Zari

Apple

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Royal Gala' and 'Elstar'

Summary: The one-year-old shoot of 'Zari' is medium to thick while the shoot of 'Elstar' is thin. The pubescence on the distal half of the one-year-old shoot of 'Zari' is sparse whereas it is dense on 'Elstar'. The leaf blade of 'Zari' is longer than that of 'Elstar'. The petiole of 'Zari' is longer than that of both reference varieties. With the petals pressed into a horizontal position, the flower diameter of 'Zari' is medium to large whereas that of 'Royal Gala' is small. The arrangement of the petals of 'Zari' are intermediate, between not touching and overlapping, while those of both reference varieties are not touching. The fruit of 'Zari' is larger in diameter than that of 'Royal Gala'. The fruit of 'Zari' is globose shaped whereas the fruit of the reference varieties is conic shaped. At the calyx end, the fruit of 'Zari' has absent or very weak crowning while the fruit of 'Royal Gala' has strong crowning. The sepal of the fruit of 'Zari' is medium length while that of 'Royal Gala' is long. The area of overcolour on the fruit of 'Zari' is large to very large while that of 'Royal Gala' is medium sized and that of 'Elstar' is small. The pattern of the overcolour on the fruit of 'Zari' is a solid flush with weakly defined stripes while that of 'Royal Gala' is a weakly defined flush with strongly defined stripes and that of 'Elstar' is flushed and mottled. The fruit of 'Zari' has narrow to medium width stripes while that of 'Elstar' has broad stripes. The fruit of 'Zari' has many medium to large lenticels while that of 'Royal Gala' has many small to medium sized lenticels and that of 'Elstar' has a medium number of medium to large lenticels. The stalk cavity of the fruit of 'Zari' is deep while that of 'Royal Gala' is medium depth. In transverse section, the aperture of locules on the fruit of 'Zari' is closed or slightly open while that of 'Royal Gala' is fully open and that of 'Elstar' is moderately open.

Description:

TREE: medium vigour, ramified type, spreading growth habit, bearing fruit on spurs and long shoots, begins flowering mid-season, early to mid-season harvest maturity, mid-season eating maturity
ONE-YEAR-OLD SHOOT: medium to thick, dark brown on sunny side, sparse pubescence on distal half of shoot, many lenticels

LEAF: outwards attitude in relation to shoot, large to very large length to width ratio, medium to dark green, serrate type one incisions of margin on upper half, absent or sparse pubescence on lower side
PETIOLE: small to medium extent of anthocyanin colouration extending from base

FLOWER: dark pink at balloon stage, medium to large diameter when pressed into horizontal position, petal arrangement is intermediate (between not touching and overlapping), stigma positioned above anthers

YOUNG FRUIT: small extent of anthocyanin colouration
FRUIT: medium size, small to medium height to diameter ratio, globose shape, absent or weak ribbing, absent or weak crowning at calyx end, medium to large eye, medium length sepals, medium area of russet around stalk, absent or small area of russet on cheeks and around eye basin, closed or slightly open aperture of locules
SKIN: absent or weak bloom, moderate greasiness, yellow green ground colour, large to very large area of medium to dark red overcolour as a solid flush with weakly defined stripes, narrow to medium width stripes, many medium to large lenticels
STALK: medium to thick, deep and broad cavity
EYE BASIN: medium to deep, medium to broad
FLESH: medium to firm, yellowish

Origin & Breeding History: 'Zari' originated from a controlled cross-pollination conducted in Rillaar, Belgium in May 1988, between the variety 'Elstar', as the female parent, and the variety 'Delcorf' (Delbarestival), as the male parent. The new seedling variety 'Zari' was first fruited and selected for propagation and further testing in 1994 in a controlled environment in Fernelmont (Franc-Waret), Belgium. Asexual reproduction of the new variety by grafting onto 'M9' rootstocks, was first performed in the winter of 1994/1995 to create 10 test-trees and evaluated on-site in Gorsem, Belgium. Additional selection and asexual reproduction occurred in 1999 and 2004 in Rillaar, Belgium. 'Zari' was selected based on its fruit quality, storability and appearance.

Tests & Trials: The comparative trial of 'Zari' was conducted in 2014 and 2015 in the Summerland Varieties Corporation test plot, at 4200 Block, Highway 97, in Summerland, British Columbia, Canada. In 2012, 16 trees of the candidate variety and 5 trees of the reference variety 'Elstar' were planted and grafted onto rootstock variety 'M9' using a super spindle planting scheme. Prior to 2000, 10 trees of reference variety 'Royal Gala' and 5 trees of reference variety 'Elstar' were planted and grafted onto rootstock 'MM111'. All 16 trees of 'Zari' and 5 trees of reference variety 'Elstar' were planted 0.46 metres apart in rows spaced 3 metres apart from each other. The 10 trees of reference variety 'Royal Gala' and the 5 remaining trees of reference variety 'Elstar' were planted 0.91 metres apart in rows spaced 3 metres apart from each other. In 2014 and 2015, observations and measurements were taken from 10 trees, or 10 parts of trees, of the candidate and reference varieties.

Comparison tables for 'Zari' with reference varieties 'Royal Gala' and 'Elstar'

Leaf blade length (cm)

Petiole length (cm)

Fruit diameter (cm)

Click on image for larger view

Apple: 'Zari' (left) with reference varieties 'Royal Gala' (centre) and 'Elstar' (right)