Cultivar 261: Breakey

Breakey is a prairie apple from Morden, Manitoba. It is generally described as a seedling of Blushed Calville and was introduced in the mid 1930s.[S1] [S2] [S3] Sources place its introduction in 1935 or 1936.[S1] [S2] [S3] It was developed at the Experimental Station or Research Station at Morden. It was recommended mainly for the warmer or more favorable parts of the Prairie Provinces, not the coldest districts.[S2] [S4] [S7]

The fruit is usually described as medium, or medium to large, roundish, and striped bright red over yellowish green.[S1] [S2] [S3] [S4] [S6] The flesh is reported as white to whitish, fine textured, juicy, and melting, with a mild sub acid flavor that can be slightly aromatic and spicy.[S6] [S7] Prairie sources consistently rate it as a good dessert apple. Several also note that it is good for cooking or processing.[S1] [S2] [S3] [S4] [S6]

Season reports vary slightly, but sources place Breakey from early September into the autumn storage season.[S2] [S6] One source calls it late, while another gives a season of September to November.[S1] [S6] Keeping quality is one of its stronger traits. Sources say it keeps well, and one Saskatchewan table reports storage well past New Year.[S1] [S7]

The tree is described as vigorous, spreading, and productive, with extra large blossoms.[S6] One source adds that it tends to drop fruit.[S1] Disease reports are mixed. Saskatchewan fireblight tables place it in the good resistance class,[S4] [S8] but another Saskatchewan comparison table rates it susceptible.[S7]

Hardiness is also described with caution. Breakey is listed as moderately hardy in Saskatchewan tables,[S4] [S8] yet other prairie sources call its hardiness only average or say it should be grown on a trial basis in Zone 3B.[S4] [S7] This fits its repeated placement among apples for warmer prairie regions rather than the toughest sites.[S2] Breakey also remained useful in later breeding work. A University of Saskatchewan ancestry study lists it as an intermediate parent contributing to more recent selections, showing that this older Morden apple stayed in the breeding stream after its introduction.[S5]

Summary source basis

• S1: Edible Apples in Prairie Canada
• S2: Tree fruit production for the Prairie Provinces
• S3: An index of fruit cultivars tested or developed on the Canadian prairies.
• S4: HortFactsAppleCultivars CStushnoff 1985
• S5: ANCESTRY OF APPLE SELECTIONS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN
• S6: TreeFruitsGrownInPrairieOrchards WRLeslie 1946 HQ
• S7: hortfacts_1976_3.pdf
• S8: hortfacts stushnoff

This summary currently draws chiefly from Edible Apples in Prairie Canada, with 6 additional supporting sources linked below.

Featured source descriptions

“Referenced in Smithfield and Lau.”
— ^[1]

“Late.”
— ^[1]

“Hardiness coded as FB2 H1.”
— ^[1]

“Good dessert quality.”
— ^[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

• M359 (lineage link)

Source-story quotations

• Breakey (Blushed Calville sdlg) Morden (1929, intro 1936) Fruit 8cm, yellowish green, striped bright red.Edible Apples in Prairie Canada, p19
• Breakey (Blushed Calville sdlg) Morden (1929, intro 1936) Fruit 8cm, yellowish green, striped bright red.Edible Apples in Prairie Canada, p19
• Breakey (Blushed Calville sdlg) Morden (1929, intro 1936) Fruit 8cm, yellowish green, striped bright red.Edible Apples in Prairie Canada, p19
• Breakey (Blushed Calville sdlg) Morden (1929, intro 1936) Fruit 8cm, yellowish green, striped bright red.Edible Apples in Prairie Canada, p19

Taxonomy context: No family-tree context surfaced yet.

Related cultivars mentioned in source context