Cultivar 369: Norland

Norland is a prairie bred apple, a medium sized early dessert and cooking cultivar from the cross 'Rescue' x 'Melba'. It was developed at Morden, Manitoba, selected at Scott, Saskatchewan, and linked with C. R. Ure and the Prairie Co operative fruit breeding effort. Sources place its release in 1979 or 1980. It became important because it brought better eating quality to a hardy prairie apple. It was later remembered as the first good dessert apple to ripen in mid August on the prairies. [S6] [S2] [S9] [S7]

The fruit is usually described as about 6 to 7 cm across, medium sized, oblong conic, and slightly ribbed, with a greenish yellow ground color washed or striped red, sometimes with a heavy dark overlay. The flesh is cream colored, sometimes tinged green or red, slightly coarse, moderately acid, and pleasant. Sources describe it as good to excellent in quality and suitable for fresh eating, cooking, and juicing. [S6] [S2] [S3] [S4]

Norland ripens early, most often in mid August. One ripening table gives 17 August, and other sources extend the season into late August. It is an early summer apple, not a long keeper. Several sources say it drops when ripe and stores best only if picked before full maturity. The fullest description gives storage of about two months under that condition, while shorter guides simply say it stores well. [S8] [S2] [S6] [S11]

The tree is described as small to semi dwarf, vigorous, upright, and spreading. Prairie recommendation lists place it among the top rated or suggested apples for the Prairie Provinces, including less favorable zones, and Manitoba guidance lists it among the apples worth trying in northern Manitoba. Hardiness is described as H1 to H2, hardy, moderately hardy, or hardy to zone 2b. The evidence supports Norland as a hardy prairie apple for about zone 2 conditions, though not among the very hardest sorts. [S1] [S2] [S4] [S6] [S11]

Disease resistance is a weaker point. Multiple sources describe Norland as susceptible or moderately susceptible to fire blight, and Saskatchewan tables flagged it as needing further testing when it was newer there. One detailed profile also warns that it may suffer repeated injury in chinook regions or northern sites if trees do not harden off properly. [S2] [S4] [S6] [S8]

Norland also matters beyond its own fruit. A University of Saskatchewan ancestry table lists it as an intermediate parent in later breeding material, and one prairie source calls it a good breeder. Historical accounts connect its introduction with the late 1970s wave of improved hardy apples that helped restart prairie commercial apple production in the mid 1980s. [S5] [S6] [S7]

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: Norland
• S7: History of Commercial Apple Production on the Prairie
• S8: APPLE RIPENING DATES TABLE 2006

This summary currently draws chiefly from Edible Apples in Prairie Canada, with 7 additional supporting sources linked below.

Featured source descriptions

“Oblong-conic, with slight ribbing.”
— ^[1]

“H1-2 hardiness rating.”
— ^[1]

“Excellent quality.”
— ^[1]

“Manchester noted better color than Westland, but less hardy than Parkland.”
— ^[1]

Direct parent cultivars

• No direct linked parent cultivars promoted yet.

Parentage claim text

• Parentage given as Rescue x Melba.
• Rescue x Melba.
• Listed as 'Rescue' x 'Melba'.
• Lineage: Rescue x Melba.

Derived or downstream cultivar links

• No derived or downstream lineage links yet.

Source-story quotations

• Norland (Rescue X Melba) Scott selection Morden (1980) R. Ure ST Fruit 6.5cm, red blush over green-yellow. Oblong-conic, with slight ribbing. Early dessert or cooking. Excellent quality. Manchester notes..."better and hardier than Westland, but less hardy than Parkland." Drops when ripe. "Best picked for storage beforeEdible Apples in Prairie Canada, p51
• Norland (Rescue X Melba) Scott selection Morden (1980) R. Ure ST Fruit 6.5cm, red blush over green-yellow. Oblong-conic, with slight ribbing. Early dessert or cooking. Excellent quality. Manchester notes..."better and hardier than Westland, but less hardy than Parkland." Drops when ripe. "Best picked for storage beforeEdible Apples in Prairie Canada, p51
• Norland (Rescue X Melba) Scott selection Morden (1980) R. Ure ST Fruit 6.5cm, red blush over green-yellow. Oblong-conic, with slight ribbing. Early dessert or cooking. Excellent quality. Manchester notes..."better and hardier than Westland, but less hardy than Parkland." Drops when ripe. "Best picked for storage beforeEdible Apples in Prairie Canada, p51
• Norland (Rescue X Melba) Scott selection Morden (1980) R. Ure ST Fruit 6.5cm, red blush over green-yellow. Oblong-conic, with slight ribbing. Early dessert or cooking. Excellent quality. Manchester notes..."better and hardier than Westland, but less hardy than Parkland." Drops when ripe. "Best picked for storage beforeEdible Apples in Prairie Canada, p51

Taxonomy context: No family-tree context surfaced yet.

Related cultivars mentioned in source context