Apple Tubinskoe

Late-season variety developed at the Minusinsk Experimental Station of Horticulture and Vegetable Growing by crossing the large-fruited variety 'Limonka' with the semi-cultivated variety 'Minusinskoye Orange' in 1956. Breeders: V. A. Shevchenko, V. I. Shevchenko. Included in the State Register of Selection Achievements approved for use in the East Siberian region since 1988. Most widely grown in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Khakassia, and Tuva.

Medium-sized tree, height 2.8–3.0 m, medium-growing. Medium-density crown, round. Branches emerge from the trunk at nearly straight angles, compactly arranged, tips pointing upward. Bark on the trunk and main branches is smooth, greenish. Predominant fruiting type — short and long fruiting spurs.

Medium-length shoots, straight, brown, hairy. Buds large, few in number. Buds closely pressed, medium-sized, round, hairy. Leaves large, elongated, short-pointed, with twisted tips, green, smooth, matte, with delicate venation. Leaf blade slightly concave, curved upward, weakly hairy. Leaf margin — coarsely toothed, wavy. Petiole long, thin, slightly hairy. Stipules absent.

Flowers medium-sized, small-cup-shaped, white, aromatic. Petals oval, stamens short. Style medium-sized, hairless, stigma above anthers.

Fruits with medium weight 25 g, maximum — 35 g, one-dimensional, round, surface broad-ribbed. Skin tender, smooth, oily, glossy, with a bloom. Color at harvest: main — golden-yellow, covering — blurred, red over most of the fruit, at consumer ripeness — throughout the fruit. Numerous medium-sized green lenticels, barely noticeable. Pedicel medium length and thickness, straight. Calyx medium, obtuse-conical, no rust. Calyx not falling off, closed. Receptacle medium, wide, smooth. Heart medium, onion-like. Chambers open, medium. Subcalyx tube short, narrow, cup-shaped. Seeds medium, egg-shaped, brown.

Flesh medium density, creamy, tender, fine-grained, very juicy. Flavor slightly sour-sweet, with spice, medium aroma, tasting score 4.5 points. Appearance attractive (4.5 points). Fruit contains: dry matter — 12.32%, ascorbic acid — 19.46 mg/100g, sugars — 13.34%, titratable acids — 0.77%.

Late-season ripening variety — second half of August.

Fruits tend to drop during overripening. Fruit quality is high, transportability medium, fruits keep 2–3 weeks in storage. Universal variety, suitable for producing compotes, jams, jellies, and natural juices.

Self-sterile variety, best pollinators — 'Ermoslava Raneika', 'Minusinskoye Desertnoye', 'Minusinskoye Krasnoye'. Early-bearing, enters fruiting on the 3rd–4th year after planting (4–5 years after grafting in nurseries). Productivity increases rapidly. Average yield of 10-year-old trees — 104 centners/ha, or 15.8 kg/tree, maximum — 215.1 centners/ha. Fruit production is irregularly periodic.

Methods of propagation — budding and grafting with cuttings, rootstock — seedlings of 'Raneika Purpurovaya'. Recommended planting scheme 5 x 3 m. Responds well to fertilization and watering. Crown forms freely, trunked, with two tiers of main structural branches. Later, branches need to be pruned to three-year-old wood to prevent stem elongation and to shift fruiting to the crown’s periphery.

Winter hardiness is high (in 1980, at air temperature — 42.8°C, overall frost damage — 1.4 points, observed wilting of one-year-old shoots). Drought and heat resistance are high. Moderately resistant to scab; during epidemic years, leaf damage may reach 3 points, fruit damage up to 2 points. Flowers tolerate light spring frosts well.

Advantages of the variety: high winter hardiness, drought resistance, early bearing, rapid development of high productivity, good consumer qualities of fruits.

Disadvantages of the variety: susceptibility to scab, short fruit harvest period, fruit drop during overripening, stem elongation of multi-year branches if pruning is delayed.