Apricot honey: description, nuances of growing, reviews

Apricot Honey is not included in the State Register of the Russian Federation, but it is interesting as one representative of a rare yet class of winter-hardy apricots. The variety was bred at the Chelyabinsk Research Institute, which already gives reason to consider it suitable for cultivation in the Southern Urals and - more broadly - in the Middle lane.

Apricot Honey: Description

Apricot - the culture is not new for Turkey, the southern regions of Ukraine, the North Caucasus, but for the Middle Strip or Moscow Region it is exotic. It is not surprising that information on some varieties distributed as winter-hardy is very scarce. Apricot Honey also belongs to such grades.

It was bred at the South Ural Research Institute of Horticulture and Potato (UUNIISK) in 1996. Selection - K.K. Mullayanova, who is also the author or co-author of such apricot varieties as Kichiginsky, Prizewinner, Snezhinsky, Golden Bone, Early Chelyabinsk, Velvet.

Apricot Honey is obtained by the method of free pollination of trees of the Kichiginsky variety, bred at the same research institute. Apricot Kichiginsky is a medium-sized tree that begins to bear fruit relatively late - at the 5th year, with yellow small fruits - 14 g, but with rather high tasting ratings - 4.5 points.

The direct ancestor of the variety Honey - apricot Kichiginsky

The Honey variety has slightly larger fruits - 15 g, also yellow in color, without blush, with a barely noticeable amount of red dots on top. The pulp is average in juiciness and density, yellow in color, with a well detachable bone. The tasting score is slightly lower - 4.3 points, but the taste attracts with subtle honey nuances. The fruits are sweet, do not bitter, do not acidify, like the ancestors of these varieties - Siberian and Manchurian apricots, which have fruits that are practically unsuitable for food. Despite the fact that the fruits of Honey apricot are not very prominent, if we compare them with the varieties of this crop in general, they have a strong average level in size and taste, and are very good, especially considering the high frost resistance of the tree. Suitable for fresh consumption, due to their density and size, they are good for home cooking.

The tree is able to tolerate winter frosts down to -40 ° C, it is not so prone to aging and does not suffer as much from spring return frosts as southern varieties. Trees of the Honey variety grow quite high - up to 4-5 m, the crown is sprawling, about 4 m in diameter. It comes into fertility in the 5th year, the yield from one tree is 20-30 kg.

Minus is a self-fertile variety, a pollinator is needed. For this purpose, the Kichiginsky variety is well suited.

Original photo of Honey Apricot taken by breeders of UNIISK

Varieties of Ural breeding

Landing: step by step instructions

There are general rules for planting fruit trees:

• The soil is prepared in advance.
• A seedling is placed in water before planting.
• Inspect the roots before planting, remove the damaged, diseased, cut too long.
• The vaccination site should be 10 cm higher than the ground level.
• In the spring they plant only in warmed, thawed ground.
• For warm crops: spring planting is carried out after the threat of frost has passed.

Purchase and preparation of seedlings

Buy honey apricot seedlings should be from the originator - in UNIISK. When buying in other places, you need to be careful - dishonest merchants often sell southern plants under different names. Such an apricot in the middle lane will die in the first year. The best option is to buy seedlings from well-known reliable practicing gardeners in your region, but this is far from always possible. Seedlings are taken at the age of 1-2 years - the younger the plant, the more adaptive it is. The ideal option is to grow your own plant from the seed. Its adaptability to local conditions will be even better. Purchased seedlings must have a well-developed healthy root system. Saplings with an open root system are soaked in a solution of a growth stimulant (Kornevin, Epin, Heteroauxin) for 12-24 hours.

Apricot seedlings of the Chelyabinsk selection on a semi-dwarf rootstock sold by the NGO Gardens of Russia. Root System - Closed

Keep in mind that seedlings packaged in a mixture of peat and sawdust and wrapped in a net are also considered seedlings with an open root system.

Step-by-step landing instructions

The Honey variety is planted in the same way as other apricot varieties:

1. It is better to plant in the early spring. When calculating the distance between plants, it is taken into account that the root system of the tree is twice as large as the crown (recall, the diameter of the crown of the apricot Honey is 4 m). The standard distances for planting apricots are 3 m between trees, 5 m between rows.
2. Pits for seedlings are prepared in advance, in the fall. The size of one pit - 80 cm³, drive a stake into the center of the pit so that it rises 50 cm above the ground.
3. Drainage is poured to the bottom of the pit - a layer of rubble, coarse pebbles, broken brick. The thickness depends on the microclimate, usually it is 15-20 cm.
4. Soil from the pit is mixed with peat, fertilizers (humus, ash, superphosphate), lime may be required, and poured back into the pit. The type, amount and proportion of additives depends on the initial qualities of the soil. Try to bring it closer to the ideal: nutritious sandy loam or loam with a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction. Apricot is generally undemanding to soil fertility, pay attention to the mechanical properties of the soil - it should be light, breathable, well moisture-permeable. In most cases, a mixture of ordinary land, peat and sand in a ratio of 1: 1: 1 is enough.
5. You can arrange an organic-mineral pillow - this is a more concentrated nutrient mixture, which is sprinkled on top with a layer of ordinary soil, and only then a seedling is planted - it is necessary that the roots do not touch the pillow.
   

   The layout of the planting pit for apricot

6. In the spring, dig a hole of the right size, focusing on the length of the roots of the seedling, form a small slide from the soil, water and trample it, then put a seedling in the hole, spreading its roots along the hill. If the root system is closed, the lump of earth is simply freed from the protective film and placed in a hole without touching the roots.
7. Sprinkle with earth so that the root neck rises slightly above the ground. You can’t dig in!
8. Around the tree form a watering circle and sides. This is necessary so that the water does not flood the barrel, and at the same time does not flow around.
9. The tree is abundantly watered and tied to a peg.

A few recommendations for preparing the site and soil:

• It is better to choose not a flat place, but a small slope, on which excess moisture will flow, protecting the tree from aging.
• If there is no slope, make an artificial hill (diameter - 2 m, height - 0.5 m).
• If the soil is clay, add more sand, small stones.
• Too acidic soil is lime.
• In insufficiently nutritious soil should be made (per 1 planting pit): humus - 30-40 kg, superphosphate - 600 g, ash - 2 kg.

Features of cultivation and subtleties of care

In general, the plant is unpretentious, but young plants of the Honey variety require skillful care. And the point is not that this is a capricious variety, a problem in the culture as a whole, do not forget that even apricots zoned for Siberia and the Urals are still a novelty.

Watering and feeding

The adult apricot is resistant to droughts, but the young plant likes regular and plentiful watering - it is necessary for it to form new roots. In a dry summer, watering is required. Focus on your conditions - excessive watering is also undesirable, the roots of the plant are sensitive to excess moisture. To preserve moisture and get rid of weeds, the soil is loosened and mulched.

If the plant was planted in well-fertilized soil, the first 2 years of feeding it will not be needed. Then you can start feeding:

1. For the 3rd year, 100 g of complex mineral fertilizer is added to the trunk circle.
2. This dose can be divided into two parts: one should be applied in March, and the other immediately after flowering (the period of ovary formation).
3. Instead of complex fertilizers, urea and ammonium nitrate can be worn (30 and 40 g per each sq. M.)
4. Watch your pH - its level should be at 7.0 or slightly higher. For deoxidation of the soil, dolomite flour (300-400 g per tree) is added once every 3-4 years.

Pruning

For a crop such as apricot, proper formation is extremely important - both early maturity and yield, and how easy this crop will be to harvest, depend on it. The culture is photophilous, actively growing, thickening of the crown and the lack of access of light to the lower branches will greatly reduce yields.

One possible apricot pruning scheme by year

Immediately after planting, the plant is cut at a height of 70-80 cm from the ground. This stimulates the growth of skeletal branches. In one year, the branches of a young apricot will grow by 70 cm. In the middle of summer, they are pinched to stimulate the formation of branches of the next order.

Sanitary przekzu conduct at their discretion - cut out excess, growing inside the crown, interfering branches. Be sure to remove the branches growing to the trunk closer than 45-50 °. Apricot after pruning from one growth point often produces two shoots, one of these shoots should be removed, simply breaking out a weaker one.

After 2 years, the apricot acquires a lush crown. Spurs begin to appear on its skeletal branches - it is from them that the main crop is harvested. They are located on the branches of 2-3 years of age. That is, in the future, pruning of old branches will be required, but such pruning will be required no more than once every 4-6 years.

Apricot bears fruit on short branches - spurs, which are formed on skeletal branches

How to cope with boiling

Apricot dehydration is one of the main difficulties that gardeners face in the conditions of the Urals, Siberia or the Moscow Region. To prevent this problem, choose the right place: sunny, well protected from the wind, preferably on a hill. Lowlands, humid places, the proximity of groundwater, the shadow of taller trees or buildings - gross errors, most likely, the tree will die. Avoid places where snow will melt too long in spring. From the beginning of March, it is necessary to ensure that the trunk of the tree does not come into contact with snow, especially with wet snow. In autumn, you should also try to protect the tree from excess moisture - trees are spudded so that water flows down. In early November, the trunk is removed from the snow: 4-6 pegs are driven in at a distance of several centimeters from the trunk and an insulating material is pulled (for example, polypropylene). The top of the material is tied with twine. In this way, the trunk is kept dry.

Protection of the young apricot from aging in the middle lane. The stem is completely isolated from contact with snow

Wintering

Warming, even though the tree of the Honey variety is declared as frost-resistant and suitable for growing in the Urals, is still necessary. Fully adapted to frost apricots do not exist today, young plants simply do not have time to prepare for winter, for example, due to early, rainy and cold autumn. Honey apricot must be warmed up to 3-4 years of age, then - if necessary. Young apricots in the Urals or in Siberia are wrapped up completely - they put a film on the tree, the ends of which are attached to stakes driven into the ground, sprinkled with soil on top. In the middle zone, a layer of mulch (straw, sawdust) with a height of 20 cm near the trunk circle is sufficient.

Mulching Apricot Stem

But it should be understood for what reason culture is afraid of frost. In general, apricot has high frost resistance - growth buds withstand up to -45 ° C, fruit buds up to -35 ° C, flowers up to -5 ° C (and this despite the fact that the flowers of the apple tree freeze at -3 ° C), and the root system is the most frost-resistant of all fruit crops. The problem is the mismatch of the complex conditions. Apricot blooms much earlier than apple trees, which means it has a higher chance of encountering shock frosts for it. Apricots in nature grow on stony, dry, hygroscopic soils, they are sensitive to stagnation of moisture and cannot tolerate at all if this moisture is cold - neither the bark nor the roots are adapted to what the plants of Siberia and the Urals are adapted to: abundance of moisture in spring, when the snow began to melt, thaws and subsequent return frosts, when the surface of the plant can be covered with ice crust, sharp and frequent temperature changes, short summers that are scarce in the sun and a long cold period - despite the fact that the apricot flower buds are characterized ry short rest period.

In scientific terms, apricot has high frost resistance, but low winter hardiness - that is, the ability to tolerate the whole set of unfavorable winter factors. The plant will tolerate a very cold, but stable winter, better than a warm winter with periodic warming and frost. Particular attention is paid to the "loose bud" phase (bud cakes just started to diverge) - it is during this period that the apricot is most vulnerable. At this stage, apricot is in April. Frosts down to -6 ° C will be detrimental to the ovaries - you will not have to wait for a crop in such a year. The Honey variety, like all varieties of the Chelyabinsk breeding, is characterized by increased resistance to spring return frosts.

Diseases and pests. The main types and solutions to the problem

Apricot in those practitioners who grow it in Siberia or in the Urals, shows itself to be a disease-resistant culture, more stable than, for example, plum. However, it may also be susceptible to specific diseases:

1. Moniliosis or monilial burn. The causative agent is a fungus. It causes the ovaries to fall, then branches and leaves dry out. The gray fruit rot, which is manifested by spots on the fruits, is a type of moniliosis. The fight against this disease is ongoing. Prevention is very important: proper anti-aging pruning, lime bleaching with copper sulfate, spraying with fungicides (iron or copper sulfate, Bordeaux mixture). They are sprayed during periods of greatest vulnerability: in winter with systemic fungicides (Skor, Strobe, Saprol, Horus), 3-4 days before flowering with fundazole, 2-3 weeks after flowering with Horus or Topaz preparations. If signs of the disease are found on the fruits, they are simply removed and destroyed. An effective method is pruning according to the method of Professor P. G. Schitt, which allows delaying flowering for 7-10 days, which reduces the likelihood of frost and the vulnerability of the plant to the fungus.
   

   Apricot leaves shrunk due to a lesion of moniliosis

2. Perforated spotting (kleasterosporiosis). The causative agent is a fungus. One of the most common stone fruit diseases. Specks appear on leaves, buds, flowers, fruits, which grow over time. The spots are brown, with a characteristic raspberry border. Holes form in place of the spots, heavily affected leaves fall off. Treatment is similar to the treatment of moniliosis.
   

   Apricot Leaves and Fruits Affected by Hole Spotting

3. Brown spotting (gnomoniasis). The causative agent is also a fungus. It affects mainly the leaves, a little less - the fruits. Small yellow spots appear on the leaves in May, which grow and turn brown, capturing more and more significant areas, the center of the spots dries out, the edges become bright yellow, folded, with gaps. Affected leaves may fall. Spots appear on the fruits, more ripe fruits are deformed.
   

   Brown spot caused by Gnomonia erythrostoma on apricot leaves

4. Cytosporosis. This fungus infects the bark. The affected parts of the cortex dry, crack, tubercles appear on them (pathogens develop in them), flowers and leaves dry out, not falling down a tree for a long time, in advanced cases, the disease is accompanied by gumming. They treat the disease at the initial stage, removing the affected areas of the cortex and treating wounds with garden var.
   

   The defeat of the cortex by pathogens of cytosporosis - the fungus Cytospora carphosperma Fr

5. Bacterial necrosis (black or ordinary cancer, burn). Cancer is similar to cytosporosis, although these are completely different diseases caused by different pathogens. With black cancer, not individual tubercles appear on the cortex, but concentric circles, the cortex is darker and begins to exfoliate, which does not happen with cytosporosis. With the last disease, the cortex remains in place, but becomes spongy. For the prevention of the disease, you must also carefully monitor the integrity of the cortex, process physical damage on time.
   

   Black cancer on a fruit tree trunk
6. Gum disease (hommosis) is not a separate disease, but a reaction to tissue damage. Unfortunately, these “tears” of the tree do not contain volatile, such as coniferous resin, but they contain polysaccharides that are attractive to microorganisms. Therefore, the expiration of the gum must be treated until the pathogen has penetrated through it and the tree has become even worse. All gum is removed with a sharp knife, stripped to clean wood, carefully observing that there are no diseased cells, then the wound is treated with 1% copper sulfate.
   

   Apocos gum detection

Pests:

1. Aphid. Settles on the underside of leaves. The leaves themselves become sticky, curl into tubules, and fall off. Ovaries and fruits are damaged. Contribute to the appearance of heat insects and nearby anthills. The best way to fight is the timely removal of the affected leaves, this will allow you not to use insecticides. As a preventative measure, spicy herbs are grown nearby. The biological enemies of aphids are ladybugs, tits, and sparrows.
   

   Leaves Affected by Aphids

2. Leafworm is a small nocturnal butterfly whose larvae eat leaves and wrap themselves in them, like in a blanket. Pest control - inspection of the plant and timely removal of leaves with insects. The larvae are quite nimble, run off briskly, and they must be collected carefully. From the young Honey apricot, in order to preserve the green mass, only larvae are collected, without picking leaves. Tall trees are treated with insecticides.
   

   Leafworm Caterpillar

3. Codling peach or plum. Many are familiar with the apple moth, these are the same caterpillars that can be found in wormy apples. Peach and plum are not very different. They actively eat young apricot leaves and fruits. They hibernate in the bark, so the main method of prevention is the removal of the old bark, processing the trunk. And also: digging of row-spacings and tree trunks, loosening, pheromone traps, hunting belts on trunks, proper pruning, timely processing with insecticides - even before the caterpillars began to damage the fruits, collecting the fallen damaged fruits - until the eaten caterpillars left them and buried in the bark or soil (and they do it pretty quickly, on the same day when the fruit fell).
   

   Butterfly plum moth

4. Rodents. Cause the most damage. Hares, mice and rats are able to completely destroy the tree. To protect against rodents, mechanical barriers are used mainly, for example, they wrap tree trunks with thick paper. Whitewashing helps, spreading with a mixture of clay, mullein and carbolic acid, folding Storm wax briquettes near the trunk.

Reviews about growing apricots in the middle lane

Remember once and for all Apricots grow and bear fruit in the suburbs, but only in Moscow and Siberian selection! The main thing is to strictly observe agricultural technology and not to plant in cold, damp places. The north of the region is already very problematic.

Kondrat

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There is a saying, the game is not worth the candle. If you wish and diligence, you can grow pineapples in the garden like cabbage, but the taste is not the same and there is too much labor. Even in Saratov, apricots breed in 3-4 years, they take up a lot of places, aphids adore him at any time. And when in the spring already unraveling flowers suddenly turn black - I want to cry. True, there are frost-resistant varieties of Kuibyshev selection. I know that the most resistant are small-fruited varieties. Outwardly, the fruits are inconspicuous, it looks creepy, but it tastes nothing, sweet.

Okluba

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Planted apricots planted annually for 6 years, they also regularly disappeared. Six years ago, my mother sowed seeds, and we are already the third year with apricots. AND I DO NOT DO ANYTHING WITH THEM! They themselves grow (pah-pah-pah). Bones - to all comers ...

PMarina

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The Honey variety is still very poorly tested in practice, the originator received the first seedlings from seeds only in 1991, and the first fruits from Honey apricots were removed only in 1996. Today, a grade of just over 10 years is a very short time for an experimental culture. Dare to grow apricots in the Middle lane and in the Urals, very few. Therefore, it is still very difficult to say how much honey apricot is more interesting than other winter-hardy varieties, but it has good prospects, judging by the reviews of Siberian and Ural selection varieties in general.