No Spray Apple List

[Loren]

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

[Loren]

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

[Jujube]

Where are these lists coming from?

[Loren]

I conducted my own research consulting all of the online sources I could find.

[Loren]

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.”

[Robert]

On the east coast rots are often the more pressing concern. That is something that nobody ever talks about in their descriptions.

[Loren]

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?

[Robert]

Not sure, but it’s the same with stone fruits. Rots destroy whole crops of some varieties if not sprayed.

[Loren]

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

[MikeC]

Great info. Thanks for posting it.

[mroot]

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.

Apple summer rots and resistant apple cultivars

Summer rots are a problem for apples in areas of hot, humid summers. The problem gets worse the farther South you go. Here are some links that will help you identify various summer rots and a short list of apples with their resistance rating against summer rot. Black Rot http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/IPM/english/apples/diseases-and-disorders/black-rot.html Bitter Rot White Rot http://applescout.ca.uky.edu/whiterot Sooty Blotch and Flyspeck http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/fac…

[mroot]

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.

[haldog]

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.

[hambone]

Super lists- that’s a lot of work to research and compile. Well done!

[Rosdonald]

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!