Liberty is a hybrid apple

Apple

The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...

 cultivar

Cultivar

A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...

 developed by the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station

New York State Agricultural Experiment Station

The New York State Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva, Ontario County, New York State, is an integral part of the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University. It is a mission-oriented experiment station with a strong emphasis on applied research...

. It was first pollenated in 1955 by crossing Macoun with 'Perdue 54-12' for the sake of acquiring malus floribunda

Malus floribunda

Malus floribunda, or Japanese flowering crabapple, originates from Japan and East Asia. It may be a wild species, or a hybrid of M. sieboldii x M. baccata....

 disease resistances. It was first released to the public in 1974.

Official Description

"The fruit of 'Liberty' is a deep dark red over 90 percent of the surface. The ground color is yellowish. The red is striped rather than blushed. The shape of the fruit is oblate to oblate conic, and the size averages 2 3/4-3 inches although it may be smaller on heavily cropping trees. The cavity is obtuse, broad, smooth to slightly russeted. The stem is short. The calyx is medium large and mostly closed.

There are numerous light colored small sunken dots on the surface of the fruit. The flesh is yellowish in color, juicy, crisp, fine. The flavor is subacid and good. The core is medium large and is slightly to wide open. The quality has been rated as good. At Geneva, it is ripe about October 5 on the average or about 10 days after Mclntosh. 'Liberty' is considered to be primarily a dessert apple and has not as yet been given a processing test."
It makes a fine pinkish applesauce.

Disease susceptibility

• Scab: not susceptible
• Powdery mildew: low
• Cedar apple rust: low
• Fire blight: low