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alexander3_gw

choosing disease resistant apples for cider

alexander3_gw
9 years ago

Hello,

I am involved in a local community garden, and last year we planted 10 apple and 10 pear rootstocks with an eye towards grafting the this coming spring. The manager and I agree that disease resistance should be a priority. Recently he got the idea of making cider with some of the future harvest.

I don't know much about making cider....is it reasonable to make cider with just any apples? The likely varieties so far are:
Liberty
Williams Pride
Wolf River

Are there good cider varieties that have good disease resistance?

Alex

Comments (4)

  • swampsnaggs
    9 years ago

    Both liberty and freedom are good for cider and are disease resistant. No matter if we are talking about sweet cider or hard cider, cider is usually a blended product. Freedom is big and juicy and crushes easily.

    It would be best to pick a few varieties that ripen together. Freedom and liberty are close enough for good cider, whereas liberty and williams pride are too far apart in ripening date.

    A variety like yellow delicious is great to blend in for sugar but is not resistant to cedar rust. But it will still bear in spite of this fact.

    Older varieties like baldwin and roxbury russet would be fine for cider and are disease resistant hardy trees.

  • alan haigh
    9 years ago

    I agree with swamp, but you should know that LIberty and Freedom are magnets for plum curculio and other insects, so disease resistance only takes you so far.

    You will probably get better cider from some old fashioned apples that also have resistance to scab and car and might not be as attractive to insects.

    The classic cider apple for sweet cider is Golden Russet, which is disease resistant but stinkbugs like it a lot. Arkansas Black is DR and insect resistant to a degree. King David is another candidate, judging from Tom Burfords list of disease resistant apples (based on VA growing conditions). Roxbury Russet also fills the bill and makes great cider while being extremely dependable. Old strain Stayman Winesap also. Yates and old strain Winesap could also be used. Old strains of Yellow Delicious are extremely useful in the mix- makes a sweet, clear, aromatic juice- but no acid, which is needed for a full flavored cider.

    Swamp is also totally correct about considering timing of fruit. You want to have varieties that ripen when you want to make cider unless you plan to store some and wait for others. Cider is sweeter if you use apples that have been harvested and kept at room temp for about a week.

    When Williams Pride is ripening folks aren't usually thinking about pressing cider- it is an Aug. apple in your zone.

  • lucky_p
    9 years ago

    I know squat about cider, but are disease resistance or insect issues really all that important with regard to 'cider apples' - other than with regard to 'yield'?
    You're gonna be chopping/pressing the fruits... looks to me like blemishes or imperfections are of little concern - and I'm pretty sure earlier generations of cidermakers didn't worry about codling moth or apple maggot larvae remains in the pomace...though today's masses would gag and wretch at the thought of a squashed 'worm'...

  • alan haigh
    9 years ago

    Unfortunately insect damage can leave you with no crop or a lot of small bumpy apples without much juice. It depends on variety and location, of course.

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