Apple Veselovka

Early autumn variety selected by the Central Siberian Botanical Garden (CSBG) of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Breeders: V. N. Vasil'eva, N. V. Moiseeva. Obtained from crossing Siberian Beauty with wild apple (Siberian). Approved for the Novosibirsk region. Cultivated in various regions and krais of Western and Eastern Siberia.

Medium-sized tree, forms a low-trunked shape (trunk 20-30 cm). Medium-density, round crown. Branches straight, with upward-pointing tips. Predominant fruiting type — clusters, rarely — fruiting spurs.

Shoots straight, brown, hairy. Leaves green, medium-sized, broadly egg-shaped, slightly hairy, with serrated-margined edges. Petioles medium length, with lanceolate stipules.

Fruits (see photo) round, one-dimensional, weight — medium-sized semi-cultivar (up to 35 g). Fruit surface smooth. Main color golden-yellow, covering color dark raspberry, throughout the fruit. Characterized by strong waxy coating on fruits. Peduncle medium length, straight. Calyx persistent, half-open with short sac-like calyx tube. Seed chambers half-open, with egg-shaped, dark-brown seeds.

Flesh creamy, medium density, juicy, with good acid-sugar balance. Flavor excellent. Chemical composition of fruits: total sugars — 11.1% (8.9-16.1%), titratable acids — 1.82% (1.14-2.2%) on fresh weight, tannins — 0.3% (0.17-0.42%) on fresh weight, ascorbic acid — 32.5 mg/100g (23.7-47.5 mg/100g), polyphenols (catechins) — 214 mg/100g (119-320 mg/100g), pectin substances — 1% (0.42-1.7%) on fresh weight.

Fruits ripen from September 5 to 10, store until November.

Fruits are transportable, suitable for fresh consumption and processing: compotes, apple puree, jams, etc. Due to high gelling properties, marmalade from this variety has dense consistency without agar-agar. For compotes, fruits are used whole with peduncles.

Fruit production begins on the 4th year, variety is high-yielding (up to 110 kg per tree), productive period is twice as long as the standard for commercial orchards. Variety is winter-hardy and resistant to scab.

Advantages of the variety: high ecological resilience, high yields, resistance to scab, high-vitamin fruits, sparse, compact crown, one-dimensionality of fruits — positive traits for mechanized maintenance and harvest.

Disadvantages of the variety: in the latter half of the productive period, fruit buds do not form in time, and in some years trees remain fruitless.

In CSBG, the variety Veselovka is used in breeding to create highly adaptable, high-yielding varieties with high-vitamin fruits. Selection of promising forms is ongoing from hybrid populations.