Apple Start

Winter apple variety resistant to scab, hybrid (814 x McIntosh tetraploid), developed at the All-Russian Research Institute of Fruit Crop Selection in 1981. Selected as elite seedling in 1994. First fruiting in the breeding orchard was recorded in 1990. Breeders: E. N. Sedov, Z. M. Serova, V. V. Zhданov, E. A. Dolmatov.

The variety was accepted for State Testing in 1998 in the Central, Central Chernozem, and Lower Volga regions of Russia, and officially registered in 2002.

Trees of medium growth vigor, with round crowns. Bark on the trunk and main branches is smooth and gray.

Shoots are slender, straight, round in cross-section, hairy. Buds are sparse and small. Buds are pressed, rounded, hairy. Leaves are elongated-oval, long-pointed, with spirally twisted tips, light green with a yellowish tint, wrinkled. Leaf margin is finely toothed and wavy. Petiole is long, medium thickness, hairy.

Inflorescences are umbellate, with 4-6 flowers per inflorescence, buds are pink-white, flowers are dish-shaped of medium size, petals are pink, rounded, not fused; stigmas at the level of stamens. Pedicel is of medium length. Fused style is hairless.

Fruits are medium-sized (140 g), elongated, wide-ribbed, tapered. Fruit skin is dry and shiny. Main fruit color at harvest is greenish, at consumer maturity — greenish-yellow. Overlying color on a smaller part of the fruit appears as blurred stripes and specks of brick-red. Numerous, well-visible green lenticels. Fruit stalk is curved and oblique. Calyx tube is acute-conical, narrow, slightly rusted. Calyx is half-open. Receptacle is wide, deep, ribbed. Fruit core is layered. Chambers are closed. Subcalyx tube is cup-shaped. Seeds are egg-shaped, light-brown.

Fruit flesh is white, greenish, firm, juicy, coarse-grained, tart-sweet. Fruit quality scores 4.3 on appearance and taste. Chemical composition of the fruit: total sugar content — 9.1%, titratable acid content — 0.60%, ascorbic acid — 14.3 mg/100g, P-active substances — 491 mg/100g.

Harvest maturity occurs in the Oryol region from September 15 to 20. Consumer period lasts from October 15 to February 25.

Fruits are suitable for fresh consumption and for juice production. Laboratory evaluation of juice from 'Start' fruit scored 4.4, while juice from 'Antonovka' scored 4.0.

Young 'Start' trees yielded nearly twice as much as the control variety 'Antonovka' ordinary: 170 and 95 centners per hectare respectively.

Trees exhibit good winter hardiness. Under artificial freezing in January at -40ºC, minor damage was observed on some organs: buds — 1.6 points, bark — 0.0, cambium — 0.0, wood — 1.4 points (S. V. Resvyakova). For the control variety 'Antonovka' ordinary, damage was: 0.1; 0.0; 0.0; 0.7 points respectively. The variety is productive.

Advantages of the variety: resistance to scab (gene Vf), high yield, and winter fruit ripening. Suitable for intensive orchards.