Apricot belongs to the Pink family. It can be a small tree or a large shrub with a wide rounded crown. A necessary condition for the cultivation of this crop is the apricot pruning in the fall, due to which regular and abundant fruiting is ensured.
Description
Apricot as a cultivated plant in our country grows in the south and east. It belongs to stone fruit crops and is a fast-growing photophilous tree. It begins to grow abundantly and lay generative buds a year after planting. Their high precocity provides apricot growth in two or three waves during one season. At a young age, the tree has a strong shoot-forming ability, which weakens as it grows.
For 3-5 years, bouquet branches and spurs bring tasty fruits, the pulp of which differs in juiciness and aroma. Apricot crown is branched, with long, thick, flexible branches. In young trees, it has a pyramidal shape. And in old plants - rounded. With a thickened crown, the tree lacks light, which leads to drying out of the branches and their death. This reduces the yield and taste of the fruit. Cutting apricot in the fall will correct the situation. And the tree will delight you with its delicious fruits for many years to come.
Why do you need pruning?
Apricot trees at a young age abundantly bear fruit. If they are not trimmed, they will cease to regularly yield crops, will be susceptible to various diseases, the branches will begin to dry prematurely, and the crown will be fragile. Apricot is not able to normalize its harvest, since the fruits are formed from almost all the ovaries. As a result, the tree is overloaded. The branches break and dry under the weight of the crop. Next year, abundant fruiting can not be expected.
Pruning fruit trees in the fall is necessary in order to ensure the formation of new shoots every year. This will help to maintain a plentiful harvest in the future.
Pruning in autumn
A young tree with good care quickly becomes fruitful. To get a high yield for next year, autumn pruning of apricot is needed, which will prepare it for a long and cold winter.
- Dry, weak and diseased branches are removed.
- If there is damage on the trunk and branches, they need to be cleaned and covered with var.
- In the presence of diseases and insects, apricot sanitary pruning is carried out.
- After it, the tree is sprayed with drugs and fertilizers are applied to the soil for restoration and further growth.
Pruning fruit trees in autumn is necessary for early and medium varieties. It begins in mid-October. Strong tree pruning is needed to restore tree growth. It makes it possible to limit the height of the plant. Autumn pruning does not bother the tree. Wounded places on the trunk and branches heal quickly. Fruits become larger, and their number increases.
In this case, a sparse-tier method is used. The apricot pruning scheme for this type is simple. From a height of 90 cm, the first tier begins to form. Select 3-4 skeletal branches and shorten them by half. The distance between them should be at least 40 cm. The rest are cut out in a ring. The second tier is formed above the first one at a distance of 40-45 cm. To do this, take 4-5 skeletal branches. This is carried out within 2-3 years after planting a tree. At this time, you can pinch the main shoots, if they have 12-15 leaves. Branches are shortened to 50 cm if apricot pruning is performed in the fall.
The scheme of the procedure is not difficult and does not require certain knowledge. Slices are made with a sanitized tool and very neat. It is important not to harm the wood. It should be remembered that fruiting branches cannot be shortened. The formation of the crown for the best fruiting of apricot occurs within six years. In the future, anti-aging and, if necessary, sanitary trimming is carried out.
Anti-aging pruning
Very often in cold winters the core of the tree freezes. The ability to bear fruit early prevents the apricot from getting stronger. This depletes it, and the formation of new branches, on which the formation of fruit buds occurs, stops. Fruiting deteriorates over time. To prevent this, it is necessary to rejuvenate the tree.
Pruning young apricot begins with branching of the first or second row. In the case of severe freezing, the entire crown is cut out. In older trees, branches of the third or second order are removed. After trimming, there are many knots left whose sleeping buds will give a large number of shoots. They begin to grow rapidly and interfere with the formation of the main branches of the crown. Therefore, all thin, weak shoots must be removed so that they do not interfere with the apricot to develop fully.
Pruning is best done in early spring, before the trees begin to grow actively. In the south of the Far East - from the end of March to the end of April, and in the north - from the beginning of May. If necessary, the procedure can be repeated during the period of active growth of trees, when frozen branches can be found. In summer, you need to regularly remove shoots from trunks and skeletal branches, so that they do not thicken the crown and allow the sun to pass. The cut point is cleaned and covered with paint or putty. If the wound is large, a synthetic film is applied to it.
Disease
Apricot susceptible to fungal diseases. The most common of these is moniliosis. It develops in foggy damp weather and affects the tree during flowering. Flowers, leaves and young shoots wither, brown and dry. On the ripened fruits affected by the fungus, a gray coating appears, they begin to rot, but do not fall. This disease is a source of infection of the tree for next year, if not treated. In order to prevent an outbreak of moniliosis, in early spring, until the buds open, you need to spray the trees and cut off each branch below the border of infection and burn it. Cutting apricot in the autumn will completely save the tree from the disease, and it will easily winter.
Pests
Apricot is not affected by pests. At the slightest suspicion of their appearance, it is enough to loosen the earth around the tree and put a hunting belt on the trunk. Pest pupae usually winter under the belt or in the cracks of the trunk. Therefore, in the spring, the belt is removed and burned, and the earth loosens. Larvae have a feature: if you move them, they die immediately. To protect the apricot from pests, frost pits and sunburns in autumn, the trunk and skeletal branches are whitewashed with lime mixed with copper sulfate.
Beneficial features
Apricot is appreciated for the beneficial properties of fruits, the use of which increases the body's resistance to various diseases. It improves memory, activates the brain, heart and kidneys. Helps with overweight problems, supports cancer patients.
The use of fruits is recommended for patients with hypertension and anemia. Infusions and decoctions of dried apricots have a bactericidal and diuretic effect, relieve swelling. Fruit seeds are used to treat bronchitis, asthma, tracheitis, laryngitis, oil is produced from them. Apricot juice normalizes the intestines.