Guys, I can tell you that Arkansas Black does poorly in hot humid, rainy areas that have daily highs over 90 all Summer. I fruited it a couple times but it was very mealy and disappointing grown in that climate. A shame since I tasted some good ones grown in still hot but slightly cooler Northern Alabama,
I tried growing every apple that had any reference to tolerating heat or disease.
Not a single one out of a bunch of Dave Wilson's apple varieties I tried to grow in South Carolina did well. The most important attributes an apple must have in such a climate are not chilling hours, but heat tolerance and disease resistance.
Most apples break down internally and are mealy even if you can get them to ripen without rotting.
Others get water core,which is clear super sweet spots in the fruit, great for a home grower but it shortens storage time.
I fruited about 25-30 varieties out of about 125 I trialled on the coastal plain of SC where average highs were well into the 90s with high humidity and rainfall all Summer.Chill hours ranged from about 400 to 800. I essentially had to plant my own experiment station since the prevailing opinion among the local extension people was that apples could not be grown commercially that far South. I tried every possible variety I could get my hands on over 17 years.
Chill hours are not absolutes, if an apple has "insufficient" chill, what it really means to commercial growers is that it probably will have an extended bloom and harvest season which can wreak havoc with spraying,picking,etc...
In my experience, most of the apple varieties that did well were either triploids or russets. At my farm in SC, most apple trees kept at least 25% of their leaves all Winter,and I had extended bloom periods on many varieties,some ALMOST matured 2 crops in a year. Maybe 20 varieties can produce excellent fruit in a hot humid climate but only a handful can do it with minimal spraying.
I recommend Pristine,Reverend Morgan spur(about the only red apple that took the heat), Ozark Gold, Hudson's Golden Gem, Bramley's Seedling, Brown Russet, Roxbury Russet, Russet Beauty,and American Golden russet. These apples all produced excellent fruit with minimal spraying. I ranked them in order of likelihood of success in Florida. Any other russet type apple you can get your hands on is probably worth a try. Golden apples as a class are hit or miss and red apples are mostly miss.
IF you spray constantly, Gala is excellent,and Suncrisp is probably the best apple I have ever eaten. Both are VERY susceptible to fruit rots and fireblight but can take the heat .
If you have questions about a specific variety,I have probably tried it and can tell you if it is worth a try or not.