What varieties of Yantai apples are there, and in which months is the picking season?
Yantai City is the earliest region for apple cultivation in China, and also the region with the largest apple planting area and the highest output. Yantai apples have excellent varieties and a unique flavor, and are very popular; they are known as the “queen” of the Jiaodong fruit family. So when is the Yantai apple picking season?
The picking season of Yantai apples can only be determined by the specific variety. The following are the main apple varieties in Yantai and their mature picking seasons.
1. Red Fuji
Red Fuji is the general name for the coloring-type Fuji. During the promotion and cultivation of Fuji, because of its relatively active hereditary variation characteristics, many variant single lines with good fruit coloring emerged in various parts of Japan, totaling more than 100. The main single lines introduced and cultivated in Yantai include 2001 Fuji, Yanfu No. 3, Akifu 1, Changfu 2, Changfu 6, Yanfu 10, Wase Fuji, and others.
Red Fuji fruit is extremely storage-resistant; it can be stored in a semi-underground cellar until May of the following year, and in a cold-air store until July of the following year. After storage, the aroma is stronger and the flavor is even better. The fruit development period is 170~180 days, and it is picked in mid-to-late October. Physiological fruit drop and pre-harvest fruit drop are very slight, and there is no fruit cracking before maturity.
2. Gala
It matures and is picked in early September. During the cultivation and selection of Gala, two excellent single plants provided by Qixia were trial-planted and evaluated citywide by the Yantai Fruit Tree Station, ranking first among the excellent lines, and were named Yanga No. 1 and No. 2. Their comprehensive traits are superior to New Gala, with bright red and gorgeous color and a very beautiful appearance. The average single fruit weight is about 200 grams, and they mature from late August to early September. They are the representative lines of Gala apples and have great development prospects.
3. Sansa
Also known as Shansha, it matures and is picked in late August. The fruit is conical or oblate, with a single fruit weight of about 230 grams; the background color is yellow-green, the sunny side is deep pink-red, and the shaded side is pink-red. The fruit surface has a relatively thick waxy layer and is thin-skinned and attractive; the flesh is yellow-white, crisp and refreshing, sweet and juicy, with the aroma of crabapple fruit. The soluble solids content is about 13~15%. It is relatively storage-resistant and is a mid-early maturing variety with great development prospects.
4. Red General
It matures and is picked in mid-September, more than 30 days earlier than Fuji; it has strong storage resistance and is not prone to becoming mealy, and can be stored naturally until the Spring Festival. Red General apples can be marketed before the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, and have broad market prospects. Qixia has already cultivated them on a scale.
5. Golden Delicious
Also known as Jinshuai and Yellow Banana. The fruit is large, generally with a single fruit weight of more than 200 grams. The fruit growth period is 140 days, and it matures and is picked in mid-to-late September; it does not drop fruit even after full maturity. When picked late, the flesh is light yellow and has an excellent flavor for fresh eating. The fruit can be stored until February~March of the following year, but the peel tends to wrinkle when environmental humidity is low.
6. Red Star - Snake Fruit
The fruit growth period is about 145 days, and it matures and is picked in mid-September. It is relatively storage-resistant, and 1~2 months after harvest is the best eating period.
7. Jonathan
The fruit development period is 120 days, and it matures and is picked in early-to-mid September. It is a very good dual-purpose variety for both fresh eating and processing, and the fruit is extremely suitable for processing juice, preserved fruit, and so on.
8. Jonagold
The fruit growth period is about 155 days, and there is pre-harvest fruit drop. Young trees bear fruit early, have a high fruit-setting rate, and are high-yielding. The fruit matures and is picked in early-to-mid October. If harvested slightly late, cracking easily occurs at the stem cavity, the fruit surface is prone to “returning sugar”, and waxy substances are easily secreted during storage.
9. Small Ralls Janet
It matures and is picked from late October to early November. The single fruit weight is about 120 grams, with a maximum of up to 200 grams. It is oblate and green-yellow, and under good lighting conditions, the sunny side can develop a red blush. It has little aroma, and the quality is medium or above average. Its fruit is extremely resistant to storage and transport, and can be stored at room temperature until May of the following year. It sometimes has fruit cracking and is extremely high-yielding.