The

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 ...

(also known as Crispin) was introduced in 1949 and is a cross between the '

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 ' Indo' apple

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 ...

s first grown in

Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The apple's name is the former name of a large section of the

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, , or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains ...

, Mutsu Province, which Aomori was created from during the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

.Crispin apple
'Mutsu' is a

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 ...

cultivar.National Fruit Collection page
/ref> It is highly susceptible to the disease Blister Spot.Blister Spot on Mutsu (Crispin) Apples
, retrieved May 30, 2007 'Mutsu' is a medium to large green apple with flesh varying in color from white to greenish yellow. It can be round, conical, or oblong, and have unequal sides. It is generally not uniform in shape or size. The

russeting Russeting or russetting is an abnormality of fruit skin which manifests in russet-colored (brownish) patches that are rougher than healthy skin. It is a common feature in apples and pears. Russeting is typically an undesirable trait, which reduc ...

on a 'Mutsu' apple covers little to none of the skin and when it is present is light gray to brown.

Usage

'Mutsu' is aromatic, sweet, and sharp, with juicy flesh. It is suitable for eating on its own, juicing, drying, or cooking, as it maintains its shape well when cooked. It can be kept for up to three months before going bad.

Cultivation

'Mutsu' can be grown in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

or warm climates. It flowers in the middle of the

growing season A season is a division of the year marked by changes in weather, ecology, and the amount of daylight. The growing season is that portion of the year in which local conditions (i.e. rainfall, temperature, daylight) permit normal plant growth. Whi ...

and is harvested late in the season. It is

self-sterile Self-incompatibility (SI) is a general name for several genetic mechanisms that prevent self-fertilization in sexually reproducing organisms, and thus encourage outcrossing and allogamy. It is contrasted with separation of sexes among individuals ...

and poor at pollinating others. It tends to bear fruit biennially.

References

Japanese apples Apple cultivars {{apple-fruit-stub