Breeding report of a new late-ripening apple cultivar Huayoutianwa

Abstract: Huayoutianwa is a late-ripening apple cultivar derived from the cross between Hanfu (female parent) and Huahong (male parent). In the spring of 2003, we completed the hybridization work in the Research Institute of Pomology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and obtained the hybrid seeds in the autumn, which were sown in the spring of 2004. In 2015, the plant coded as 03-57 was found to have strong tree vigor and beautiful fruit shape. Besides, fruits of 03-57 were tasted strongly sweet and crunchy. In 2016, the strain 03-57 was determined as an excellent variety. The regional culti-vation experiments were undertaken at Xingcheng city and Lianshan city of Liaoning province over five years from 2016 to 2020. The results were great and no obvious diseases and pests were observed. It was registered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in 2021, and officially named as Huay-outianwa. The tree of Huayoutianwa is easily ramified with open canopy. The color of tree trunk is gray-brown. The number of lenticels and length of internode of one-year-old shoot are medium. And the col-or of one-year-old shoot is reddish brown. The leaves are medium-green, 9.86 cm long, 6.44 cm wide and margin-biserrated, with leaf blade outwards in relation to shoot with weak pubescence. Each cluster has five flowers on average. The flower is dark pink. The average diameter of flower is 4.5 cm. The ar- rangement of petals is overlapping. Huayoutianwa is a late-maturing variety. In Xingcheng, Liaoning, the fruit mature period is late October. The fruit of Huayoutianwa is nearly round. The average fruit weight is 197 g. The fruit shape index (L/D) is 0.86. The fruit length of stalk is 2.1 cm. The fruit russet-ing around stalk is large. And the fruit area of russeting on cheeks is medium. The fruit color is yellow green. The fruit is covered with red color, and the surface is smooth with no fruit wax and fruit edges.The fruit flesh is light yellow and juicy. Fruit hardness is 8.8 kg∙cm^-2. The fruit flesh texture is hard and crisp. The soluble solids content is 18.0%, the soluble sugar content is 10.9%, and the titratable acid content is 0.26%. The fruit flavor is very sweet. The vitamin C content is 148.3 mg∙kg^-1. Huayoutianwatree has high yield, strong vigor, easy branching ability, strong adaptability, and the good ability of initi-ating flower buds. And it has strong continuous bearing ability. After top grafting on the mature tree, the trees of Huayoutianwa will bear fruits and bring about stable yield three years later. In the fifth year, theaverage yield of Huayoutianwa plant can reach 35.7 kg, and the yield can achieve 1992 kg per 666.7 m2.This variety is suitable for cultivation in planting area of Hanfu and Golden Delicious. The spacing of planting density is 3 m×4 m. Fertilization should be done three times during a growth season, in spring, June and autumn, respectively. The pruning is suitable in summer. About pruning, we should pull branches and avoid heavy cutting back as much as possible. The best time to eat Huayoutianwa fruit is at late October, so the harvesting period should be postponed appropriately.