Influence of four apple cultivars on five dwarfing rootstocks on spur quality

Spur quality of four apple cultivars of varying growth habits on five dwarf ing rootstocks was determined as an ancillary study on trees of the 1990 NC -140 cultivar-rootstock planting located in OH and KS. 'Empire' tended to p roduce more and smaller spur leaves, while 'Jonagold' tended to have fewer and larger spur leaves than other cultivars. The only interaction between c ultivar and rootstock was bud diameter at both KS locations. The influence of rootstock on spur characteristics was small with the greatest effect on spur leaf area. Cultivar had a significant influence on most spur character istics and confirms earlier work that scion is the major controller of grow th distribution.