Apple Rootstock Info: G.202

G.202 is a semi-dwarfing rootstock that produces a tree slightly larger than M.26. It is a cross of Malling 27 and Robusta 5. It is fire blight and phytophthora resistant, but also has good resistance to woolly apple aphid, which is important in many warmer climates where woolly apple aphid is a rootstock pest. G.202 performs very moderately well in the stoolbed and produces good quality nursery trees.

G.202 has been tested mostly in New York state and New Zealand. In New York it produces a tree 50 percent larger than M.9 and with slightly lower yield efficiency. In New Zealand, it has been found to be much more productive than M.26 and is one of the best stocks available. It appears that G.202 will be a useful alternative to M.26 in climates that have problems with woolly apple aphid. This rootstock should be planted at densities of 1,500 trees per ha to 2,500 trees per ha. It was released for commercial propagation in New Zealand by Cornell University in May 2002 and in the United States in 2004.