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.
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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".