New apple cultivar ‘Beniminori’

Abstract

‘Beniminori’ is an early maturing red dessert apple (Malus pumila Mill.), resulted from a cross of ‘Tsugaru’ and ‘Gala’ made in 1981. The original tree of ‘Beniminori’ was initially selected in 1993 in Morioka Research Station, and was tested as selection Ringo Morioka-67 under the sixth apple selection national trial initiated in 2009. It was released as ‘Beniminori’ in 2018, then registered as No. 27427 under The Plant Variety and Seedling Act of Japan in 2019. The tree vigor is medium. Its flowering time is same as ‘Tsugaru’. ‘Beniminori’ is cross-compatible with major commercial cultivars such as ‘Fuji’ and ‘Tsugaru’, since the S-genotype is S3S5. ‘Beniminori’ is resistant to Alternaria blotch and is susceptible to scab. The fruit of ‘Beniminori’ ripens in late August to early September in Morioka. Mean fruit weight is 263 g (30 g smaller than ‘Tsugaru’) in the national trial. The fruit has a dark red surface color at harvest time, and the flesh firmness is 16.4lbs (significantly firmer than that of ‘Tsugaru’), soluble solids concentration averages around 13.4% (similar to that of ‘Tsugaru’). Titratable acidity averages 0.33 g/100 ml (significantly higher than that of ‘Tsugaru’). Fruit cracking in ‘Beniminori’ occurs depending on years and locations. Fruit skin shows good coloration, and fruit flesh keeps good condition compared with ‘Tsugaru’ even in warm region of southwest districts in Japan. Therefore, ‘Beniminori’ is expected to be a suitable cultivar for adapting to warmer climate.