Apple 'Medea'

Apple 'Medea' (Malus domestica) is a winter cultivar of the domesticated apple (Malus domestica). Developed at the Crimean Experimental Station of Horticulture. It is a medium-vigour tree. It begins fruiting early, in the 3rd–4th year after planting. Yield is high and regular.

Fruits are large and very large, weighing 280–300 g, of a regular slightly flat-round shape. Skin is firm, light yellow in color with a diffuse orange-red blush over almost the entire fruit surface. Flesh is firm, creamy, juicy, fine-grained, sweet‑and‑sour, of high taste quality – tasting score 4.6–4.7 points. Harvest maturity occurs in early October. Can be stored in refrigeration until April.

Frost hardiness zone: 4 (−31°C).

Location: prefers sunny sites protected from wind. Does not tolerate waterlogging or very dry sites. Groundwater should lie no closer than 2.5 m from the surface. Not demanding to soil type, but prefers fertile, fresh soils.

Planting: Seedlings are preferably planted in spring before bud break or in autumn 1–1.5 months before frosts. The planting pit should be at least 80x80x100 cm; spacing between seedlings should be calculated depending on the crown size at maturity (at least 5–6 m). The seedling is backfilled with a soil mixture consisting of leaf soil, humus and sand in a ratio of 1:3:2; a little peat and 250–300 g of granular double superphosphate per planting hole can also be added.

Diseases: the cultivar is tolerant to fungal diseases.

Pests: hawthorn tortricid moth, hawthorn moth, brown fruit mite, upper-surface fruit moth, apple blossom weevil, oriental fruit moth, pear sawfly, pear tube-roller, oakleaf silk moth, cambial borer, western bark beetle, green apple aphid, winter geometer moth, kasarka (kazarka), ringed silk moth, red-gall apple aphid, red apple mite, blood aphid, leaf-mining moth, ghost moth (unpaired silk moth), common pear psylla, fruit moth, fruit and subcortical leafroller, stripetail geometer (padenitsa obdiralo), rowan moth, currant leafroller, turnip moth (sovka-sinegolovka), striped fruit moth, apple spotty scale, mealybug, apple moth, apple moth and leafroller, apple fruit moth, apple clearwing, apple–plantain aphid, apple sawfly.

Care: in the second year after planting it is necessary to apply a complete mineral fertilizer (phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium). In winter protection is required against frost damage and rodents. Whitewashing of apple trees is applied in the 5th–6th year after planting the seedling. In the spring–summer period nitrogen fertilization and moderate watering are required. Feed the apple tree after flowering, then after fruitlet drop, and the last feeding at the end of August – beginning of September.

Pruning: the cultivar is suitable for spindle-shaped crown pruning. Propagation: propagated by grafting onto rootstocks.

Usage: the cultivar is valued for the high taste quality of its fruits and attractive appearance. Fruits are consumed mainly fresh. Comes into fruiting early, has high resistance to fungal diseases, produces regular and abundant harvests. Transportability is good.