Akane Apple Tree – AB

Description

Akane apple tree

The Akane apple tree (Malus domestica ‘Akane’) is a Japanese cultivar raised from a cross between ‘Jonathan’ and ‘Worcester Pearmain’ made in 1937 at the Morioka experimental station, in Iwate prefecture, and known for how early it ripens and for its wild-strawberry fragrance. Akane — “red” in Japanese, after the brilliant colour of its skin — is one of the very first dessert apples of the season, and one of the few varieties with a low chilling requirement, which makes it particularly interesting in the South-West.

Akane at a glance

About the Akane apple tree

Akane belongs to the generation of cultivars that came out of the post-war Japanese breeding programmes, at a time when the Morioka and Aomori stations were systematically crossing the great American and English varieties. The choice of parents is explicit: ‘Jonathan’ brings the sugar-acid balance and the texture, ‘Worcester Pearmain’ brings the earliness and the fragrance. Akane then served as a parent for several French varieties from the Delbard house — Delorgue, Delrouval, Delshel and Pomme des Moissons®.

The Akane tree is of low to moderate vigour, upright and sparsely branched, and spur-bearing — that is, fruiting on short spurs. That habit has a direct consequence in the orchard: Akane’s branches tend to go bare along their length, so the variety calls for a particular approach to training, which we set out below. It comes into fruit moderately quickly, generally from the third or fourth year, depending on the rootstock.

A word on the dates, because competing accounts contradict one another: the cross from which Akane came dates from 1937, but several sources give 1953 as the year of selection and others 1970 as the year of commercial release. These three dates are not contradictory — they mark three distinct stages of the same process — but they are often given one for another.

Fruit characteristics

The Akane apple is small to medium-sized, generally 65 to 80 mm, round and slightly flattened, sometimes a little heart-shaped. The skin is fine, a bright red covering almost the whole fruit over a yellow ground, with more marked striping on the sunny side. Worth noting: the wax on the skin develops during storage, which makes the fruit slightly greasy to the touch after several weeks — with no effect on flavour.

• Flesh: white, sometimes faintly tinged with yellow, fine-grained, firm and crisp
• Flavour: sweet-sharp, in the Jonathan line, with a frank acidity
• Fragrance: a note of wild strawberry, inherited directly from Worcester Pearmain
• Cooking: holds its shape

A useful peculiarity of Akane: the fruit hangs on the tree for a long time without dropping, up to a month after the normal picking date, which allows staggered passes. Be careful though — picking too late exposes the Akane apple to a risk of watercore, that glassy translucency of the flesh around the vascular bundles. Eating quality itself does not deteriorate.

Pollinating the Akane apple tree

The Akane apple tree is self-sterile: at least one other apple variety flowering at the same time is indispensable. Akane is diploid, so a good pollen producer, and can in turn pollinate other varieties — it is on that basis that it is sometimes recommended alongside the Reine des Reinettes apple tree.

Here is the technical point most accounts leave out. Akane’s incompatibility genotype is S7S24: the S7 allele comes from Jonathan (S7S9), the S24 allele from Worcester Pearmain. The practical consequence: pairing Akane with its own parent Jonathan gives a semi-compatible combination, since half of Jonathan’s pollen carries the S7 allele and will be rejected. Fruit set remains possible but is reduced.

🐝 For pollination of Akane without reservation, choose a variety sharing neither S7 nor S24: the Golden Delicious apple tree, of S2S3 genotype, meets that condition and flowers three to four days after Akane, with a wide overlap. In a mixed orchard, the presence of several varieties also markedly improves the size of Akane’s fruit.

Growing and care

Soil and position

The Akane apple tree needs a position in full sun and a deep, cool, free-draining soil, neutral to slightly acid. Akane copes reasonably with dry spells once established, but the fineness of its skin makes it sensitive to swings in water supply in late summer — precisely when the fruit is swelling.

Planting

Plant Akane bare-root from late November to early March, outside frost periods. Allow 3 to 4 m between trees on a semi-vigorous rootstock. The graft union must stay 10 cm above soil level. Always stake: Akane’s moderate vigour and upright habit give a slender young tree that catches the wind easily.

Pruning

This is where Akane really stands apart. Naturally prone to going bare, the tree responds very well to long pruning: keep one-year shoots whole rather than cutting them back. Removing the most vigorous shoots prompts numerous terminal fruit buds to break, and those will carry the crop. Early hand thinning, as soon as fruit set is over, is essential to hold fruit size — without it, Akane sets a great many small apples.

Diseases and resistance

Akane is frequently sold as a “disease-resistant” variety. The exact wording is field tolerance, not genetic resistance: Akane does not carry the Rvi6 gene (formerly Vf) for scab resistance, and both its parents are themselves susceptible varieties. Sources diverge markedly on this: North American references credit it with standing up well to scab, powdery mildew, cedar apple rust and fireblight, while several French sources rate it moderately susceptible to scab and fireblight, and distinctly susceptible to powdery mildew and rust.

• Scab (Venturia inaequalis): recognised field tolerance, without immunity
• Powdery mildew (Podosphaera leucotricha): sources conflict — watch it, Jonathan is susceptible
• Anthracnose canker and bull’s eye rot (Neofabraea spp.): susceptibility reported
• Physiological drop at fruit set: increased risk after a cold spring

Culinary uses

The Akane apple is above all an early-season dessert apple, to be eaten freshly picked — that is where its crispness and its strawberry fragrance come through best. Akane holds its shape when cooked and does not collapse, which makes it usable in a thin tart or baked whole, provided you accept a sharper acidity than in autumn varieties. In juice, Akane’s acidity gives relief to blends with sweeter varieties.

Its limited keeping naturally shapes its use: Akane is an apple for eating at once and for direct sale, not a keeper. To extend the season, pair it with the White Transparent apple tree, earlier still, and the James Grieve apple tree, which takes over in early September.

Akane and its low chilling requirement: an asset in the Lot-et-Garonne

Here is the argument most accounts neglect almost entirely. Unlike most varieties of northern origin, the Akane apple tree does not need a long exposure to winter cold to break dormancy. That characteristic makes it growable in regions where varieties with a high chilling requirement break bud poorly, flower unevenly and set irregularly.

In the warming that the South-West is experiencing, where winters accumulate fewer and fewer chill hours, this low requirement of Akane’s becomes a selection criterion in its own right — as much as harvest date or eating quality. Akane also combines two properties rarely found together: early flowering, hence exposed to April frosts, but a very short cycle of only 110 days from flowering to maturity, which puts the harvest out of reach of late-summer storms.

Frequently asked questions about the Akane apple tree

When should Akane apples be picked?

Akane apples are picked from mid-August to early September, about 110 days after flowering. Akane is one of the very first apples of the season. The fruit hangs well on the tree, up to a month after the normal picking date, which allows several passes; beyond that, a risk of watercore in the flesh appears.

Is the Akane apple tree self-fertile?

No, the Akane apple tree is self-sterile and requires a pollinizer planted nearby. Akane is diploid, of incompatibility genotype S7S24, and produces fertile pollen that allows it to pollinate other varieties in return. One companion variety is enough, but having several apple trees appreciably improves the size of Akane’s fruit.

Which pollinizer for the Akane apple tree?

Golden Delicious is the safest pollinizer for Akane: its S2S3 genotype shares no allele with S7S24, and it flowers three to four days after Akane. Be careful, on the other hand, with Jonathan, Akane’s parent: the two varieties share the S7 allele, which makes the pairing only semi-compatible.

What does the Akane apple taste like?

The Akane apple has fine white flesh, firm and crisp, with a distinctly sweet-sharp flavour inherited from Jonathan. Its aromatic signature is a note of wild strawberry passed on by Worcester Pearmain, its second parent. Akane is at its best eaten freshly picked, when crispness and fragrance are at their peak.

How long does the Akane apple keep?

Akane keeps for a short time: three to six weeks in a cool cellar, and up to two months in cold storage between +1 and +2 °C. Akane is an apple for eating at once, not a keeper. The wax on the skin develops during storage and makes the fruit slightly greasy to the touch, without affecting eating quality.

Is the Akane apple resistant to scab?

Akane shows field tolerance to scab, but not genetic resistance: the variety does not carry the Rvi6 gene. Sources diverge markedly from one country to another, notably on powdery mildew. Under organic management, Akane therefore calls for normal vigilance and a well-aired framework, not blind confidence.

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