Organic growers gasped with awe. Backyard orchadists stared in amazement. A superhero among apples, this was the first modern cultivar bred for resistance to apple scab. It is also resistant fireblight and powdery mildew. Its only kryptonite is cedar-apple rust. This tree is vigorous, productive, and hardy. We are saved!

Swooping into town early in apple season, Prima is a medium-large blocky apple that is mostly blushed pinkish-red over yellow. The flesh is firm, sweet, and subacid. Best eaten fresh, Prima will also store well in regular refrigeration for about a month. The developers at Purdue Extension compare Prima to Jonathan in both appearance and taste.

Pristine comes from the Purdue, Rutgers, and Illinois Universities breeding program. The name, starting with PRI, refers to these organizations and to the fact that this was the first apple to come out of the program. Also hailing from the PRI researchers are Enterprise, William's Pride, and Pristine. All the PRI cultivars get their scab resistance from the vF gene, which is inherited from Malus floribunda.