Jonagold is a

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

that is a cross between the crisp

Golden Delicious Golden Delicious is a cultivar of apple. It is one of the 15 most popular apple cultivars in the United States. It is not closely related to Red Delicious. History Golden Delicious arose from a chance seedling, possibly a hybrid of Grimes ...

and the blush-crimson Jonathan; the name ''Jonagold'' is a portmanteau of these two variety names. It was developed in 1943 in

New York State Agricultural Experiment Station The New York State Agricultural Experiment Station (NYSAES) at Geneva, Ontario County, New York State, is an agricultural experiment station operated by the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University. In August 2 ...

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, selected as N.Y. 43013-1 in 1953, officially released in 1968 by Roger Way. They form a large sweet fruit with a thin skin that is green-yellow with streaks of crimson. The flesh is creamy yellow with a breaking texture and outstanding flavor. Because of their large size they are now favored by commercial growers in many parts of the world, and the apples can last two month in refrigerated storage and ten months in controlled atmosphere storage. Jonagold is

triploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than two paired sets of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two complete sets of chromosomes, one fro ...

, with sterile pollen, and as such, requires a second type of apple for pollen and is incapable of pollenizing other cultivars. It is susceptible to the diseases

apple scab Apple scab is a common disease of plants in the rose family (Rosaceae) that is caused by the ascomycete fungus ''Venturia inaequalis''. While this disease affects several plant genera, including '' Sorbus, Cotoneaster,'' and '' Pyrus'', it is ...

powdery mildew Powdery mildew is a fungus, fungal disease that affects a wide range of plants. Powdery mildew diseases are caused by many different species of Ascomycota, ascomycete fungi in the order Erysiphales. Powdery mildew is one of the easier plant disea ...

, and

fire blight Fire blight, also written fireblight, is a contagious disease affecting apples, pears, and some other members of the family Rosaceae. It is a serious concern to apple and pear producers. Under optimal conditions, it can destroy an entire orchard ...

, as well as the physiological disorders bitter pit and

sunburn Sunburn is a form of radiation burn that affects living tissue, such as skin, that results from an overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, usually from the Sun. Common symptoms in humans and other animals include red or reddish skin tha ...

. In 1988, the cultivar was awarded the

American Society for Horticultural Science The American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) is a professional society for horticultural science based in Alexandria, Virginia. Founded in 1903, the mission of ASHS is to promote and encourage national and international interest in scienti ...

Outstanding Fruit Cultivar Award. , it was the most widely produced apple in Belgium, where it is used in Stella Cidre, and is credited with saving the European fruit industry. , it was one of the fifteen most popular apple cultivars in the United States according to the US Apple Association. The Jonagored Apple, a sport mutation of Jonagold discovered in Belgium in 1985, was once covered under United States Patent PP05937, now expired.

Descendant cultivars

References

External links