Apple Selection at Local Supermarket

Over the past 30 years, the goal has been to develop good eating and storing apples which are not susceptible to four major diseases. The first 3 cultivars released were ‘Prima’, ‘Priscilla’, and ‘Sir Prize’, but they lacked great flavor and storage quality.

Apples are susceptible to four serious diseases: apple scab, cedar-apple rust, fireblight, and powdery mildew.  Scab, rust and mildew foliar diseases required a rigorous fungicide spray routine every 7-10 days from spring petal fall up to harvest. Fireblight is a bacterial disease without any satisfactory control measures other than pruning off dead twigs and branches.

Gardeners are looking for better non-pesticide (organic) options. Here are 5 “no-spray” disease resistant varieties:

‘Liberty’ – McIntosh type flavor with good to moderate resistance to all 4 diseases.

‘Freedom’ – crispy, slightly tart red medium to large fruit for both eating, cooking and juice; 3 month storage life.

‘Goldrush’ – crispy, nearly ‘Golden Delicious’  in flavor, slightly tart; good keeping quality; susceptible to cedar apple rust.

‘Enterprise’ – new sprite tasting red skin/white flesh variety with good keeping quality after harvest.

‘Arkansas Black’ – old timey variety with good disease resistance; tart apple whose flavor improves after 1 month in storage; long keeping time; skin color turns almost black.

The development of disease resistant cultivars has greatly diminished the number of fungicide sprays required to grow a successful crop. Insect control is still needed.

Credit: Dr. David Lockwood, University of Tennessee Fruit Specialist suggested these 5 disease resistant varieties.