Apple variety Melba (Melba)

Melba is a late summer apple variety of Canadian origin, obtained in 1898 in the state of Ottawa at the central experimental station through free pollination of the seeds of another Canadian variety - Mekintosh (Mac, McIntosh). The new variety was named after the world famous opera singer of the time, Australian Nelly Melba. In Russia, this variety quickly gained popularity in many regions. Due to its positive qualities, Melba in our country is zoned almost everywhere, with the exception of the Ural, Northern and Far Eastern regions.

The trees of this variety are medium in height and have a spreading, slightly raised crown with a wide round shape and medium density. But the crown is rounded and grows to the sides gradually, in the first years of growth the apple trees have a columnar shape. The color of the bark is rather dark - brownish orange. A mixed type of fruiting is characteristic, but nevertheless, in adult apple trees, fruits are formed mainly on ringlets.

Shoots of medium thickness, medium pubescence. Leaves are oval, slightly oblong, slightly curved, light green, often yellowish. On strong shoots, the leaves become convex, swollen upward. On the edge, the leaf is crenate. Annual trees have a straight, rather thick trunk, shiny bark of a light cherry hue, and the edges of the leaves hang down.

The flowers are quite large, the buds have a white-pink tint with a purple tint, the petals are round, light pink in color, closed, closely spaced and slightly overlapping each other (an overlap is formed), the stigmas of the pistils can be located at the level of the anthers or below.

The fruits of the Melba apple tree are large enough, of medium or larger size (the average weight of one apple is 120 - 140 g, but can reach up to 200 g). The apples are flattened, round or round-conical in shape, with the largest diameter at the base, the ribbing is weakly expressed. The peel on the fruits is dense, but not at all rough, but tender, smooth, slightly oily, covered with a waxy bloom of a bluish-white color. The main color of the fruit is light green, whitish-yellow when ripe, the integumentary color is expressed by a bright red striped blush, which occupies about half of the surface of the apple. The subcutaneous dots are white, of medium size or finer, especially on the colored side of the fetus. The funnel is quite deep and of medium width. The peduncle is thin, medium in length. A saucer of narrow shape, medium depth, folded, with a closed cup. The heart is medium in size, bulbous. The seed chambers are wide open into the axial cavity. Seeds are brown in color, large, oblong in shape.

The pulp of this apple tree is very tender, juicy, snow-white in color, with an attractive candy aroma and an excellent sweet and sour taste. The fruits are well suited for making juices, compotes, jams and marmalades. By chemical composition, fruits contain: sugars (10.5%), ascorbic acid (13.4 mg / 100 g), titratable acids (0.78%), pectin substances (10.1%), P-active substances ( 297 mg / 100 g).

The fruits are harvested from the second half of August. In cool summers, the harvest can last until mid-September. When stored in the refrigerator, unripe apples can stay fresh until November. And if the fruits are picked a little unripe, then they can be stored in cool conditions until January. In addition, compared to other summer varieties, Melba fruits tolerate transportation well and are therefore often grown specifically for sale.

This variety has high rates of early maturity.With good care of apple trees, fruiting begins as early as 3-4 years after planting in trees grafted on dwarf rootstocks, and in 4-5 years in trees grafted on vigorous rootstocks. The yield is high. Young apple trees bear fruit annually and abundantly, but old trees are prone to periodic fruiting. According to data obtained in the orchards of VNIISPK: for the first 6 years of fruiting, starting from 6 years after planting, the average yield from 1 hectare of land, when apple trees were placed according to the 8 × 3 meter scheme, amounted to 93 centners. With the placement of full-grown trees according to the 7 × 7 meter scheme, the yield indicators turned out to be higher - from 120 to 180 c / ha.

The winter hardiness of the apple tree is average. The trees tolerate mild winters well, but with severe bark on the trunk and main branches it suffers from burns. Scab resistance is also average. In some years (at low temperatures and frequent rains in the summer season), fruits and trees are seriously affected by scab.

The obvious advantages of this apple tree are: high rates of early maturity and productivity, good consumer and commercial qualities of apples.

Among the main disadvantages are: a tendency to attack by scab, insufficiently high winter hardiness, a tendency of adult apple trees to cyclical fruiting, a low ability of trees to self-pollinate (to increase productivity, additional pollination is required).

With the participation of the Melba apple tree, over 20 new varieties have been created. Among them 'Cherished'' breeding Research Institute of Horticulture of Siberia named after M. A. Lisavenko, 'Early scarlet' selection of VNIISPK, 'Red scarlet' selection of VNIIS them. I. V. Michurina, 'Caravel' (Ottawa Experimental Station, Canada). Melba also contributed to the creation of the ‘Prima’ (USA) variety, the first apple variety immune to scab (with the Vf gene).