of the leaf is narrowed. The petiole is medium-sized, slightly stained with anthocyanin, the stipules are small, wedge-shaped.

Fruits (see photo) are relatively large, medium-sized under heavy fruiting, evenly shaped, round or slightly elongated-conical. Slightly ribbed, with a weak waxy coating. Main color is light green, most of the surface covered with a speckled blush, on which dark cherry-red, distinct, intermittent stripes are clearly visible. Numerous lenticels, medium-sized, white and rusty, clearly visible. The peduncle is long and thin.

Flesh is white or yellowish, firm, medium juicy, coarse-grained, slightly acidic-sweet, with strong aroma, good and average flavor.

Winter-ripening fruits (harvest maturity occurs at the end of September) — consumption period — from late October to April, stored in cellars for 145 days. Good transportability.

Yield is average but annual. In severe winters, cold resistance may exceed average levels. Suffers severely from powdery mildew and much less from scab. Nevertheless, despite all its shortcomings, the fruits are highly sought after in the market and widely cultivated on private and dacha plots.

Advantages of the variety: fruits exhibit high marketability, attractive coloration, prolonged storability, good transportability, and are highly sought after in the market.

Disadvantages of the variety: large trees, relatively low fruit flavor quality, weak resistance to powdery mildew.