‘Pepin Shafranny’ (‘Pepin Šafrannij’)

Called in Latvian ‘Safrāna Pepiņš’, it is known in Latvia since 1930ties, but saw its triumph in only after 2^nd World war, when it was planted in enormous numbers in the orchards of collective farms. The cultivar was obtained by the well-known Russian breeder Ivan Michurin, who in 1906 crossed varieties ‘Orleans Reinette’, ‘Lietuvos Pepinas’ and Chinese crab-apple (Malus prunifolia). ‘Pepin Shafranny’ is highly productive, but this also became its stumbling stone - on trees with heavy crop load the fruits become small and have poor flavour, and the trees themselves suffer in cold winters and from diseases. The apples have good storage, but since then many new winter cultivars have been obtained with better fruit quality. The cultivar is no more planted.