Winter MOSVIR

Winter apple variety, developed at the Maikop Experimental Station of VIR by selection from seedlings of the Bramley variety. Currently, Winter MOSVIR is widely grown in southern Russia. The variety is recommended for foothill and Kuban zones, subzone of Krasnodar Krai.

Medium-sized tree. Round crown, medium density, strong foliage. Main branches diverge at about 45°. Bark rough, dark gray. Trunk dark green-gray. Fruit formations are predominantly scarlet.

Buds of medium length, thin, straight, light brown, slightly drooping. Buds small, round, buds small, broad-conical, pressed, strong pubescence. Leaves large, oval-rounded, green. Leaf blade smooth, shiny, concave, medium thickness, leathery, weak pubescence, woolly, only on the underside. Venation strongly expressed, fine netted, without anthocyanin. Leaf tip medium, acute. Leaf base rounded. Leaf blade margins wavy, fine, single and double-toothed. Petiole pubescence medium, woolly, color with slight anthocyanin, without transition to central vein. Bracts medium, lanceolate.

Flowers fairly large, white, petal medium, stigma pubescent medium, fused for 1/3, stigma at the same level as anthers. Flowering period medium.

Fruits above-average size (average weight 180 g), round, slightly ribbed, oily to the touch, smooth with strong bloom. Main color light yellow-green; covering — red or dark red diffuse-striped blush, covering almost the entire fruit. Skin dots very large, light, clearly visible, without halo. Peduncle medium, thick, straight, strongly pubescent, dark brown-gray. Calyx deep, wide, smooth, rusting slight, sometimes slightly protruding from the depression. Calyx closed, small. Calyx lobes closed only at the base, medium, elongated-pointed. Receptacle fairly deep, medium width, folded. Heart bulbous, medium, located closer to the apex, asymmetric. Seed chambers closed, folded. Axial cavity slightly hollow. Subcalyx tube funnel-shaped or more often cylindrical, wide, medium depth. Seeds elongated-oval, dark brown.

Flesh greenish-yellow, tender, fine-grained, pleasantly aromatic, slightly sour-sweet, good to excellent taste (4.4-4.6 points).

Fruits externally look very attractive and striking (4.5-4.9 points). Chemical composition of fruits: dry matter — 16.1%, sugars — 12.7%, organic acids — 0.43%, ascorbic acid — 1.4 mg/100g, pectin substances — 1.22%. Universal variety, though primarily used as dessert.

Harvesting maturity of fruits occurs in the second decade of September.

Fruits keep well in storage until the end of March. Fruit attachment to the tree is fairly good, however, at overripening, fruit drop may occur. Harvesting should be done manually, mechanical harvesting is allowed if fruits are further processed into puree, jam, preserves or juice. Fruit quality is high, transportability is medium.

Best pollinators for Winter MOSVIR are King David, Jonathan, and Golden Delicious. Performs well on seedlings of eastern apple trees as well as vegetatively propagated rootstocks (EM XI, EMIX, MM106). The variety forms well, is not demanding to soil conditions and location, though it performs better on well-lit and sufficiently ventilated sites.

High-yielding and early-bearing variety. Enters fruiting on the 4-5th year. Yield from a 12-year-old tree amounted to 200-300 kg. In the first 10 years, it exceeds Jonathan by 160% in yield, and in the next five years by 50%. Fruit production is regular.

Winter hardiness in the North Caucasus is high. Resistant to scab and phyllosticta, weakly affected by powdery mildew and moderately susceptible to fruit rot.

Advantages of the variety: high yield, fruit quality and marketability; sufficient resistance to scab, phyllosticta, powdery mildew.

Disadvantages of the variety: occasional development of fruit rot.