Growing apples in Rhode Island is certainly much easier if you don’t need to spray fungicides for apple scab control.  There are several great apple varieties resistant to the apple scab fungus that grow well here.  The varieties are listed in order of ripening.

Pristine – (Golden Delicious and McIntosh in its background)

Ripens late July.  Pristine trees bear medium to large fruit with a very smooth, attractive yellow finish, often with a blush when the fruit is still crisp.  Flavor is somewhat tart and excellent for cooking or eating fresh.  It has very good quality for its season but does not store well.  Since it ripens so early, summer diseases should not impact fruit quality.  It has a tendency for biennial bearing and early fruit drop.  Blooms mid to late season.

Williams’ Pride – (Purdue, Rutgers, Illinois  (PRI) release)

Ripens mid August.  William’s Pride is a maroon-red, medium-large apple with crisp, firm, juicy, cream-color flesh.  Flavor is sweet-tart and trees are annually productive and easy to grow. Need several pickings once it starts ripening and does not store well.  Blooms mid season.    

Redfree - (Raritan x PRI)

Ripens late August. The fruit is medium-large with a beautiful, dark red finish. The flesh is firm with a sweet-tart flavor that has been compared to Empire. This tree needs thinning and multiple pickings. Does not store well. Blooms mid season.

Nova Easygro - (Spartan x PRI)

Ripens with McIntosh (early September).  The fruit is red striped over green background and is sweet, firm, and crunchy.  Stores for limited time under refrigeration.  Blooms mid season.

Liberty - (Macoun x PRI) 

Ripens in mid to late September.  It is precocious, productive, and has scored high in taste tests.  Liberty is among the best scab-resistant apples.  The fruit is a very attractive bright red blush with hints of striping, although somewhat irregular in shape.  The flavor is very good, sprightly, tart-sweet and the flesh is crispy and juicy.  Quality is retained up to 2 months in refrigerated storage.  Fruit needs thinning.  Narrow window for picking.  Blooms mid season.

 Freedom - (New York Cross)

Ripens early October.  Although not particularly attractive, Freedom apples are bronze-red striped on a yellow-green background.  Fruit is large and produces annually on a well-thinned tree. The flesh is firm and juicy and the flavor is tart.  It is excellent for cooking and eating fresh.  This apple was a big hit at our GreenShare Day taste test in September ’98.  Freedom trees are very vigorous and require considerable pruning to maintain a productive tree shape.  Stores well for limited time.  Blooms midseason.

Enterprise – (PRI x PRI)

Ripens late October.  Medium size fruit with 75-100% red to orange over green to deep yellow background.  Flesh is cream colored and crisp.  Flavor is spicey and aromatic.  Fruit hangs well on the tree.  Its flavor peaks after 3-4 weeks in refrigerated storage and keeps for 6 months.  Blooms late mid-season.

All apple trees are susceptible to summer diseases called fly speck and sooty blotch.  These diseases discolor only the surface of the apple, though they can be quite unsightly.  A thorough scrubbing with a cloth and water will remove most of the discoloration.  A fungicide, such as Captan, can be applied every 2 weeks from early July until 2 weeks before harvest, though we recommend tolerating the fly speck and sooty blotch or scrubbing it off.

All apple trees are susceptible to insect attack.  We recommend the insecticide Imidan be applied at flower petal fall and again 10-14 days later.  To control apple maggot fly, hang sticky red spheres at the end of June until harvest.  Use one trap per dwarf tree and up to 6 traps for a full size tree (approximately one trap per 150 fruit).

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