Apple 'Lobo'

Apple 'Lobo' (Malus domestica Lobo) – a winter, high-yielding cultivar of the domestic apple from the genus Malus and the family Rosaceae (Rosaceae). The cultivar was developed in Canada at the Ottawa experimental station in 1906 by open pollination of the 'McIntosh' cultivar.

It is a fast-growing deciduous tree, having a vertically oval crown shape in its youth, later becoming broadly rounded and open. It fruits on spurs and short shoots, at the ends of last year's growth. Shoots of medium thickness, slightly curved, knotted, dark brown with a cherry tint, moderately pubescent. Many lenticels, both large and small, oval. Internode length is medium.

Leaves medium to large, green, ovate, less often elliptical, base cordate, tip twisted. Leaf blade surface wrinkled, slightly bumpy, matte, slightly curved. Leaf apex broadly cuneate, tip small and tapering. Leaf margins single, more often with dual serration.

The cultivar is self-sterile. Pollinators: Martovskoe, Orlik, Zeleny May, Spartak and other early apple cultivars. Flowering intensity is medium.

Fruits large, less often medium, uniform, from flattened-round to rounded-conical in shape, weakly ribbed, with a strong waxy bloom. Surface smooth. Ground color yellowish-green, almost completely covered by a striped, diffuse, marbled, showy, crimson-red blush; upon picking the color takes on a burgundy hue due to the strong bluish wax bloom. Subepidermal dots are medium in number, large, white, well visible. Peduncle thick with a swelling at the end, not protruding beyond the cavity. Cavity deep and wide. The calyx basin of medium size, relatively shallow, of medium or narrow width, slightly ribbed. Calyx medium in size, closed or sometimes semi-open. Hypanthium tube inversely conical, wide, of medium depth. Seed chambers small, closed, but more often semi-open to a comparatively small axial cavity. Core small, heart-shaped.

Flesh white, fine-grained, juicy, tender, pleasant sweet-and-sour taste. Chemical composition of the fruits: dry matter – 15.7% (maximum 17.4%), total sugars – 10.3% (10.9%), titratable acids – 0.49% (0.54%) on fresh weight, ascorbic acid – 10.7 mg/100 g (16.1), sugar-to-acid ratio – 21.4 (27.2). Taste rating 4.5-4.8 points.

Yield is high. From one mature tree 200-380 kg ripe fruits are harvested. With proper care, fruiting will be regular and abundant. The beginning of the productive period falls on the 3rd–4th year after planting the seedling in its permanent location.

Fruits begin to ripen in early autumn, full maturity occurs in mid-October. Ripening is synchronous. The skin begins to crack when overripe. Stored from October to January; transportability is good.

Hardiness zone: zone 3 (-36°C).

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

Planting: It is preferable to plant the seedling in spring before bud burst or in autumn 1–1.5 months before frosts. The planting hole should be at least 80x80x100 cm; spacing between seedlings should be calculated depending on the mature crown size (at least 5-6 m). The seedling is filled with a soil mix consisting of leaf soil, humus and sand in a ratio of 1:3:2; a little peat and granular double superphosphate (250-300 g per planting hole) can also be added.

Diseases and pests: weakly resistant to powdery mildew; in wet years fruits and leaves are affected by scab.

Care: In the second year after planting it is necessary to apply a complete mineral fertilizer (phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium). In winter protection against freezing and rodents is required. Whitewashing of apple trees is applied in the 5th-6th year after planting the seedling. In the spring-summer period provide nitrogen fertilizer and moderate watering. Feed the apple tree after flowering, then after fruitlet drop and the last time in late August - early September.

Pruning is carried out in two ways: thinning and heading back. For heading back, half of the upper parts of shoots are removed; for thinning, the shoot or branch is removed 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 used.

Propagation: propagated by grafting. Grown on all types of winter-hardy rootstocks. Depending on climatic conditions, dwarf, semi-dwarf and vigorous types of rootstocks are used. In standard-stem form it can be grown in the southern and central areas of the European part; in northern regions the above-ground portion may be killed back to the level of the snow cover. Because of the surviving branches the tree recovers well, aided by its tendency for rapid growth.

Use: the fruits are consumed fresh, dried, canned, and used for making compotes, jams and preserves.