GoldRush Apple

The GoldRush Apple (Malus domestica «GoldRush») – a late-winter variety of the domestic apple (Malus domestica). The variety was bred by E. Williams from a cross of Golden Delicious x COOP 17 at the Purdue research farm at the University of Illinois (USA) in 1973.

It is a medium-sized tree with an oval compact crown. It fruits 3-4 years after planting, producing an abundant harvest annually.

Flowers pink, petals 14 x 21 mm. Blooms abundantly, in mid-season.

Fruits medium-sized, weighing 140-180 g, 64-76 mm in diameter, elongated-round in shape. Skin of medium thickness, with noticeable speckling, greenish-yellow, with a dull, diffuse pink blush on the sun-exposed side. Flesh juicy, pale yellow, medium-grained, firm, crisp, of excellent sweet-tart flavor. Pedicel medium to long in length, of medium thickness. Ripen in the second half of October, store up to 7 months in refrigeration.

Hardiness zone: 5 (-22°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 regarding soil, but prefers fertile, fresh soils.

Planting: The seedling is preferably planted in spring before bud break or in autumn 1-15 months before the frosts. The hole should be at least 80x80x100 cm; spacing between seedlings should be calculated depending on the crown size of the tree 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 granulated double superphosphate (250-300 g per planting hole) can also be added.

Diseases: high resistance to scab, powdery mildew, rust.

Pests: hawthorn tortrix moth, hawthorn moth, brown fruit mite, upper-surface fruit moth, apple blossom weevil, oriental fruit moth, pear sawfly, pear tube-maker, oak-leaf silkworm, sapwood borer, western unpaired bark beetle, green apple aphid, winter moth, Kazarka (moth), ringed silkmoth, red-gall apple aphid, red apple mite, blood aphid, leafminer moth, unpaired silkmoth, common pear psyllid, fruit moth, fruit and subcortical leafroller, geometer moth (Piadnica Obdiralo), rowan moth, currant leafroller, blue-headed noctuid, striped fruit moth, apple blotch scale, psyllid, apple moth, apple moth and leafroller, apple fruit moth (codling moth), apple clearwing moth, 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 against frost damage and rodents is required. 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 the shedding of fruitlets, and the last time at the end of August - beginning of September.

Pruning: carried out in two ways: thinning and shortening. For shortening, remove half of the upper parts of the shoots, and for thinning remove the shoot or branch entirely. The optimal period for pruning is early spring – March-May. Apple trees planted the previous autumn should be pruned before the start of sap flow. Summer pruning – pinching – can also be applied.

Propagation: propagated by grafting onto rootstocks.

Use: the variety is valued for the high taste quality of its fruits and for its consistent and abundant yields.