Performance of Geneva® 30 apple rootstock in Nova Scotia.

Apple trees grown under Nova Scotia’s uniquely short, cool season conditions, tend to be about 25% smaller than trees grown in many other apple growing areas in North America. Local rootstock research as well as ad hoc field investigations in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, have pointed to opportunities for the use of rootstocks in the semi-dwarfing to semi-vigorous range. In this study, the performance Geneva® 30 (G.30) apple (M. domestica Borkh.) rootstock was evaluated at four grower sites within the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia, over a period of 6 years. In Kingston and Rockland, G.30 was compared with the traditional rootstocks M.26 and MM.106 using ‘Jonagold’ as scion cultivar, in Morristown G.30 was compared with M.26 and M.7 using ‘Royal Cort’ and in Blomidon, G.30 was compared with M.26 and M.7 using ‘Northern Spy’. At all sites, G.30 was found to be as vigorous as MM.106 and M.7 and approximately 30% larger than M.26 when trunk cross-sectional area was used as an index of canopy size. In addition, G.30 exhibited the early bearing characteristic trait of M.26, but ultimately out-yielded this rootstock at all four sites. At the Blomidon site, G.30 showed itself to be far superior to M.7 both with regard to early bearing as well as cumulative yield of ‘Northern Spy’, a cultivar known for it’s long transitional phase and biennial tendencies. This rootstock can be recommended as a replacement for M.26 on droughty soils in the Annapolis Valley where it can be expected to produce a medium size tree. In more vigorous situations, it may well prove too robust for higher density plantings.