Golden Sentinel

Apple

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'McIntosh Wijcik'

Summary: The one year old shoots of 'Golden Sentinel' are thicker, have shorter internodes and a larger bud support than the shoots of 'McIntosh Wijcik'. 'Golden Sentinel' has stronger anthocyanin colouration on the leaves than 'McIntosh Wijcik'. The fruit has a longer stalk and yellow ground colour while 'McIntosh Wijcik' has green ground colour. 'Golden Sentinel' has no over colour on the skin while the reference variety has over colour present.

Description:

'Golden Sentinel' is a dessert fruit apple variety which produces trees with weak to intermediate vigour and a columnar growth habit. There are a low number of branches which are strong to very strong. The angle of the bearing branches with the trunk is 60-70 degrees. The fruit is borne on spurs. The dormant one year old shoots have strong to very strong pubescence on the upper half and a medium to strong shine of the bark. The shoots are very inflexible. the shoots have many lenticels which are large in size. The lateral buds are medium in size with pointed tips. The buds are pubescent and their position relative to the axis is recessed. The bud support is large in size.

The colour of the growing tip is green and the shoot tip leaves are concave to straight in cross section. The shoot tip leaves have weak pubescence on the upper side. The lower side of the shoot tip leaves are green in colour with some purple on the veins and leaf surface. The leaves have no lobing and are medium in size. The mature leaves are held slightly downwards from the branch. The apex is cuspidate in shape and the margins are serrate. The upper side of the leaves of 'Golden Sentinel' have medium to strong glossiness, with moderate pubescence on the lower side and very dense pubescence on the petiole. There is strong anthocyanin colouration in the veins. The upper side of the blade has very strong anthocyanin colouration. Before leaf fall the leaves are bronze green in colour and leaf fall is late to very late.

Bud burst for 'Golden Sentinel' is mid-season and occurs around May 5-6 in Summerland, British Columbia. The time of beginning of flowering occurs around May 9-10. The flower are single and have a green pedicel. 'Golden Sentinel' has broad elliptic shaped petals which are overlapping.

The fruit of 'Golden Sentinel' is medium in diameter, symmetric and globose to flat globose in shape. There is very weak fruit ribbing. Crowning at the distal end is weak. The eye is small in size with a half open to open aperture. The calyx persists in mature fruit and has short to medium length sepals which are overlapping. The eye basin is shallow to medium in depth and medium in width. The fruit has a short to medium length stalk. The stalk cavity is medium to deep and medium to broad in width. The surface of the fruit is smooth to hammered, with weak to medium bloom and weak to medium waxiness. The skin is not translucent and is medium to thick with a yellow ground colour when the fruit is fully mature. There is no over colour on the skin or russet present. The lenticels are very small in size and not prominent. 'Golden Sentinel' has white to greenish flesh. The core line is medium to strongly distinct and the aperture of the locules is open.

The fruit of 'Golden Sentinel' matures mid to late season and has short to medium persistence and good fruit setting. At maturity the seed is brown and teardrop in shape. 'Golden Sentinel' has very weak browning of the flesh, a coarse to intermediate texture and no grittiness. The fruit juiciness is medium and 'Golden Sentinel' has an annual cropping frequency.

Origin & Breeding History: 'Golden Sentinel' originated from a cross made in 1986 at the Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, in Summerland, British Columbia. The cross was 'Discovery' x 8C-17-36. 8C-17-36 originated from a Wijcik Spur MacIntosh x Delicious cross. Selection criteria included fruit colour, taste, size, maturity date, storage life and firmness and tree growth habit, precocity and productivity. 'Golden Sentinel' was given the experimental designation 8C-39-69 in 1998 and propagated on Malling 26 rootstock in 1989. Evaluation of the variety occurred between 1987 and 1995.

Tests & Trials: Tests and trials for 'Golden Sentinel' were conducted from 1996 and 1997 in Summerland, British Columbia. 'Golden Sentinel' was on M26 rootstock and 'McIntosh Wijcik' was on M7 rootstock. Measured characteristics were based on a minimum of ten measurements.

Comparison tables for 'Golden Sentinel' with reference variety 'McIntosh Wijcik'

Thickness of dormant one year old shoot (mm)

Length of internode of dormant one year old shoot (mm)

Leaf length (mm)

Leaf width (mm)

Petiole length (mm)

Colour of flower bud (RHS)

Flower diameter (mm)

Diameter of fruit (mm)

Colour of fruit skin (RHS)