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Dayton is a modern red American disease-resistant apple, with a sweet-tart crisp flesh, which ripens in early fall. It is easy to grow, and a reliable cropper.
Dayton was developed to be resistant to scab, and also has some resistance to fireblight and powdery mildew.
Dayton is named after Daniel F. Dayton, who led the disease-resistant apple breeding program at the University of Illinois during the mid-20th century. Working in partnership with Rutgers and Purdue universities the "PRI cooperative" developed many of the leading disease-resistant apple varieties in use today.
Dayton is a complex cross of intermediate research station experimental varieties, but its distant ancestry includes Wealthy, Red Rome, Jonathan, and the crab-apple Malus floribunda which is often used in disease-resistant programs because of its scab-resistance. During development it was known as "Co-op 21".