WHITE SUN

The "White Sun" apple variety is an early-summer variety bred in Crimea and adapted for the southern regions of Russia. The tree has a restrained growth rate with a spherical or pyramidal canopy of medium density, which facilitates training, pruning, and harvest collection. Shoots are of medium thickness, straight, with smooth bark, while leaves are light green, matte, and have finely toothed edges. Flowers are large, white with pale pink buds, and fragrant. Fruiting is mixed; fruits form on ring-flushes, fruiting spurs, and one-year-old shoots. The variety is early-bearing, beginning to fruit in the third to fifth year after planting, distinguished by high yield and regular fruiting, though it requires fruit load regulation due to a tendency to overbearing. "White Sun" fruits have medium to above-average size, weighing from 120 to 160 grams, with a wide-round or flattened shape, smooth, tender, oily, and shiny skin of light yellow color without coverage coloring. The flesh is cream-yellowish, of medium density, juicy, with a harmonious sweet-and-sour taste and a weak aroma. Fruits possess high marketability, good transportability, and storage capacity, keeping in a refrigerator for up to three to four weeks, and according to some data, up to a month. Commercial maturity is reached in mid-July, allowing apples to be used both for fresh consumption and for universal purposes. The variety is characterized by high resistance to main diseases such as scab and powdery mildew, as well as high winter hardiness and drought resistance. Due to these qualities and adaptation to the climate of southern Russia, "White Sun" is suitable for intensive cultivation technologies. The chemical composition of the fruits includes a dry matter content of about 13.8%, sugars 11.6%, titratable acids 0.77%, and ascorbic acid 8.3 mg per 100 grams, confirming their high quality and nutritional value. The best pollinators for the variety are the "Mantet" and "Bely Snezhka" apple trees.