Apricot is a popular food and medicine. The beneficial substances in the composition of the fetus are not inferior in value to the yolks of the egg and wheat germ. How is the apricot Saratov ruby characterized, what reviews do consumers give about it, and how to prune it correctly, read the article.
How did apricots appear in Russia?
The appearance of the first apricots dates back to the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. In the middle of the seventeenth century, two trees appeared in Russia with wonderful fruits, which were then called Armenian apples. In the eighteenth century, all of Russia already knew about them. Apricot was grown in monastery gardens, greenhouses of wealthy people, and in the southern regions - in open-air plots.
Currently, breeders have bred apricot varieties for various regions of the country. One of them is the Saratov ruby. Apricot reviews about which is positive, is highly adaptable to the local climate and gives good yields of tasty and healthy fruits. The variety is characterized by high fruiting, even the thaw in February, this culture tolerates well.
Apricot Saratov ruby: description
Apricot of this variety has an early ripening period, which begins from about the fifteenth of July. A large tree is the apricot Saratov ruby. The description includes a characteristic such as crown size. In this variety, it is lush, wide, rounded. Apricot tree wood has high frost resistance, withstands frosts up to forty-two degrees, fruit buds - up to thirty-five.
Apricot variety Saratov ruby is resistant to fruit trees and diseases: moniliosis, fruit rot and kleasterosporiosis. It tolerates thaws right up to the month of February. This is due to his long rest.
Fruit characterization
Apricot fruits have a high keeping quality. May be stored for more than a month Saratov ruby. Apricot retains its properties and appearance if the air temperature does not exceed five degrees of heat. The mass of the fruit is forty-forty-two grams. The weight of the bone on average is a little more than one gram. The taste of the kernel contains traces of bitterness.
Fruits are not subject to cracking. The pulp is juicy, fleshy. Used in fresh and pickled form, for medicinal and dietary purposes, for making jam, jams and stewed fruit Saratov ruby. Apricot of this variety tastes sweet, with a weakly expressed acidity.
Why do you need pruning?
Each gardener plants an apricot tree in the hope of getting tasty and healthy fruits. But for the dream to come true, you have to work hard. Only proper care, including pruning, will provide the apricot with comfortable growth, for which the tree will reward the owner with a high yield of fruits. A feature of apricot is the fact that the tree does not have the ability to independently shed ovaries.
As a result, the branches are overloaded with fruits and can break. The fruits of such a tree are small and of poor quality. To prevent this from happening, you need to eliminate the crowning of the crown by trimming the extra branches. This procedure is done in the spring, summer and autumn periods. Apricot pruning requires accuracy. The cut on the fruit branches should be correct. It must immediately be treated with hydrogen peroxide or powdered coal. Crowns are cleaned and wood sanitized regardless of the season.
Pruning in summer
Needs summer pruning Saratov ruby. After this procedure, the apricot will bear more fruit. Easy pruning is done at this time. To do this, pinch the shoots that have grown this year.
After about two weeks, strong shoots will begin to develop. The fruits of the future harvest will be formed on them. Summer pruning is good for the apricot. The tree completely restores the foliage, and flower buds will begin to develop on new shoots. If the soil on which the apricot grows is poor and poorly moistened, summer pruning is done once every two to three years.
Pruning in the summer is carried out in early June. She rejuvenates the tree. After it, apricot bears fruit better, immunity strengthens, the tree is less sick. The fruits grow largest and sweeter.
Spring pruning
If pruning is done in spring or early summer, the tree will have time to grow stronger and will tolerate winter well. It is preferable to do this procedure three to four weeks before the start of the vegetative period, in warm weather, when spring frosts no longer return and the flow of juice does not begin. Spring pruning is done to sanitize the tree, rejuvenate it and form a crown. Pruning at this time of year is of great importance. It is in the spring that all the flaws in the structure of the crown of the young tree are corrected.
Thanks to pruning in the spring, the crown is well ventilated, the sun's rays evenly warm the fruits. If only the outer part of the crown warms up, the inner branches will gradually dry out, fruit buds will lose their strength. The result - do not wait for a good harvest.
First time apricot pruning done twelve months after planting. Rapidly growing shoots, which are a continuation of skeletal branches, are exactly cut off by half. If the branching is weak, it is enough to shorten the branches by only one third.
Pruning in autumn
Such pruning is necessary for the fruit tree to stimulate the metabolism necessary for the tree. It is held in mid-October. The crown is formed in several ways: by shortening and thinning. In the first case, the branches are shortened to the required length, and in the second, they are completely removed in order to get the sun's rays on the fruits. Since the Saratov ruby has an early ripening period, apricot can and should be cut in the fall. The formation of the crown is done using a tiered discharged system.
Up to six skeletal branches are left on the tree and shortened by one third. Sections are immediately treated with hydrogen peroxide or crushed coal. In rainy, cold autumn with early frosts it is better not to prune, as the tree, especially if it is young, will die. It does not have time to get stronger after trimming.
What happens if the apricot is not cut?
In the first few years, a groomed tree will grow faster, as it is not exposed to injuries. The trunk will be higher, but thinner. Harvest the first fruits harvested earlier. Every year, the fruit tree will be worse. Branches will become long and brittle. The fruits are small and acidic. Very soon the tree runs wild.