Detailed introduction to the variety characteristics of the apple cultivar Qinguan

Bred by Yuan Wuzhou and others at the Shaanxi Institute of Fruit Tree Research, from the cross Golden Delicious x Jiguan. Crossed in 1957, selected in 1966, named in 1970. It participated in large apple regional trials and won the second prize of the National Invention Award in 1988. It is widely distributed in China, with more cultivation in the northwest region.

The fruit is conical, with a single fruit weight of about 200-250 g; the ground color is yellow-green, with a dark red blush and broken red stripes on the sunny side, often with white russeting. In areas of the northwest at higher altitude, when fully mature, it can reach an overall dark red color, while in low-altitude plains it is difficult for it to color; the fruit surface is smooth, with more wax, the lenticels are obvious, and the skin is relatively thick and tough; the flesh is milky white, crisp in texture and slightly dense, with relatively much juice and a sweet-sour flavor, containing soluble solids of 11%-16% (with great differences among regions), and the fresh-eating quality at initial harvest is above average. The growth vigor is strong, and the tree posture is open. It begins bearing early; after planting, saplings bear fruit in 2-3 years. In the early bearing stage, long fruiting branches and axillary flower buds are the main bearing parts; after the full bearing stage, short fruiting branches and axillary flower buds are the main bearing parts. The fruit setting rate is high, and it has relatively strong self-pollination ability, with outstanding early fruiting and high yield. In the northwest region, as well as northern North China and western Liaoning, it matures in mid-October. The fruit is very storage-resistant and can generally be stored in a semi-underground earthen cellar until May of the following year.

Qinguan performs better in quality when cultivated in areas with higher altitude and large day-night temperature differences, while when cultivated in low-altitude plains with hot and humid climate and poor light, the fruit quality is poor. Cultivation and management are relatively easy. During the young tree period, a solid framework foundation should be laid for high yield. After heavy bearing, special attention should be paid to maintaining an appropriate crop load, strengthening fertilizer and water management, and ensuring high and stable yields.

Qinguan's early fruiting, strong high-yield capacity, and storage-resistant fruit are its outstanding advantages, so it is very popular in newly developed apple regions, but the fruit flavor is not good enough and the coloring is not ideal, making it difficult to serve as a high-grade commercial @#@136@#@. In the past ten-plus years, as fruits of superior varieties have continuously occupied the market, sales of Qinguan have become more difficult, and its cultivation has been affected. It can be cultivated as an auxiliary variety or pollinator variety in newly developed regions.