Cultivar 361: Kappa

Kappa is a University of Saskatchewan plum or cherry plum selection from the prairie Prunus breeding program. It is recorded as a cross of 'Sapa' and 'Oka' and was introduced in 1960. Prairie cultivar indexes place it among the University of Saskatchewan's Sapa x Oka hybrids, a notable line in prairie fruit breeding. [S1] [S3]

Sources describe the fruit as spherical and medium sized, about 1 inch or 2.5 cm across, with bluish black to deep purple skin and dark red flesh. Its flavor is reported as sweet. One Saskatchewan table rates it only fair for dessert, while the 1960 introduction note calls it large for its class, excellent in quality, and outstanding. This suggests better quality than the plain table rating alone implies. [S1] [S2] [S3]

Use notes point more clearly to processing than to fresh dessert use. A prairie characteristics table lists Kappa for processing and places it in the medium season. One Saskatchewan table describes the skin as thick, tough, and astringent. That helps explain why it may have been valued more for kitchen use than for direct eating despite its sweet flesh. [S1] [S2]

Hardiness is less well documented than fruit quality. One 1976 Saskatchewan source says Kappa was tested mainly in Zones 4 and 5 and showed moderate to severe winter injury, but that note is in an uncertain context and should be read cautiously. The firmer geographic evidence is that Kappa belonged to the University of Saskatchewan prairie introduction program. Tree habit, bearing habit, and disease notes were not given in the cited sources. [S2] [S3]

Summary source basis

• S1: An index of fruit cultivars tested or developed on the Canadian prairies.
• S2: hortfacts_1976_3.pdf
• S3: University of Saskatchewan fruit introductions 1959-1960

This summary currently draws chiefly from An index of fruit cultivars tested or developed on the Canadian prairies., with 3 additional supporting sources linked below.

Featured source descriptions

“Skin described as thick, tough, astringent; flesh as deep purple.”
— ^[4]

“Season listed as medium.”
— ^[3]

“Tested primarily in Zones 4 and 5, where it showed moderate to severe winter injury.”
— ^[4]

“Flavor listed as sweet.”
— ^[4]

Direct parent cultivars

• No direct linked parent cultivars promoted yet.

Parentage claim text

• Listed as 'Sapa' x 'Oka'.
• Parentage listed as Sapa x Oka, from mixed open pollinations.

Derived or downstream cultivar links

• No derived or downstream lineage links yet.

Source-story quotations

• C59-356 Kappa ... Sapa x Oka Mixed open pollinations ... 1960 ... Spherical, skin bluish black, flesh dark red, sweet, excellent quality, fruit large for this class, outstanding.University of Saskatchewan fruit introductions 1959-1960, p9
• C59-356 Kappa ... Sapa x Oka Mixed open pollinations ... 1960 ... Spherical, skin bluish black, flesh dark red, sweet, excellent quality, fruit large for this class, outstanding.University of Saskatchewan fruit introductions 1959-1960, p9
• C59-356 Kappa ... Sapa x Oka Mixed open pollinations ... 1960 ... Spherical, skin bluish black, flesh dark red, sweet, excellent quality, fruit large for this class, outstanding.University of Saskatchewan fruit introductions 1959-1960, p9
• C59-356 Kappa ... Sapa x Oka Mixed open pollinations ... 1960 ... Spherical, skin bluish black, flesh dark red, sweet, excellent quality, fruit large for this class, outstanding.University of Saskatchewan fruit introductions 1959-1960, p9

Taxonomy context: No family-tree context surfaced yet.

Related cultivars mentioned in source context