Pinova apple plant, autumn variety

Pinova apple plants Bred in Germany in 1986 from Clivia × Golden Delicious. The tree has moderate vigour and a broad-pyramidal, moderately dense crown. Fairly frost-hardy, highly resistant to scab and powdery mildew, and moderately susceptible to fire blight (Faby R., 1994). Flowering is medium-late; the variety is diploid. Pollinators include Elstar, Gala, Gloster, Golden Delicious, Idared, Melrose and Champion. Heavy annual cropping begins in the second year. It tends to set too much fruit and become overloaded. Fruit thinning and summer pruning improve size and colour. Uniform, above-average-sized fruit is round-conical with a narrow apex. A diffuse orange-red striped blush covers 60–70% of the green-yellow surface. Skin is thin but firm, smooth and glossy. Yellow flesh is very firm, crisp, juicy and aromatic, with an excellent sweet-tart flavour. Harvest is in late September–early October. Ripe fruit does not drop, but careless picking can leave finger bruises. It keeps for about 8 months in a refrigerator without physiological disorders, retaining juice and texture and shrivelling less than Golden Delicious. European growers call it a '21st-century variety' for early bearing, disease resistance and yield. Belgian trials (Visitor—Guide-Book, 1999) highlighted its early productivity among 31 new cultivars. On M.9 at 3.5 × 1.5 m spacing, trees in years 2–4 produced 32.2 kg per tree with average fruit weight of 172 g, compared with 20.2 kg for Ariva and 12.9 kg for Santana.