Malling series

"Malling series" is an apple rootstock.

History

Rootstocks used to control tree size have been used in apple for over 2,000 years. Dwarfing rootstocks were probably discovered by chance in Asia. Alexander the Great sent samples of dwarf apple trees back to his teacher, Aristotle in Greece. They were maintained at the Lyceum, a center of learning in Greece.

Dwarf apples are mentioned during the Song Dynasty in China (11th to 13th centuries) Initial propagation was likely by severing a root and causing it to sucker. The dwarfing clones were propagated in gardens for their novelty and not their efficiency. They were often trained to elaborate shapes such as pyramids, trellises and espaliers. In the mid-1800s, horticulturists began referring to the rootstocks by name. They were called Paradise (or French Paradise) or Doucin (or English Paradise), with the former being more dwarfing than the latter.

However, there was much variation in the plant material in size control. Many new stocks had been introduced inaccurately under these names and undoubtedly viruses and genetic mutations had occurred in the plant material. In the late 19th century, one author described 14 different kinds of Paradise rootstocks. This led to research workers at the East Malling Research Station in England to gather the selections up to determine their trueness to name. They concluded that indeed, there were numerous misnamed and mixed collections of plant material.