Williams Pride has done well for me with no spray so far. Apples are not perfect, but fair. Liberty apples are eaten up, mostly unusable. I’m just a little north of St. Louis, Z 6a.
I’m wondering if having Liberty actually helps the other varieties. You know, the insects all run to Liberty and leave everything else alone. I’ve been debating on grafting mine over to something else.
1 Like
Not nearly as ‘prominent’ or ‘pronounced’ in my specimen in comparison to your picture above. But, enough of 5 points are distinct that I don’t see why it can’t be a RD offspring.
Tasty, somewhat sweet, and mealy as it gets dead ripe…a week before ripe, has crunch like a Chinese pear almost, and flavor to match. (Actually flavor before ripe reminds of Kieffer pear,too.)
| Rank | Name | 1. Apple Scab | 2. Fire Blight | 3. Powdery Mildew | 4. Cedar Rust |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galarina | Very Resistant | Very Resistant | Very Resistant | Very Resistant |
| 2 | Novamac | Very Resistant | Very Resistant | Very Resistant | Very Resistant |
| 3 | Sundance | Immune | Very Resistant | Resistant | Very Resistant |
| 4 | Liberty | Immune | Resistant | Resistant | Immune |
| 5 | William’s Pride | Immune | Resistant | Resistant | Very Resistant |
| 6 | Freedom | Very Resistant | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant |
| 7 | Cordera | Very Resistant | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant |
| 8 | RubyRush | Very Resistant | Resistant | Unknown | Resistant |
| 9 | WineCrisp | Immune | Resistant | Resistant | Susceptible |
| 10 | Florina Querina | Very Resistant | Resistant | Resistant | Highly Susceptible |
| 18 | Enterprise | Immune | Resistant | Moderate Resistance | Resistant |
| 14 | Dayton | Immune | Resistant | Moderate Resistance | Moderate Resistance |
| 11 | Goldrush | Immune | Moderate Resistance | Resistant | Susceptible |
| 13 | Pristine | Immune | Moderate Resistance | Resistant | Susceptible |
| 12 | Priscilla | Very Resistant | Moderate Resistance | Resistant | Resistant |
| 15 | Crimson Crisp | Immune | Moderate Resistance | Moderate Susceptibility | Moderate Susceptibility |
| 16 | Redfree | Immune | Moderate Resistance | Moderate Resistance | Very Resistant |
| 17 | Nova Easygrow | Very Resistant | Moderate Resistance | Resistant | Resistant |
| 19 | Jonafree | Immune | Moderate Susceptibility | Resistant | Susceptible |
| 20 | Pixie Crunch | Immune | Resistant | Susceptible | Susceptible |
| 21 | Scarlett O’Hara | Immune | Susceptible | Resistant | Resistant |
| 22 | Kerr | Resistant | Very Resistant | Resistant | Very Resistant |
| 23 | Nova Spy | Resistant | Very Resistant | Moderate Resistance | Susceptible |
| 24 | Spartan | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant | Unknown |
| 25 | Sansa | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant | Very Resistant |
| 26 | Chieftain | Resistant | Resistant | Unknown | Unknown |
7 Likes
| Rank | Name | 1. Apple Scab | 2. Fire Blight | 3. Powdery Mildew | 4. Cedar Rust |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yates | Very Resistant | Very Resistant | Very Resistant | Very Resistant |
| 2 | Keener Seedling | Very Resistant | Very Resistant | Very Resistant | Very Resistant |
| 3 | Harrison | Very Resistant | Very Resistant | Resistant | Very Resistant |
| 4 | Franklin Cider | Immune | Very Resistant | Unknown | Immune |
| 5 | Bramley’s Seedling | Very Resistant | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant |
| 6 | Claygate Pearman | Very Resistant | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant |
| 7 | Redfield | Very Resistant | Resistant | Unknown | Unknown |
| 8 | Court Pendu Plat | Very Resistant | Moderate Resistance | Very Resistant | Resistant |
| 9 | Dabinett | Resistant | Very Resistant | Resistant | Resistant |
| 10 | Black Oxford | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant | Very Resistant |
| 11 | Hudson’s Golden Gem | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant |
| 12 | Williams Favorite | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant |
| 13 | Grimes Golden | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant |
| 14 | Hubbardston | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant |
| 15 | Gilpin | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant |
| 16 | Campfield | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant |
| 17 | Belle De Boskoop | Resistant | Resistant | Unknown | Unknown |
| 18 | Whitney | Moderate Resistance | Resistant | Moderate Resistance | Moderate Resistance |
6 Likes
At least some sources indicate potential susceptibility to fireblight, but the follow have some resistance to other diseases:
| Name | 1. Apple Scab | 2. Powdery Mildew | 3. Cedar Rust |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wolf River Apple 3-8 | Very Resistant | Very Resistant | Resistant |
| King David Apple 4-8 | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant |
| Grimes Golden Apple 5-8 | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant |
| Golden Russet American 4-7 | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant |
| Ashmead’s Kernel 4-8 | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant |
| Prima Apple (Co-op 2) 4-8 | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant |
| Duchess of Oldenburg 3-8 | Resistant | Resistant | Resistant |
| Pristine Apple (Coop 32) 5-8 | Immune | Resistant | Unknown |
| Sir Prize (Co op 5) 5-7 | Immune | Resistant | Susceptible |
| Dayton Apple (Co-op 21) 5-9 | Immune | Resistant | Susceptible |
| York Imperial Apple 4-9 | Resistant | Resistant | Susceptible |
| Bedan Cider Apple 5-8 | Resistant | Unknown | Unknown |
| Porters Perfection Apple 5-7 | Resistant | Unknown | Unknown |
| Jonafree Apple (Co-op 22) 3-7 | Resistant | Susceptible | Resistant |
| Yellow Transparent 3-9 | Resistant | Susceptible | Resistant |
6 Likes
Where are these lists coming from?
1 Like
I conducted my own research consulting all of the online sources I could find.
7 Likes
Blue Hill Wildlife Nursery offers an apple tree find they have named “Big Ten” and have described its disease resistance as:
“… this tree is immaculate in a no-spray situation, with all major apple tree diseases heavily present within the immediate area.”
1 Like
On the east coast rots are often the more pressing concern. That is something that nobody ever talks about in their descriptions.
2 Likes
Yeah, I found only occasional notes on rots, so I didn’t include it in my research project. Why on the east coast in particular? What circumstances make rot more threatening?
Not sure, but it’s the same with stone fruits. Rots destroy whole crops of some varieties if not sprayed.
2 Likes
Century Farms Orchards indicates the following are all very disease resistant:
Old Fashioned Limbertwig
Old Fashioned Winesap
Kinnaids Choice
Joseph’s
Virginia Beauty
Aunt Rachel
Mary Reid
Bevan’s Favorite
William’s Favorite
4 Likes
Great info. Thanks for posting it.
Summer rots for apples are not a problem for commercial growers. In general, they spray more into Summer and are able to control the Summer rots. Home growers spray less and not much in Summer so they often suffer from Summer rots. Also the farther South you are the more likely Summer rots will be a problem.
Since commercial growers don’t have problems I don’t think there is much research into Summer rots and that translates into fewer apple cultivars having ratings for Summer rots. This is true for other “minor” diseases like frog eye leaf spot.
This thread talks about Summer rots and has two lists of apples with Summer rot resistance levels.
5 Likes
I would be skeptical when it comes to claims of broad range disease resistance in apples unless there is really good test data. It is easy to claim it but much harder to produce a tree that actually has it. The only tree I know of that has good resistance to the four major apple diseases and Summer rots is William’s Pride. And I have looked everywhere. You are typically lucky to get resistance to three diseases and many apples have resistance to two or less.
3 Likes
Thank you @Loren for compiling these various lists. The rots here in 8A, west central Georgia, have been the biggest issue. I’ve grown Arkansas Black, two unknown Southern heirlooms, one of which is probably Mammoth Blacktwig, Enterprise, Pink Lady, Liberty, Grimes Golden, and Gold Rush. All of them suffer from summer rots, but Goldrush has been the worst by far. It has become ungrowable here without synthetic sprays, as it will set well, the apples will look great, and then every single one will rot before they ripen. Making sure there is no rotting fruit that overwinters on the ground or tree has not helped. There’s a discussion about Bitter Rot and Marsonnia Leaf Blotch at Marsonnina Leaf Blotch- 2023 - Guides - Growing Fruit you may find interesting.
2 Likes
Super lists- that’s a lot of work to research and compile. Well done!
1 Like
I have five of those from Century Farms on MM111 and I concur. I like Bevan’s Favorite especially because as such an early apple it avoids all of the late summer diseases too. A pretty, tasty, medium sized apple that’s ripe in July. What’s not to love!
1 Like