Apple (Malus pumila) is commercially the most important temperate fruit and is fourth among the most widely produced fruits in the world after banana, orange, and grape. China is the largest apple-producing country in the world.
Apple trees are generally produced by grafting (attaching a piece of an existing tree to a rootstock to form a new tree) or from seeds. One advantage of grafted trees they will bear fruit much more quickly than those grown from seed- with grafted trees.
Dry temperate areas are suitable for apple cultivation. The fruits produced in these areas are of high quality with high sugar content and long shelf life.
Sr.No. | Elevation (meters) | Rootstocks | Varieties |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Upto 1200 | M7, MM 106 MM 111 |
Anna, Dorsett Golden, Michael Schlomit |
2 | 1200 – 1800 | M7, MM 106 MM 111 and Seedling rootstock |
Scarlet Spur, Super Chief, Early Red One, Gala Gala |
3 | 1800 – 2200 | M7, MM 106 MM 111, Merton 793 and Seedling rootstock |
Red Chief, Oregon Spur11, Vance Delicious, Gala Gala |
4 | 2200 – 2400 | M7, Merton 793 MM 111 and Seedling root – Rootstock |
Royal Delicious, Top Red, Red Delicious, Golden |
Standard Varieties (Royal Delicious and Red Delicious) :
Vance Delicious, Top Red, and Bright – N Early :
Red Chief, Oregon Spur, Well Spur, and Silver Spur :
Golden Spur, Scarlet Gala, Red Fuji, and Crab apple :
Preliminary observations on the performance revealed that apple varieties viz. Camspur in Delicious group Gala Mischala in Gala Group and Auvil Early Fuji and Sun Fuji in Fuji group have good yielding potential, earliness, and better quality in their respective groups under Mid-hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh.