The 'Spartan' is an apple cultivar developed by R. C Palmer and introduced in 1936 from the Federal Agriculture Research Station in Summerland, British Columbia, now known as the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre - Summerland.[1] The 'Spartan' is notable for being the first new breed of apple produced from a formal scientific breeding program.[2] The apple was supposed to be a cross between two North American cultivars, the 'McIntosh' and the 'Newtown Pippin', but recently, genetic analysis showed the 'Newtown Pippin' was not one of the parents and its identity remains a mystery. The 'Spartan' apple is considered a good all-purpose apple.[3] The apple is of medium size and has a bright-red blush, but can have background patches of greens and yellows.[4]

'Spartan'
GenusMalus
SpeciesMalus pumila
Hybrid parentage'McIntosh' × Unknown
Cultivar'Spartan'
OriginSummerland, British Columbia, Canada, 1936

Disease susceptibility

edit
  • Scab: high[5]
  • Powdery mildew: high
  • Cedar apple rust: high
  • Fire blight: medium

Sports and descendants

edit
  • 'Hunter Spartan', a tetraploid form of 'Spartan'
edit

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. "Summerland - History The 20s and 30s". Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
  2. ^ "Spartan apple". Orange Pippin.com. Archived from the original on May 1, 2007. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  3. ^ "Spartan Apples". Science Canada. Archived from the original on October 1, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  4. ^ "Apple Trees". Galetta Nurseries. Archived from the original on February 11, 2007. Retrieved March 14, 2007.
  5. ^ Stephen Miller of the USDA Fruit Research Lab in Kearneysville, West Virginia.
edit