Malus sieversii in harsh climates unsuitable for "M. pumila", mainly for increased cold tolerance. "Malus sieversii" has recently been cultivated by the United States Agricultural Research Service, in hopes of finding genetic information of value in the breeding of the modern apple plant. Some, but not all, of the resulting trees show unusual disease resistance. The variation in their response to disease on an individual basis is, itself, a sign of how much more genetically diverse they are than their domesticated descendants. Malus sieversii Malus sieversii is a wild apple native to the mountains of Central Asia in southern Kazakhstan. It has
Rhodes Fruit Farms Rhodes Fruit Farms Rhodes Fruit Farms, founded by Cecil John Rhodes in 1902, exists today as Boschendal The Estate, one of the oldest wine estates in South Africa. Mining magnate, politician and empire-builder Cecil John Rhodes founded Rhodes Fruit Farms in South Africa in 1902, shortly before his death. Much of his activity centred on the farm Boschendal, which has given its name to the current Boschendal Estate. To this day it is a major source of employment for the local community. Close to Cape Town, between Stellenbosch, [Pniel], Franschhoek and Paarl, Boschendal stretches between the foot of the Groot