Apple variety Imant

Imant (Antaeus x Liberty) is a scab immune (Vf gene) apple variety bred by the Belarusian Research Institute of Fruit Growing (now RUE “Institute of Fruit Growing” of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus) with fruits of late winter ripening. The authorship belongs to a group of breeders: G.K. Kovalenko, D.V. Grakovich, V.M. Evdokimenko and G.M. Marudo. The variety was submitted for State testing in 1999.

The trees are characterized by medium vigor, the crown is compact, not too dense, in shape - rounded, raised. Fruiting is of the mixed type: the fruits are often tied on lances and fruit twigs (they account for 25% of the ovaries in the total fruiting).

The fruits of the Imant apple tree are of a higher medium and large size (the mass of one apple is 180-200 grams), round in shape, blunt-conical, with noticeable ribbing. According to the main color, the fruits are green, however, most often this is not visible, since the integumentary color occupies almost the entire surface of the apple in the form of a blurred dark red blush with a purple (violet) tint. The pulp has a delicate greenish-cream color, medium density and fine-grained structure. The apples taste very crispy, juicy, sour-sweet (tasting score is 4.2 points). By chemical composition, the fruits contain: dry matter (11.7%), the amount of sugars (10.9%), titratable acids (0.64%), ascorbic acid (8.7 mg / 100 g). The consumer period starts from February. The potability of the variety is high: in a storage (cellar) conditions, apples remain fresh until the end of April, and when stored in a refrigerator, until the end of May - beginning of June.

Apple tree Imant is high-fruiting. On clonal rootstocks 62−396, MM 106, 5−25−3, 54−118 trees enter the season of fruiting already in the 2nd (less often 3rd) year after planting. The yield is also high: 5-year-old apple trees yield up to 25 kg of fruits, and they bear fruit stably every year. When choosing a planting scheme of 5 × 3 m on a seed stock at the age of 8 years, the yield indicator is 18 t / ha. The variety is winter hardy (you can safely grow in the south of the Moscow region). The resistance of leaves and fruits to scab damage is very high (even in epiphytotic years). Also, the apple tree is relatively resistant to diseases of the bark and wood (cancer).

The main advantages of the variety are: absolute immunity to all races of scab, high rates of early maturity, productivity, transportability and keeping quality.

The disadvantages sometimes include too dark color of the fruit.