Evaluation of columnar apple cultivars from the bioresource collection of Russian Research Institute of Fruit Crop Breeding

As a preliminary step in breeding, a comprehensive evaluation of columnar apple cultivars from the bioresource collection was conducted to identify superior genotypes as sources of economically valuable traits. The bioresource collection of Russian Research Institute of Fruit Crop Breeding includes 12 introduced columnar cultivars: Tuscan (England); Akademicheskaya, Victoria, Korall, Mikhailovskaya, Natalyushka (Rossosh); Prezident, KV-5, KV-43, Moskovskoe Ozherelie (Moscow); Geyser, Gotika (Michurinsk). In addition, the collection contains 8 cultivars bred at the Institute: Zvezda Efira, Girlyanda, Vostorg, Poetziya, Priokskoye, Orlovskaya Yeseniya, Sozvezdie, Pamyati Blynskogo. Over four years of cultivating domestic and foreign columnar cultivars on rootstock 54-118, the highest yield was recorded for Mikhailovskaya — 5.4 kg/tree (Rossoshansk Zonal Experimental Horticulture Station JSC), Prezident — 5.1 kg/tree, and form KV-43 — 4.5 kg/tree (Federal Scientific Center of Horticulture). Over the eight-year study period, the use of form 3-4-98 as a skeleton former ensured high yields for Mikhailovskaya (19.9 kg/tree), Victoria (13.0 kg/tree), and Natalyushka (14.6 kg/tree), which were bred at Rossoshanskaya Zonal Experimental Horticulture Station JSC. These cultivars surpassed Tuscan (9.8 kg/ tree), Gotika (7.5 kg/tree), and Geyser (8.0 kg/tree) in terms of yield. Regarding scab resistance, no symptoms of scab infection were observed throughout the entire study period under the conditions of the Oryol region in the following cultivars: Priokskoye, Zvezda Efira, Girlyanda, Vostorg, Poeziya (Russian Research Institute of Fruit Crop Breeding); Korall (Rossoshanskaya Zonal Experimental Horticulture Station JSC); and the forms KV-5 and KV-43 (Federal Scientific Center of Horticulture). The cultivation of Priokskoye and Girlyanda columnar apple trees on dwarf rootstocks P-60, M-9, and Malysh during the first six years of fruiting resulted in the highest yields on rootstock P-60 and the lowest yields on rootstock Malysh. The studied rootstocks exhibited no significant effect on average fruit weight. The findings of the cultivar evaluation suggest the following cultivars as sources of valuable traits: for high fruit taste quality — Victoria and Priokskoye; for high scab resistance — Zvezda Efira, Girlyanda, Vostorg, Poeziya, Priokskoye, Korall, and the forms KV-5 and KV-43; for high productivity — Victoria, Mikhailovskaya, and Prezident.

1. Kulikov I. M., Girichev V. S. In Memory of V. V. Kichina, Agricultural Biology. 2012;3:122-123. (in Russ.).

2. Sedov E. N., Korneeva S. A., Serova Z. M. Columnar Apple Trees in an Intensive Orchard. Orel, VNIISPK, 2013, 64 s. (in Russ.).

3. Savelyeva N. N., Borzykh N. V. Directions of Columnar Apple Breeding at the I.V. Michurin Federal Research Center, XXIX Michurinskie chteniya «Razvitie nauchnyh osnov i povyshenie effektivnosti selekcionnyh issledovanij sadovyh kul’tur», Michurinsk-naukograd RF. Ivanovo, 2025, 88-92. (in Russ.).

4. Korneeva S. A., Sedov E. N., Yanchuk T. V. Breeding of Columnar Apple Cultivars for Super-Compact Habit, Proceedings on Applied Botany, Genetics, and Breeding. 2022;183(2):129-136. DOI: 10.30901/2227-8834-2022-2-129-136. (in Russ.).

5. Savelyeva N. N., Zemisov A. S., Yushkov A. N., Borzykh N. V., Chivilev V. V. Universal Use of Columnar Apple Trees, Aktual’nye problemy razvitiya nauchnyh issledovanij i innovacij v sel’skohozyajstvennom proizvodstve, Belgorod, 2023, 365-369 (in Russ.).

6. Otto D., Petersen R., Brauksiepe B., Braun P., Schmidt E. R. The columnar mutation (“Co gene”) of apple (Malus×domestica) is associated with an integration of a Gypsy-like retrotransposon, Molecular Breeding. 2014;33;863-880. DOI: 10.1007/s11032-013-0001-3.

7. Sestras R. E., Sestras A. F. Quantitative traits of interest in apple breeding and their implications for selection, Plants. 2023;12(4):903. DOI: 10.3390/plants12040903.

8. Tobutt K. R. Combining apetalous parthenocarpy with columnar growth in apple, Progress in Temperate Fruit Breeding, Kluwer 328 Acad. Publ., 1994, 221-224.

9. Kichina V. V. Principles of Improving Garden Plants. Moskva, 2011, 528 s. (in Russ.).

10. Korneeva S. A., Sedov E. N., Yanchuk T. V. Analysis of the Columnar Plantation Design Based on the Assessment of Biological Features and Economic Valuable Parameters of Cultivars, Agrarian Scientific Journal. 2025;1:38-45. DOI: 10.28983/asj.y2025i1pp38-45. (in Russ.).

11. Uskov M. K. Productivity of Columnar Apple Cultivars and Forms in the Crimea, Byulleten’ GNBS. 2022;144:155-160. DOI: 10.36305/0513-1634-2022-144-155-160. (in Russ.).

12. Feshchenko E. M. Use of promising apple cultivars of the Federal Research Center for Horticulture in breeding for columnar crown, Mezhdunarodnaya nauchnaya konferenciya molodyh uchyonyh i specialistov, posvyashchyonnaya 160-letiyu Timiryazevskoj akademii, Moskva,, Moscow, 2025, 266-269. (in Russ.).

13. Yushkov A. N., Savelyeva N. N., Zemisov A. S. New Columnar Apple Cultivar «Magistr», Agroekologicheskie aspekty ustojchivogo razvitiya APK. Materialy XVIII mezhdunarodnoj nauchnoj konferencii, 2021, 235-239. (in Russ.).

14. Kachalkin M. V. Apple of the 21st Century. Moskva, 2013, 64 s. (in Russ.).

15. Morimoto T., Banno K. Genetic and physical mapping of Co, a gene controlling the columnar trait of apple, Tree Genetics & Genomes. 2015;11:807. DOI: 10.1007/s11295-014-0807-0.

16. Sedov E. N., Serova Z. M., Korneeva S. A. Characteristics of the Best Columnar Apple Cultivars Developed by the Russian Research Institute of Fruit Crop Breeding, Contemporary Horticulture. 2016;1(17):10-17. (in Russ.).

17. Sedov E. N., Yanchuk T. V., Korneeva S. A. New Diploid, Triploid, Scab-Immune, and Columnar Apple Cultivars in Assortment Improving, Vestnik of the russian agricultural science. 2022;1:25-31. DOI: 10.30850/vrsn/2022/1/25-31. (in Russ.).

18. Sedov E. N., Yanchuk T. V., Korneeva S. A. The results of 70 years of work on the creation of new varieties of apple trees and their introduction into production, Vestnik of the russian agricultural science. 2025;5:46-51. DOI: 10.7868/S3034519725050089. (in Russ.).

19. Korneeva S. A., Sedov E. N., Yanchuk T. V. Evaluation of Priokskoe columnar apple variety from all-russian research institute of fruit crop breeding, Sadovodstvo i vinogradarstvo, 2021;4:32-36. DOI: 10.31676/0235-2591-2021-4-32-36. (in Russ.).

20. Sedov E. N., Krasova N. G., Zhdanov V. V., Dolmatov E. A., Mozhar N. V. Pome crops (apple, pear, quince), Programma i metodika sortoizucheniya plodovyh, yagodnyh i orekhoplodnyh kul’tur. Orel, VNIISPK, 1999, 253-300. (in Russ.).

21. Dospekhov B. A. Field Experiment Methodology: With the Basics of Statistical Processing of Research Results. Moskva, 2013, 349 s. (in Russ.).