Applecrabs are various hybrids between

crabapple ''Malus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 30–55 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples, wild apples, and rainberries. The genus is native to the temperate zon ...

s and

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...

s. They are bred for varying reasons, including disease resistance and use in cold climates because they are often hardier than apple trees and their fruit has the good eating qualities of apples. Applecrabs are sometimes distinguished from apples if the fruit diameter is less than .

Cold-hardy applecrabs

Director of the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Central Experimental Farm The Central Experimental Farm (CEF), commonly known as the Experimental Farm, is an agricultural facility, working farm, and research centre of the Science and Technology Branch, formerly the Research Branch, of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. ...

William Saunders (1836–1914) produced a number of such hybrids as part of an effort to develop good-quality eating apples for the Canadian prairies by crossing the domesticated apple

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s with selected winter-hardy crabapple species.

Cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s include: * Malus 'Columbia', from one of Saunders' early experiments crossing ''M. baccata'' (from

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part ...

) with relatively hardy apples. * Malus 'Kerr', from crossing 'Dolgo' crabapple and 'Haralson' apple. * Malus 'Osman', from one of Saunders' early experiments crossing ''M. baccata'' with relatively hardy apples. * Malus 'Rescue'. * Malus 'Trailman, from crossing 'Trail' with 'Osman'.

Scab-resistant apples

A separate project was initiated by C.S. Crandall of the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Uni ...

to breed scab-resistant apples by introducing the ''VF gene'' from the crabapple ''

Malus floribunda ''Malus floribunda'', common name Japanese flowering crabapple, Japanese crab, purple chokeberry, or showy crabapple, originates from Japan and East Asia. It may be a hybrid of ''M. toringo'' with ''M. baccata'', in which case it would be writte ...

''. His work has been continued by the

PRI disease resistant apple breeding program The PRI disease resistant apple breeding program is a joint project of the Purdue University, Rutgers University, and the University of Illinois, to breed apple cultivars to be resistant to apple scab. The initialism stands for the three involved ...

with great success. Among the scab-resistant apples that carry the ''VF Gene'' are: *

Pristine apple Pristine apple is a hybrid cultivar of 'Co Op 10' x 'Camuzat' domesticated apples, which are descendants of the 'McIntosh' apple and the 'Starking Delicious'. This cultivar was developed and patented in the United States by the PRI disease resi ...

* Rajka *

Topaz Topaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al Si O( F, OH). It is used as a gemstone in jewelry and other adornments. Common topaz in its natural state is colorless, though trace element impurities can mak ...

Red-fleshed applecrabs

Another type of applecrab breeding program stems from ''

Malus niedzwetskyana ''Malus niedzwetzkyana'', or Niedzwetzky's apple, is a kind of apple native to certain parts of China, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan noted for its red-fleshed, red-skinned fruit and red flowers. Some botanists consider it ...

'', a red-fleshed crabapple, a few of which can still be found in

and the Caucasus. It has been used by modern breeders to breed some red-leaved, red-flowered, and red-fruited domesticated

s and crabapples. One example is the Surprise, a pink-fleshed apple that was brought to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

by German immigrants around 1840 and was later used by the horticulturist

Albert Etter Albert Etter (1872–1950) was an American plant breeder best known for his work on strawberry and apple varieties. Early life and education Albert Felix Etter was born near Shingle Springs in El Dorado County, California, on November 27, 1872. ...

to breed some 30 pink- and red-fleshed varieties, the best-known of which is Pink Pearl."The Ettersburg Apple Legacies"
Greenmantle Nursery website Another horticulturist,

Niels Ebbesen Hansen Niels Ebbesen Hansen (January 4, 1866 – October 5, 1950) was a Danish-American horticulturist, botanist, and agricultural explorer for the United States Department of Agriculture and the state of South Dakota. He searched the harsh environments ...

, encountered ''M. niedzwetskyana'' in the Ili valley in what is now

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

during his 1897 expedition to Russia, and began two breeding programs based on this unusual fruit, one aimed at developing a cold-hardy cooking and eating apple, and the other aimed at developing ornamental crabapples. His efforts resulted in the Almata apple and the Hopa crabapple, among other varieties. Some of these apples, as well as ''M. niedzwetskyana'' itself, are being used for small-scale commercial production of rosé

apple cider Apple cider (also called sweet cider, soft cider, or simply cider) is the name used in the United States and Canada for an unfiltered, unsweetened, non-alcoholic beverage made from apples. Though typically referred to simply as "cider" in the U ...

s."Rosé Ciders to Try This Summer"
/ref>

References

External links

Midwest Apple Improvement Association
{{Crabapple Apples Malus

Cold-hardy applecrabs

Scab-resistant apples

Red-fleshed applecrabs

See also

References

External links