BYFLUI NALIV: A PROMISING ANTIQUE RUSSIAN VARIETY

 

 

Dwight Bradley

 

In September, we had a visit from a geologist who spent his 40 or so years in Russia, then moved to Colorado a few years ago, when the standard of living in Russia started to spiral downhill. Like many professionals from Moscow, he owned an acre of land about an hour away from the city, with a small cabin, garden, and orchard. His orchard contained 25 apple trees situated in a climate broadly similar to that of Edmonton and Fairbanks; the latitude of Moscow is about 55°N. We spent some time discussing Russian greatest interest for Alaskan growers is Byelui Naily, means “Juicy White”. Thus is an antique variety, from before the Revolution, that is still very popular. In the 1884 paper by Charles Gibb, titled On the Russian apples U.S. Dept, of Agriculture in 1870, Gibb quoted a Dr. Regel, who evidently was from Russia, as follows: “Byelui Naliv is one of the most valuable of the Russian apples, because it grows even in the northern part of the Province of St. Petersburg, even at the Valaam Monestary (62°N), near the northern end of Lake Lagoda, and in some parts of Finland.” Does anyone know of a source for Byelui Naliv (Juicy White) in the USA?