Cultivar Profiles: Sunrise Apple

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Origin:‘Sunrise’ was developed at the Summerland Research Station Apple Breeding Program. Its parents are McIntosh and Golden Delicious X PCF-3-120. This cultivar is not patented, and material can be obtained from Warwick Orchards and Nursery, Watford, Ontario, Summerland Research Station, Summerland, BC V0H 1Z0, Cameron Nursery, Eltopia, WA, or Adam’s County Nursery, Aspers, PA.

Description of fruit:

‘Sunrise’ fruit grown at the University of Guelph, Simcoe Campus harvest August 19, 1998

The fruit are medium to large, uniform oval round (similar to Gala). The fruit has an excellent sweet flavour and not prone to skin russet. The skin ground colour is pale yellow or white with bright red stripes going to blush on the exposed side with about 50% red color. The flesh is white to cream in colour, and texture crisp and juicy.

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Description of tree:

7-yr old ‘Sunrise’ tree on M.9 rootstock, University of Guelph, Simcoe Campus

The tree has moderate vigour, is extremely precocious, annual, and very productive. Its cold hardiness and disease status is not known.

Harvest Date & Storage: Sunrise is a multiple pick cultivar. At least three picks are recommended in order to harvest the fruit at optimum maturity and colour development. In Simcoe, it matures two to three weeks before Gala (17 Aug in in 1999). ‘Sunrise’ storage potential is limited to about 3 weeks after harvest with a very short shelf life.

Potential Problems: It has no known disorders. Because of its limited storage and shelf life, rapid marketing will be essential.

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Management Suggestions: Crop load management will be necessary, but we have no experience with chemical thinning on Sunrise yet. Tree support is important due to large crop loads.

Potential for Ontario: The potential for this cultivar in Ontario indeed looks promising. While it is an early summer apple, it has consistently ranked the highest in trained sensory panels held at the University of Guelph, Simcoe. The unique/distinct colouring, excellent flavour, and high productivity make this cultivar worthy of commercial consideration in Ontario.

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