Establishment of crop load levels for the newly introduced ‘Eden’/‘Wursixo’ apple cultivar

The successful introduction of new cultivars requires proper pomological, phenological, and technological evaluation.
It is particularly important in the harsh Norwegian climate conditions.
Investigations were conducted with apple cultivar ‘Eden’/‘Wursixo’ (WUR 6), to establish an optimal balance between yield, fruit quality, and bearing regularity.
Four different crop load levels were tested in 3 consecutive years in the orchard, planted 3.5×1 m and trained as a slender spindle.
Lower crop load levels guaranteed good return bloom, a very high share of fruits harvested during the first picking, and larger fruits.
Increasing crop load led to less intensive return bloom, smaller fruit sizes, and a higher share of fruits harvested during the second picking.
It was found that ‘Eden’ is strictly alternating cultivar and precise crop load levels according to the tree age and tree vigour were defined.
In order to keep ‘Eden’ trees in regular bearing mode, crop load levels should be maintained at 4.5-5 fruits cm^‑2 of trunk cross-sectional area (TCSA) in the 3^rd and 6-7 fruits in the 4^th growing season.

EHC2024: International Symposium on Fruit Production Systems for Sustainable and Resilient Development

D. Kviklys, M. Meland, I. Martinussen

Malus × domestica Borkh., yield, fruit quality, return bloom

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2026.1457.13