MSU's research orchard at the Horticulture Farm in Bozeman is part of MSU Extension's fruit tree research. Funded by a Montana Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant, the project includes sites in ten different counties across Montana. Research goals include identifying fruit tree cultivars appropriate to different regions of the state and providing resources and educational opportunities for Montana producers. Trees are evaluated for winter survival, bloom time, production, and fire blight resistance (in apples and pears). Project headquarters were shifted to the Western Agricultural Research Center (WARC) in 2019. For more project information and research results, visit WARC's fruit tree research project homepage. 

Horticulture Farm Varieties

The Horticulture Farm site contains 22 varieties of apple, plum, and pear trees. The orchard was originally planted in 2013, although new apple saplings were added in spring 2020 and spring 2021. The site saw heavy vole damage over the 2019-2020 winter, resulting in the loss of most of the mature apple trees. Saplings planted in 2021 were all grafts from scion material from the damaged trees, preserving the genetic material that would have been lost. Eight new apple varieties were added in spring 2025; those varieties are noted with an asterisk (*) below. 

For specific layout of trees at the site, please see the orchard map. 

Apple Varieties

  • Goodland - Developed from a Patten Greening seedling at the Experimental Farm in Morden Manitoba in 1931. Excellent eating apple, and excellent cold hardiness.
  • Sweet 16 - Released from University of Minnesota in 1977. Good cold hardiness.
  • Zestar - State Fair x MN 1691 cross released from University of Minnesota in 1999. Great flavor and good cold hardiness.
  • Carroll - Moscow Pear Apple x Melba cross developed at the Experimental Farm in Morden, Manitoba in 1961. Excellent eating apple. Not as vigorous as other apple cultivars but extremely cold hardy.
  • Idared - Released from University of Idaho's Experiment Station in 1942. Excellent fresh or cooked.
  • Breakey - Developed from a Calville Rouge seedling in Morden, Manitoba in 1935. Good dessert apple.
  • Collet - Developed in Morden, Manitoba. Good disease resistance.
  • Mutsu* - A Japanese cultivar between Golden Delicious and Indo, introduced in 1949. Good for fresh eating or baking and stores well. 
  • Melrose* - A Jonathon x Red Delicious cross developed at the Ohio Ag Experiment Station in 1944. Premium cooking apple. 
  • Gala* - Developed in New Zealand from Kidd's Orange Red and Golden Delicious; introduced to the US in the 1970s. Ideal for fresh eating and cooking. 
  • Pristine* - A cross between Co-op 10 and Camuzat created by the University of Illinois, Rutgers, and Purdue University in 1994. Good for fresh eating and resistant to scab. 
  • Jonagold* - Golden Delicious x Jonathan cross developed in the 1940s at the New York State Ag Experiment Station. Good for fresh eating and cooking. 
  • Sundance* - Developed by the University of Illinois, Rutgers, and Purdue University as a cross between Golden Delicious and 1050 NJ1 and released in 2004. Good for fresh eating, baking, or storage. 
  • Empire* - A cross between Red Delicious and McIntosh developed at Cornell University in the 1940s. Good for fresh eating and cooking. 
  • Liberty* - Introduced in 1955 by the New York State Ag Experiment Station. Excellent disease resistance. Good for fresh eating, cooking, and storage.
  • Kerr Crab - Haralson x Malus dolgo cross developed in Morden, Manitoba in the 1950s. Fruits are large for a crab apple. 

Pear Varieties

  • Ure - A release from the Morden, Manitoba Research Station in 1978.

  • Golden Spice - A release from the University of Minnesota in 1949. Best performing pear cultivar in our research. Small fruit, but makes a wonderful cider and is very cold hardy. 

  • Luscious - A South Dakota State University release. Questionable cold hardiness east of the divide.

Plum Varieties

  • Mount Royal - A European plum with dark blue fruit.
  • Toka - A Prunus americana x simonii cross introduced in 1911 by Dr. Neils Hansen.
  • Pipestone - A University of Minnesota release from 1942.