Apple cultivars for long storage: what to plant for a cold store

A cold store lets a grower sell the crop in winter and spring, when early cultivars are gone from the market. In Lipetsk Oblast in 2025 growers harvested 73 thousand tonnes of apples and put about 65 thousand tonnes into storage, according to the regional press service. The cultivar is chosen when the orchard is planted, while the other two conditions, maturity at harvest and the chamber regime, stay with you for every year of operation. Below are the storage times of the cultivars in our stock.

How long the cultivars in stock keep

Geneva keeps for less than a week, while Granny Smith and Fuji reach a year under suitable storage.

The figures in the table come from different sources and refer to different conditions, so read them as orders of magnitude. Where a source gives a number of months it is rounded, and where it names an end date, such as February, that date is given. Exact times depend on temperature, humidity, gas regime and the maturity of the fruit at loading.

For Pink Lady and Ambrosia the sources describe good keeping quality without a figure in months. Pink Lady is described as a firm, long-keeping cultivar, and Ambrosia stores well in CA and gives off little ethylene.

Ordinary cold and controlled atmosphere

Controlled atmosphere, or CA, extends storage noticeably, but the time depends on the gas regime.

For Gala, Cornell University names under four months in an ordinary chamber. In CA with 2% oxygen and 1% carbon dioxide at 3 °C the apples keep 6-7 months, and at 0.5% oxygen they keep 9-10 months. Both times depend on the maturity of the fruit at harvest, see the Cornell recommendations.

The choice between an ordinary chamber and CA depends on the cultivar and the selling period. Geneva and Williams’ Pride do not need CA, because they are sold right after harvest. Granny Smith can keep for up to a year in CA, and an ordinary chamber does not unlock that reserve. Granny Smith also gives off little ethylene. What a chamber costs and whether it pays back at your volume is calculated separately from planting the orchard.

Maturity at harvest

Apples for storage are picked at a defined maturity, and a mistake in either direction shortens the storage life.

For Gala, Cornell University names four reference points. A starch index of about 3 on the Cornell chart, internal ethylene below 0.5 µL/L, acidity of about 0.5% and soluble solids above 10%. These numbers apply to Gala and serve as an example. Other cultivars have different values, so the reference points are taken separately for each cultivar.

A late pick shortens storage life. An early pick raises the risk of scald and bitter pit. Both disorders are known in Granny Smith, scald is held back by the storage regime and bitter pit by calcium sprays. Rates and schedules are set by the agronomist for the conditions of your orchard.

Golden Delicious, the parent of Reinders, is picked 130-150 days after full bloom. Its fruit bruises and shrivels easily, so it is handled carefully at harvest and loading.

Late cultivars in the south

Long-keeping cultivars ripen late, and the south gives them a long warm season, but autumn frost remains a risk.

Granny Smith needs a long season to ripen its fruit and grows well in a mild climate. Pink Lady is picked in late October or early November and needs a long warm period without early winter frost. Fuji prefers a relatively warm summer. Inored Story ripens 10-15 days after Granny Smith, while Greenstar ripens earlier than Granny Smith.

The picking date of late cultivars is set each season by the starch test and the condition of the fruit. How heat and frost affect cultivar choice in the south is covered in the article on apples for southern Russia.

How to assemble a range for the cold store

A cold store is filled with cultivars of different storage life, so that the chamber empties gradually and sales run all winter.

• Under three months. Geneva, Williams’ Pride and Royal Gala, which are sold first.
• Four to six months. Devil Gala, Jeromine, Golden Delicious Reinders and Crimson Crisp, which carry the winter season.
• About half a year and longer. Modì, Inored Story, Greenstar, Granny Smith, Fuji, as well as Pink Lady and Ambrosia, which give the spring and late sales.

Cultivars of different groups ripen at different times, so harvest stretches over several weeks. The crew does not have to pick the whole orchard in a few days, and the chamber fills gradually. Without a chamber of your own, cultivars of the first group are sold right after harvest. Late cultivars make sense only with a storage place arranged in advance, because their storage life is not unlocked without cold.

The balance between the groups depends on the chamber, the sales channel and the volume. The choice of channel is covered in the article on cultivars for a commercial orchard, and trees per hectare are counted as described in the article on planting density.

As of 9 October 2026 an apple sapling on M9 costs RUB 360 in grade 1+, RUB 400 in grade 3+ and RUB 450 in grade 5+. The price is the same for every cultivar and includes VAT. The price list applies from 6,000 saplings in steps of 250 per cultivar. Lots from 1,000 saplings are possible with a surcharge, and we will give the small-lot price in the quote. The agronomist helps with the choice of cultivars, layout and planting dates.

Cultivars in stock

See prices and stock by cultivar in the price list as of 9 October 2026 and count saplings per plot in the calculator. The lot is handed over on pickup from the village of Sunzha, and for farms in Krasnodar Krai that is about 320 km in a straight line. Every lot comes with a phytosanitary certificate.

• Granny Smith, long storage in CA
• Fuji, a late cultivar with long keeping quality
• Greenstar, firm fruit after 9 months at 1 °C
• Inored Story, about 8 months in an ordinary chamber
• Modì, about 6 months in commercial storage
• Pink Lady, a very late firm cultivar