North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Sam Franc <franc@oregonfast.net>]

Here on the Oregon coast Empire has been a bust.
It seems very susceptible to bullseye and there is a lot of branch die 
out from it.
Also i try to grow pretty organically and it gets a lot of skin defects.
It is also not a consistant cropper, alternate years.
This year there are very few and those are all malformed.
Last year was a good crop with only about 20% malformed.
Macfree,Nova Easygro, Akane.Novamac,  Jon a mac and NY75-414 do much 
better for me.
They are all pretty disease free and do not get malformed.
Another new one for me, Prima is showing a lot of promise
Sam

Don Yellman wrote:

> Gord:
>
> Agree on Freedom, which has been a bust for me in flavor and in so 
> many other ways.  On a one to ten scale for flavor, I would give it 
> about a three, just ahead of Ben Davis.  In fact, I think I will take 
> my 12 year old Freedom out, and replace it with something that tastes 
> good.  It may be resistant to scab, but not to anything else.  I don't 
> grow Liberty, but have tasted them, and don't much like them either.
>
> Have you considered Spartan?  This is a Mac x Albemarle Pippin (aka 
> Yellow Newtown) cross, that has excellent scab resistance.  It looks 
> like a slightly flattened Mac, and is a truly excellent table and 
> culinary apple.  I know it is very popular in Vermont and upstate New 
> York, where is is used as a cider apple from unthinned orchards.  But 
> when thinned, this apple becomes large and handsome.  My wife, upon 
> whom I rely for unvarnished opinions, ate one the other day and 
> remarked on its excellent flavor and texture.  I had widespread 
> fireblight on the apples this year, and Spartan was one of the few 
> that came through nearly unscathed.  Spartan also shows signs of being 
> a heavier cropper than Freedom, by a factor of about six, and has a 
> fine natural shape on M7 rootstock.  I plan to make one or two more 
> copies of my Spartan; maybe I just have an exceptionally good tree.
>
> Empire also seems to require little in the way of spraying attention, 
> but does need a lot of thinning.  It's a fine table apple, but, in my 
> judgment, not as good as the Spartan I am growing here.  For sheer 
> productivity, it's pretty hard to beat Empire.  It's a bit of a 
> surprise that either of them do so well for me, since I can't grow 
> McIntosh at all.
>
> I am growing out a Novaspy from a scion sent to me by Ed Fackler in 
> spring 2001, and will probably set it in the orchard late this fall. 
> Don't know much about it, or how it compares for flavor, but doubt 
> that Ed would have sent me a dud.  That might be another one to look 
> into.
>
> Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA
>
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