Origin: in Farmington, Mich., by Edward Palacky. Introd. in 1964. Plant patent 3705; issued 15 Apr. 1975 to Hilltop Orchards and Nurseries, Hartford, Mich. Chance seedling of Bartlett. Discovered in 1963, tested since 1964 as Bartlett-x by Michigan State Univ. and Gerber Products Co. Tree: large, spreading to upright; moderately vigorous; hardy; productive; shows more tolerance to fire blight than Bartlett. Recommended as a complementary choice to Bartlett not as an alternate. The name is a concatenation of Bartlett and Spartan, the Michigan State Univ. athletic teams. Fruit: larger than Bartlett, with large basal end; skin smooth, green-yellow at maturity, often with a bright scarlet blush on exposed side, dotted with numerous pin-pointed russet lenticels; flesh aromatic, fine-grained to granular in nonripened state, smooth to buttery and slightly fibrous when fully ripened, quality rated closely to Bartlett but slightly coarser; ripens midSeptember, 12 days after Bartlett; has stored well until mid-February at 31F, makes acceptable packs of puree and sliced canned halves.
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