Breeding report of a new high-cold-resistance apple cultivar Binghong

Abstract: Binghong is a new high- cold- resistance apple cultivar. The seedling was derived from a cross between Honghaitang and Golden Delicious in 2010 at the experimental field. It was initially selected in 2015 for its storability, good quality and sweet flavor. And in the next year, it was selected into the selection nursery. The regional adaptability testing in different regions started from 2017, and in 2020, a large number of fruits were produced and the fruit properties were stable, and the DUS testing started from 2021 to 2022. The tree posture of this cultivar is open. The annual branches are brown in color, and the average length is 89 cm. The average length and width of the leaf are 7.83 cm and 4.29 cm, respectively. The petal is ovate and overlapping. Fruit is broad conical, and has red peel and smooth surface. Its flesh is light yellow and crisp, with rich juice and fine texture. The average fruit weight is more than 64 g, fruit shape index is 1.03. The content of soluble solids is 12.4%, titrable acid is 0.49%, and fruit hardness is 7.62 kg · cm- 2 . Fruit quality is excellent. The fruit development period is 123 d and it matures in about September 10 in Gongzhuling area of Jilin province (Longitude 124° E and Latitude 43° N). It is resistant to coldness. And it shows moderate resistance to Valsa canker, Botryosphaeria dothidea and Alternaria boltch. The fruit has a long storage-life for more than 45 d, and is longer than other small apple cultivars. It is suitable to plant in Jilin province and areas with similar climatic condition of Jilin province. The suitable rootstocks are Malus baccata and Xiaohuanghaitang. For the dwarf culture, GM-256, GM-310 or ZM-2000 can be used as the dwarf interstocks.