Our Apple Tree in Estonia – ‘Inese’ Grows in the Garden of Sagadi Manor
This summer, Dr. Gunārs Lācis, leading researcher at the Institute of Horticulture, visited the Sagadi Manor complex, located in the Lahemaa National Park in northern Estonia. The manor serves as an education, culture, and tourism center for the forestry sector (https://rmk.ee/sagadi-mois/). During the visit, it was with great satisfaction that he discovered columnar apple trees of the ‘Inese’ variety - a cultivar developed at the Institute of Horticulture in Latvia - growing in the manor’s demonstration garden.
The columnar apple tree ‘Inese’ is an autumn to early winter variety, distinguished by its large, dark red, and visually attractive fruits. The apples have a sweet taste with a pleasant acidity. The tree forms a compact, columnar crown, is medium in height, well-branched, and produces abundant and regular yields. It also carries the Rvi6 gene, which provides resistance to apple scab.
Sagadi Manor is one of Estonia’s most important forestry education and cultural centers, attracting a wide range of both local and international visitors. Demonstration gardens in such locations serve as excellent platforms for increasing the international visibility of cultivars developed by the Institute of Horticulture, as well as promoting the goals of regional plant breeding programs.
The columnar apple tree ‘Inese’ stands as one of the most successful examples of long-term breeding work tailored to the agroclimatic conditions of the Baltic Sea region, aimed at developing high-quality, sustainable, and disease-resistant varieties.
🔗 Learn more about the fruit crop breeding program:
https://www.darzkopibasinstituts.lv/lv/projekti/darzaugu-selekcijas-programma-selekcijas-materiala-izstradei-lai-veicinatu-konvencionalo-1