Fruit

SPARTAN was raised in 1926 at Dominion Experiment Station, Summerland, British Columbia, by R. C. Palmer, and was introduced in 1936. This dessert apple is a cross of McIntosh and Newtown (Albemarle) Pippin. Large in size and rectangular to conic in shape, it is ribbed from the base to apex. The yellow skin is almost entirely flushed a purplish-red with indistinct stripes. The surface is covered with a heavy bloom and the skin is aromatic. The very white flesh is crisp and fine-textured with a subacid flavor. Similar to McIntosh in quality and texture, it stores well, and the tree bears regular heavy crops, but the fruit is subject to premature drop and it is difficult to thin. If harvesting is delayed, the fruit develops a musty flavor in storage. Upright in growth, the tree requires generous feedings. It is resistant to fireblight, scab and mildew. Pollination with Lodi will increase yields, and the Spartan is a good pollinator for Jonagold. It ripens in October.