Fruit Tree Cultivars

Fruit	Recommended Cultivars	Pollination Notes	Disease Notes	Other Considerations
Apples	Gala, Ginger Gold, Jonagold, Empire, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Crispin (Mutsu), Stayman, Rome, Fuji	Requirements vary. Some cultivars are self-fruited. Others require a pollination. (See note 1).	Summer rots are the most serious disease problems and can destroy an entire crop. No cultivars are resistant. Some cultivars are resistant to apple scab, powdery mildew, cedar apple rust, or fire blight. These include Redfree, Prima, Priscilla, Jonafree, and Liberty (which performs poorly ion North Carolina).	In warmer regions, red cultivars may not color well.
Asian Pears	Twentieth Century (Nijisseike), Nititaka (pollen source), Shinseiki (New Century), Chojuro	At least two cultivars are needed to ensure adequate pollination.	Fie blight is the biggest concern.	Asian pears are very crisp and juicy. Flower is very susceptible to frost damage.
Chestnuts	Chinese: Nanking, Meiling, Kuling, Abundance, Crane Chinese American Hybrid: Revival, Carolina, Willamette	All required pollination from another cultivar. Plant at lease two cultivars of the same type to ensure optimal size and production.	Most Chinese and hybrid chestnuts are highly resistant to the chestnut blight fungus.	Many people prefer the hybrid chestnut cultivars, citing superior quality over the Chinese cultivars.
Figs	Celeste, Brown Turkey, Brunswick/Magnolia (for preserves), Greenish, Marseille	Only cultivars that do not require pollination can be grown in North Carolina.	Few serious disease problems except nematodes	Fruit may drop prematurely as a result of drought or excessive shade, moisture, or fertilization.
Nectarines	Summer Beaut, Sunglo, Redgold, Flavortop, Fantasia, Carolina Red (See note 2.)	Self-fruitful. Do not require pollination by other cultivars.	Nectarines and peaches should be planted only on Lovell or Halford root-stocks to avoid premature death. The lack of hair on nectarines makes the fruit more susceptible to diseases than peaches, and a multipurpose fungicide and insecticide spray program will be required.	Many cultivars were developed in California and may not do well in North Carolina.
Peaches	Redhaven, Norman, Carolina Belle (whitefleshed), Contender, Cresthaven, Encore, Legend, Summer Pearl (white), Windblow. (Many cultivars are the result of a peach-breeding program at N. C State and have been developed for North Carolina; see note 2.)	Self-fruitful. Do not require pollination by other cultivars.	A multipurpose fungicide and insecticide spray program will be needed during the growing season.	Only cultivars that require 750 hours of chilling are recommended.
Pears	Moonglow, Magness (not a pollen source), Kieffer, Harrow Delight, Harrow Sweet, Harvest Queen, Seckel	At least two cultivars are recommended to ensure adequate pollination.	Plant only fire blight resistant cultivars	Pears bloom earlier than apples and should be planted on higher sites.
Pecans	Type I: Cape Fear and Pawnee. Type II: Stuart, Forkert, Sumner, Kiowa, Gloria Grande	Pollination by another cultivar is essential. One cultivar from each of the two groups must be used for pollination.	Scab is the most serious disease in North Carolina. A fungicide spray program is usually not practical.	Careful cultivar selection is essential to avoid frost or freeze problems and to allow a long enough season for maturation.
Persimmons	Fuyu, Jiro, Hanagosho (very good pollen source). Only large-fruited Oriental persimmons are recommended for North Carolina.	Cross-pollination is not required for fruit set but is recommended.	No serious disease problems.	If nonastringent cultivars are planted, fruit may not be suitable for eating until they are fully mature and their flesh is soft.
Plums	Japanese: Methley (self fruitful) ,Byrongold, Burbank, Ozark Premier (may bloom early). European: Bluefre, Stanley, Shrophire (Damson) (see note 2.)	Some cultivars are self-fruitful, but planting two cultivars is recommended.	A multipurpose fungicide-insecticide spray program will be needed during the growing season.	Later blooming cultivars should be selected to avoid damaging temperatures.

Note 1. Pollination requirements for apples vary with cultivar. For cultivars requiring cross-pollination, it is recommended that at least two cultivars with overlapping bloom periods be planted together. For supposedly self fruitful cultivars, pollination by another cultivar will increase yield and quality.

Note 2. To break bud and grow properly in the spring, peaches, nectarines, and plums must be exposed to temperatures in the 40°F range for a required number of hours during the dormant season. This period is referred to as the chilling requirement. In North Carolina, cultivars with chilling requirements of at least 750 hours are recommended to prevent trees from blooming too early in the spring, which increases the risk of frost/freeze damage and resultant crop loss.

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