Cultivar 259: Lobo

Lobo is an apple cultivar from the Central Experimental Farm tradition. It was grown on the Prairies, but it was not equally hardy at the coldest sites. Sources describe it as a McIntosh-like apple, often called a McIntosh seedling, with purple-red fruit that ripens in mid September and usually earlier than McIntosh. [S1] [S2] [S5]

Its origin is tied to the Central Experimental Farm at Ottawa. Sources place it there in 1906 or 1930. [S1] [S2] Its parentage is described differently across sources. One source lists it as a Langford Beauty seedling and notes Smithfield records that call it an open-pollinated seedling of McIntosh. Other sources simply call it a seedling of McIntosh. [S1] [S2] [S5]

The fruit is described as purple-red and good in quality, though more acid and less aromatic than McIntosh. It resembles McIntosh but is darker red and about a fortnight earlier. [S1] [S5] Prairie notes place its ripening in mid September. [S1]

At Morden, the tree was recorded as vigorous, hardy, and productive. [S5] Hardiness reports from other places are mixed. One prairie source says it was too tender at Unity, while another note cited there calls it the hardiest apple at St. Jean, Quebec. [S1] It was also included in a basic list for British Columbia and rated among the top four selections for hardiness there. [S1] The record points to a capable northern apple in some regions, but not a dependable choice for every severe prairie site. [S1] [S5]

Lobo also mattered in breeding. University of Saskatchewan ancestry records list it as an intermediate parent contributing 9.1 percent to recent advanced selections, and Prairie Fruit Breeding Project tables show it in later crosses such as Wealthy x Lobo, Haralson x Lobo, and Lobo x Rosilda. [S3] [S4] Those later crosses show Lobo's influence in prairie breeding, but they are not evidence of Lobo's own parentage. [S3] [S4]

Summary source basis

• S1: Edible Apples in Prairie Canada
• S2: An index of fruit cultivars tested or developed on the Canadian prairies.
• S3: ANCESTRY OF APPLE SELECTIONS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN
• S4: PrairieFruitBreedingDoc
• S5: TreeFruitsGrownInPrairieOrchards WRLeslie 1946 HQ

This summary currently draws chiefly from Edible Apples in Prairie Canada, with 3 additional supporting sources linked below.

Featured source descriptions

“Also appears in the crosses "Haralson x Lobo" and "Lobo x Rosilda" with 1 selection each.”
— ^[5]

“Included in the cross "Wealthy x Lobo" with 2 selections at Morden 2.”
— ^[5]

“Ripens mid Sept.”
— ^[1]

“Good, but more acid than McIntosh.”
— ^[1]

Direct parent cultivars

• No direct linked parent cultivars promoted yet.

Parentage claim text

• No direct breeding_cross claim text yet.

Derived or downstream cultivar links

• Brookland (lineage link)
• Westland (lineage link)

Source-story quotations

• Lobo (Langford Beauty sdlg) CEF (1930) STEdible Apples in Prairie Canada, p43
• Lobo (Langford Beauty sdlg) CEF (1930) STEdible Apples in Prairie Canada, p43
• Lobo (Langford Beauty sdlg) CEF (1930) STEdible Apples in Prairie Canada, p43
• Lobo (Langford Beauty sdlg) CEF (1930) STEdible Apples in Prairie Canada, p43

Taxonomy context: No family-tree context surfaced yet.

Related cultivars mentioned in source context