More info
Excerpt from the New York’s Food and Life Sciences Bulletin:
EARLY CORTLAND' ORIGIN
'Early Cortland' originated from the controlled cross- pollination, 'Cortland' x 'Lodi', made in 1938. It was selected in August 1949 from a progeny of 44 seedlings. During its testing period before introduction, it was identified as New York 49-19.
TESTING
'Early Cortland' was tested for an unusually long period of 45 years from the time of crossing to introduction, 1938- 1982. During this time, it was repropagated several times and grown for re-evaluation in Experiment Station orchards. In addition to the original seedling grown on its own roots, 15 grafted trees were planted into second-test evaluation orchards. Nursery trees of N.Y. 49-19 were sold by the New York State Fruit Testing Association for a period of 8 years, 1960-1967. Commercial and home garden growers purchased trees to test it. This Department also used N.Y. 49-19 to graft onto several kinds of stocks to study rootstock effects on tree performance in commercial orchards.
In 1969, 'Early Cortland' was tested by Olaf Einset, Lofthus, Norway. Mr.xEirrset was formerly a pomologist at the Geneva Station. In Norway, he was so favorably im- pressed with the variety that he gave it a name of his own choosing, 'Mari', and encouraged Norwegian growers to try it.
Beginning about 1970, several hundred bushels of N.Y. 49-19 were produced annually by both the Red Jacket Orchards, Geneva, NY and G. Field Orchards, LaFayette, NY. Both have marketed the variety under the name, 'Early Cortland'.
CHOOSING A NAME
The name, 'Early Cortland', was chosen by a group of 10 Geneva pomologists. In view of the fact that this variety has already been marketed under this name, it is an appropriate choice. However, there is a negativeaspecttothisname.lt seems to imply that this is an early ripening mutation of 'Cortland', which it is not. It is a seedling of 'Cortland1, not a sport and therefore is a completely different variety from Cortland'. Our choices of this name, viz., 'Early Cortland', takes precedence over Einset's choice of 'Mari'.
FRUIT
'Early Cortland' is an early fall, market apple. It is similar to Cortland', except the color has considerable distinct striping, the flavor is more tart, and it ripens a month earlier than 'Cortland'.
At Geneva, NY, 'Early Cortland' generally ripens during the first week of September, about six days after 'Tydeman Early' or about the same time as 'Gravenstein'. Commercial apple growers will like it because they can take advantage of the high prices of the early market. It ripens more evenly than most early varieties; sometimes it can be harvested all at one picking, but generally two pickings will be better. Like 'Cortland', 'Early Cortland' fruits hang well to the tree even after they have fully ripened; no stopdrop sprays are needed.
'Early Cortland' fruits are large, generally 3 to 3 112 inches in diameter. Fruit sizes are more uniform than most varieties. Skin color is 60 to 95 per cent red with distinctly splashed striping. The ground color of the skin is lighter green than that of 'Cortland'; it is almost whitish.
Fruit shape is roundoblate to roundconic. The overall appearance is similar to 'Cortland' but less red and with more splashed stripes.
The flesh is whitish cream colored and semifirm in texture. The flavor is subacid to somewhat tart. It is somewhat less pleasant to eat out of hand than 'Cortland' because it is more tart and it has less of the desirable aromatic flavors. Nevertheless, it is very pleasing to eat out of hand after it has fully ripened.
STORAGE
'Early Cortland' has a much longer storage life than most early ripening apple varieties. Storage life tests at 31 F. in a high relative humidity were conducted for 7 years (1962- 1968). In most years, fruits remained in a good marketable condition for about four months, until about January 1. Its storage life is about as long as that of 'Mclntosh'.
TREE
'Early Cortland1 trees are very similar to 'Cortland'. They are above medium in vigor. Trees can be propagated on the full range of size- controlling rootstocks to achieve the desired tree size.
Like 'Cortland', fruits are borne on spurs and on twig terminals. Branches are more willowy than some varieties, and heavy cropping often causes trees to appear somewhat drooping.
PESTS
'Early Cortland' has no known resistances to apple diseases or insects. Therefore, a full schedule of chemical sprays will be needed.
Tests conducted by the Department of Plant Pathology showed Early Cortland' to be very susceptible to fire blight (Erwinia amylovora). However, in an apple cultivar evalua- tion orchard where fire blight has been especially severe on other varieties, trees of 'Early Cortland' have suffered very little blight infection.
POLLINATION
In 1966, Charlotte Pratt of the Department of Pomology and Viticulture, counted the number of chromosomes in cells in shoot meristems of 'Early Cortland' and found the variety to be diploid (2x-34). Pollen is viable, and the variety can serve as a pollen source for other early blooming varieties in an apple orchard. 'Early Cortland' has been used effectively as a pollen parent in controlled hybridizations, which proves that it has good, viable pollen.
Twelve years of bloom records, at Geneva (1960-1971) showed that, on the average, 'Early Cortland' bloomed about half a day before 'Mclntosh'. Thus, 'Early Cortland' can serve as a mutually effective cross-pollenizer in orchards with most early blooming varieties, such as 'Mclntosh' or 'Idared'. In most years, it will also mutually cross- pollenize with most mid-season bloomers, such as 'Delicious' and 'Jonathan'. It should not be depended upon as a pollenizer for late blooming varieties, such as 'Golder Delicious' or 'Rome'. Commercial growers report that the flowers of 'Early Cortland' are hardier and more frost resis- tant than those of 'Empire'. In cold bloom seasons, it will usually set good crops, even when honeybee flight is poor.
FRUIT YIELDS
Trees of 'Early Cortland' produce good heavy crops. This is one of the special attributes of this new variety. Fifteen- year-old trees on Malling-Merton 106 rootstocks often produce 10 bushels or more of fruit, annually. Yield records of individual trees over a decade show that there is a slight tendency for some trees to crop somewhat biennially, though biennial cropping is much less of a problem than it is with its parent, 'Lodi'.
COMMERCIAL USEFULNESS
Apple varieties which are grown in large volume com- mercially usually ripen late, after mid-September. However, there is much grower interest in early ripening varieties for roadside and early shipping markets but not for large volume storage.
'Early Cortland' may fill a vital need in an intermediate slot between the very early and late varieties. Although ripens in early mid-season, it is an excellent commercial type. Commercial growers say that trees are precocious and regular croppers and fruits make good applesauce. The fact that these growers have already accepted and planted this good new variety is one of the reasons we are introducing it.
Way, R.D., Livermore, K.G., Aldwinckle, H.S. , 1982, 'EARLY CORTLAND' AND 'GENEVA EARLY' APPLES: New York's Food and Life Sciences Bulletin, no. 99, p. 1–3.
https://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/handle/1813/5107/FLS-099.pdf;sequence=1