Apple Cultivar Performance on M.26 in Southern Ohio

Abstract

In 1969 a planting of 18 cultivars on Μ.26 rootstock were established in southern Ohio at two spacings. ‘Early Red Stayman’ made very weak growth and had the smallest trunk cross-sectional area which reflected partial incompatibility of this cultivar and M.26. Standard habit ‘Delicious’ strains and vigorous cultivars such as ‘Spartan,’ ‘Mutsu,’ ‘Lodi,’ ‘Spijon,’ and ‘Chieftain’ produced excessive vegetative growth in response to containment pruning and were not adapted to the 8 or 10 foot spacings used in this trial. ‘Golden Delicious’ had the highest accumulated yield per tree and ranked third in productive efficiency during the 10 years of this study. Trees of all cultivars planted at the wide spacing (10' x 16') were significantly larger and more productive than those planted at the closer spacing (8' x 16').