Major is a
cider apple
Cider apples are a group of apple cultivars grown for their use in the production of cider (referred to as "hard cider" in the United States). Cider apples are distinguished from "cookers" and "eaters", or dessert apples, by their bitterness or ...
cultivar first grown in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
in the area of
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
and
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
.
Characteristics
Major is a 'bittersweet' under the categorisation system developed in 1903 by the
Long Ashton Research Station
Long Ashton Research Station (LARS) was an agricultural and horticultural government-funded research centre located in the village of Long Ashton near Bristol, UK. It was created in 1903 to study and improve the West Country cider industry and be ...
, its fruit being high in tannins and relatively low in acidity. A long established variety dating from the 19th century or earlier, it was historically found in old farm orchards across South Devon and east of the
Blackdown Hills
The Blackdown Hills are a range of hills along the Somerset-Devon border in south-western England, which were designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1991.
The plateau is dominated by hard chert bands of Upper Greensand wit ...
in Somerset.
[''Annual Report of the Long Ashton Research Station'', 1986, p.64]
A
triploid
Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei ( eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contain ...
variety, young trees of 'Major' are very vigorous in growth meaning it is unsuitable for use with some large-growing rootstocks.
[Copas and Umpelby, 2002, ''Growing Cider Apples: A Guide to Good Orchard Practice'', NACM, p. 20 ] It bears early in the season. The fruit are fairly typical of Somerset "Jersey" (bittersweet) apples,
[Copas (2001) ''Somerset Pomona: The Cider Apples of Somerset'', Dovecote, p.48] and are medium sized with a pinkish red flush.
'Major' is amongst the cultivars classified as of 'vintage' quality, i.e. capable of making single-varietal cider.
References
{{Apples
Apple cultivars