New scab resistant apple cultivars recommended in Slovenia

Abstract

The Slovenian Fruit Cultivar List recommends which cultivars Slovenian fruit growers should plant, although the advice non-binding, and the final choice belongs to the growers themselves. The latest edition of the list names 317 cultivars of 25 different fruit species. Among the apple species on the list is a group of scab resistant cultivars. Based on preliminary trials, the most promising are the summer cultivars ‘William’s Pride’, ‘Redfree’, and ‘Nela’; the autumn cultivars ‘Rubinola’, ‘Delorina’, and ‘Produkta’; and the winter cultivars ‘Relinda’, ‘Rajka’, ‘Topaz’, ‘Ecolette’, ‘Ariwa’, ‘Goldstar’, ‘Enterprise’, ‘Goldrush’, and ‘Renora’. Some fruit quality parameters of these cultivars are presented, including acidity, firmness, soluble solids content, starch index, and Streif index. Apple cultivars with both scab resistance and highly marketable fruit quality play a vital role in organic fruit production, which has recently become an important branch of fruit production in Slovenia.