The Occurrence of Spur Type Trees in Seedling Apple Populations

Abstract

One of the interesting developments in the field of pomology in recent years has been the discovery of the occurrence of spur type tree mutations in some varieties of apple. These have attracted the attention of of commercial orchardists as well as professional horticulturists for a variety of reasons. The commercial orchardists have become interested in the spur type mutations of varieties they are already growing because of the economic advantage apparently offered by the smaller tree, earlier bearing habits and more open growth habit of the spur type tree. These advantages are still of controversial value, and it is not the intention of this paper to discuss that topic. The principal purpose of this discussion is to consider the origins of these mutations, their frequency of occurrence, possible reasons for their occurrence, and the possibility of other characters, both desirable and undesirable, that may be associated with the spur type growth habit.