Apple (Malus domestica)
- Family: Rosaceae
- Origin: Asia Minor to Western Himalayas
- Type: Temperate fruit
- India’s Rank: 11th in the world
- Share in Indian Temperate Fruit: 55% area, 75% production
- “Apple Bowl of India”: Himachal Pradesh
- Leading Producing State: Jammu & Kashmir
- Cultivar Developer: Thomas Andrew Knight (first cultivar)
Botany & Pollination
- Flower Colour: White to pink
- Chilling Requirement: ~1000 hours below 7.2°C
- Pollination:
- Delicious group: Self-incompatible, need cross-pollinizer
- English types: Self-pollinated, act as good pollinizers
- Pollinizer Proportion: 11–33% trees in orchard
- Fruit Drops:
- Early Drop: Lack of pollination
- June Drop: Moisture stress/environmental conditions
- Preharvest Drop: Abscission layer + Ethylene
Climatic Needs
- Optimum Temp. for Pollen Germination: 21.1–26.7°C
- Summer Temp.: 21–24°C (for active growth)
- Critical Water Requirement Period: April–August
Propagation & Rootstocks
- Commercial Propagation: Stooling
- Seed Stratification: 4–7°C for 60–90 days
- Scion Grafting: Avoid during active growth
Rootstocks
Type | Name | Traits |
Seedling | Malus baccata | Common in India |
Dwarf | M-9 | High density planting |
Ultradwarf | M-27 (M-13 × M-9) | Smallest |
Semi-dwarf | M-4, M-7, MM-106 | Aphid-resistant, high density |
Semi-vigorous | MM-111 | Drought + Aphid-resistant |
Vigorous | Merton-793 | Aphid-resistant |
Storage & Processing
- Storage Temp.: ~0–4°C
- Product: Cider (fermented apple wine)
- Processing Varieties: Rome Beauty, York Imperial, Stayman Winesap, Northern Spy, etc.
Popular & Notable Varieties
By Maturity
Type | Varieties |
Early | Tydeman’s Early, Irish Peach, Benoni, Fenny, Early Shanburry |
Mid | Red Delicious, Top Red, Richared, Jonathan, McIntosh, Golden Delicious, Rome Beauty, American Mother |
Late | Yellow Newton, Winter Banana, Granny Smith, Lal Ambri, Rymer |
- Spur Types: Stark Crimson, Red Chief, White Spur
- Colour Mutants: Top Red, Skyline Supreme, Hardiman
- Scab-Resistant Varieties: Liberty (resistant to all fungal diseases), Prima, Florina, Macfree, Jonafree, Redfree, Priscilla, Sir Prize, Nova Mac, Nova Easygro, Freedom, Shireen, Firdous
- Low-Chilling Varieties: Anna, Michel, Schlomit, Neomi, Vared, Tamma, Tropical Beauty, Parlin’s Beauty (suitable for processing)
- Crab Varieties: Red Flush, Crimson Gold, Yellow Drops, Nodrift
Indigenous & Hybrid Varieties
Variety | Parentage |
Ambri | Indigenous, long shelf-life, biennial |
Lal Ambri | Red Delicious × Ambri |
Amb Red | Red Delicious × Ambri |
Amb Starking | Starking Delicious × Ambri |
Ambroyol | Royal Delicious × Ambri |
Amrich | Rich-a-Red × Ambri |
Sunheri | Ambri × Golden Delicious |
Chaubattia Princess | Red Delicious × Early Shanburry |
Exotic Apple Varieties by Country
Country | Table Varieties | Processing Varieties |
USA | Red Delicious, Gala Sales, Fuji, Empire | Rome Beauty, Stayman Winesap, Freedom |
UK | McIntosh, Empire, Maypole | McIntosh, Cortland |
France | Rainette, De Flandres, Cabarett | – |
Germany | Tonagold, Gloster | – |
Disorders & Traits
Disorder | Affected Variety |
Bitter Pit | Golden Delicious, Yellow Newton |
Internal Browning | Yellow Newton |
- Triploid Cultivars: Baldwin, Winesap, Gravenstein
- Northern Spy: Aphid-resistant
- Red Gold: Pollinizer for Red Delicious and Starking Delicious
- Meadow Orcharding: 20,000–70,000 plants/ha (super high density)
