Apple Tree Pitchounette - Malus domestica

The Pitchounette apple tree is a recent selection from INRA, chosen for its natural resistance to scab and the quality of its fruits. This variety produces beautiful apples, beautifully coloured with red on a yellow background, and their crisp flesh is fragrant, juicy, sweet, and mild, of delicious taste quality. The fruit can be stored in cold storage after harvest until January-February. The tree is vigorous, productive, and heavily branched. It will be necessary to prune and thin it to avoid obtaining many small-sized apples and limit the phenomenon of alternate bearing. The harvest takes place in the second decade of September, one week before Golden Delicious.

In Latin Malus domestica, the apple tree is native to Europe, where its presence has been attested since antiquity. The Pitchounette apple tree is a spread and rounded tree that can reach a height of 4.50 m (15ft) and a spread of 3.50 m (11ft) in fertile and cool soils. It develops numerous branches that will need to be pruned to shape it. This variety is self-fertile and very productive, so it must be thinned to avoid small fruit size and the occurrence of diseases. Its hardiness makes it suitable for cultivation in cooler regions and the mountains. Pitchounette results from a cross-breeding between Fuji and an apple tree called X3143. Naturally resistant to many strains of scab, it is suitable for a family garden in an organic culture.

Its foliage comprises huge, ovate, slightly hairy leaves, greenish-brown on the upper side, whitish-green on the lower side, and deeply toothed.
Flowering occurs in April in white flowers; it is not afraid of frost. Partially self-fertile, the presence of apple trees whose flowering occurs simultaneously is recommended to obtain an abundant harvest. 'Golden Delicious' and 'Reine des Reinettes' are suitable. The apples of Pitchounette measure from 6.5 to 7.5 cm (3in) in diameter and their skin is heavily washed and striped with bright red on 3/4 of a yellow background. Their flesh is pale yellow, crisp, juicy, sweet, fragrant, and mild flavour.

These Pitchounette apples are delicious to eat but also suitable for making pastries and incredibly delicious Tatin pies. They can be consumed in compotes, jams, and savoury dishes, in combination with cheeses, for example.