Apricot is an unusually tasty, juicy, fragrant and very useful fruit. Culture requires care, timely watering and feeding.
Apricot - fruit tree from the family Pink, genus Plum. Russia is brought from warm edges. In the southern strip of the country begins to blossom in mid-April, in the eastern part it dissolves in early May.
The tree blooms predominantly with white, red andpink flowers, while exuding a very delicate aroma, but flowers are dumped quickly enough, on average for 8-10 days. The height of the apricot tree can reach up to 8 meters, the crown is dense branched. The leaves have a light green or emerald green color, the shape is oval, round or in the form of hearts. With proper care and top dressing, the life span of an apricot can reach 100 years. Fruiting begins after 3 years of life.
This variety was bred in 1986.on the basis of the Moscow Botanical Garden. NV Tsitsin RAS by breeders AK Skvortsov and LA Kramarenko. In 2004, he was included in the State Register of Selection Plants of the Russian Federation.
Despite moderate productivity, apricotLel, reviews of which only the best, is successfully grown in collective gardens and in private plots. Excellent appearance and sour-sweet taste of its fruits quite make up for this deficiency. About how to properly grow apricot Lel (description of the variety is presented in the article) read on.
The tree is a medium-sized tree, reaching a height of 3 m, the crown is fairly neat and compact. One-year shoots are weakly branched. This variety is characterized by a moderate, rather restrained growth.
The leaves are dark green, shiny, ovoid in shape, with small denticles, smooth and soft to the touch. In autumn they are painted in different shades of red.
White-pink single flowers of medium size, each with five rounded petals, can withstand a temperature drop of -1.5 degrees. Flowering period - from late April to early May.
The fruits of this variety are very beautiful and shiny,round, slightly oblate on the sides, weight - about 20 g. Peel orange, almost not pubescent, without blush. Flesh is orange, dense and very tender. Bone is perfectly separated. Maturation early. The yield is average, sometimes high. The fruits are delicious both fresh and conserved. Good quality.
The fruits of the apricot are delicious, nutritious and aromatic.Contain a significant amount of sugar, pectin, organic acids, carotene, as well as malic and citric acid. An important role is played by the mineral and vitamin composition - the presence of vitamins B, C, P, PP, H, E, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, iodine, iron, folic acid, etc.
The consumption of apricots helps maintain health and prevent the development of many diseases. Caloric content of 100 g of fruits is 44 kcal.
For planting apricot Lel it is necessary to choosea well-ventilated and illuminated garden area, preferably on the south side of fences or buildings. Culture loves fertile, potassium-rich soils with a deep bed of groundwater. Suitable for planting are autumn and spring months. In this case, you need to pay attention to the state of the soil (it must be loose, crumbling) and the temperature of the air, which at night should not fall below +10 degrees.
Apricot Lel is undemanding to the soil, it can grow successfully even on stony ground. The occurrence of groundwater should not be more than 2-3 m.
When planting a tree in the spring, a pit is prepared for himfrom the autumn. By size, it should be at least 1.5 m in basic parameters. Drainage is poured into the bottom of the landing pit, and on top soil mixed with humus, superphosphate, potassium salt and lime. At a distance of about 10-15 cm from the stem of the seedlings, a wooden stake 1.7 m high is tied in and a tree is tied to it. Sprinkle apricot 10 liters of water. Mulch moist soil with dry grass or sawdust with a layer of 10-15 cm.
For the normal development, growth and stable harvest, timely implementation of agricultural activities is necessary.
Apricot Lel - a drought-resistant tree that requiresmoderate watering. During the season it is watered three times: in the middle of spring, at the end of May and several weeks before the ripening of the fruit. In addition, another watering is required - in autumn, when preparing the apricot for wintering.
It is important to remember that the apricot tree is sensitive enough to waterlogging the soil, its water logging can lead to rotting of the roots.
The compact crown of apricot Lel, as a rule, does notgives gardeners a special hassle. Pruning wood is produced annually. In spring, remove the frozen branches after winter. It is in the spring period that pruning is considered to be the most effective. Summer pruning is done at the end of August. In autumn, trees are cut to prepare them for the winter period and increase winter hardiness.
Adult apricot Lel can move welllow air temperature. His preparation for the winter includes winding the burlap of the trunk and hilling the snow in the near-bottom zone. Young seedlings need more care. It is constructed from wooden pegs with a small structure and is covered with a film, it is sprinkled with earth from above.
The most dangerous time for apricot treesare winter thaws, when warming causes a drop in temperature. During this period, cracking of the stem or freezing of flower buds is possible. Most often, this applies to young trees, which have not yet managed to grow enough wood.
During the first five years of life of the apricot tree fertilizers can be introduced into the near-well zone. Further, the coverage of soil for fertilizer application should increase every year.
In spring, the soil is fertilized by applying 4 kg of humus mixed with 5 g of phosphorus, 6 g of nitrogen, 8 g of potassium per square meter.
Also, for a good yield of apricot trees, mineral dressings are necessary:
Subsequently superphosphate (0.88 kg), ammonium nitrate (0.37 kg) and potassium chloride (0.25 kg) are annually added.
Apricot Lel is propagated in a vegetative manner (ie, by inoculation), by cuttings or grown from seeds.
The last option is used to obtainnew varieties. Apricots, which are grown from the stone, have high adhesiveness and frost resistance. For planting, seeds from the ripe fruits are selected, then a test is carried out for their quality. Bones are lowered into a container of water. Those of them that will surface will not be suitable for planting. Then, a stratification procedure based on temperature differences is carried out. Seeds are planted in a pot and are waiting for germination. When the seedlings are strong, they are planted in the ground, taking into account all the requirements for planting this tree.
Cutting is extremely inefficientway of reproduction of apricot. Cuttings, as a rule, do not take root, and green yields very insignificant results. In addition, apricots grown in this way are endowed with low viability.
Vaccination is considered the most popular methodreproduction of apricot. It perfectly suits on the seedlings of cherries, plums, peaches, etc. Good results can be achieved by grafting the cuttings by the method of improved copulation or under the bark, which gives the highest percentage of survival. The most favorable time for such manipulations falls at the beginning of May.
Among the diseases affecting apricot Lel (photois attached), it is possible to isolate Valsa fungus, moniliosis, bacterial spotting, cytosporosis, verticillosis, gum aperture and perforated spotting. The ways to combat them are different. It is necessary to remove the affected fruits and leaves. Wood treated with Bordeaux mixture, copper sulfate or other fungicidal agents.
Of insects, aphicos are threatened by aphids, leaf-litter and stalk, and insecticides and herbal infusions can help get rid of them.
As a rule, apricot (Lel variety) reviews of gardeners gets positive. The fruits, although not large, are juicy enough. Dense pulp has an excellent sweet taste with a slight sourness.
Many gardeners note that the planted seedlings get well, grow normally and perfectly winter. Only it is necessary to carry out preventive measures against pests and diseases in time.
Almost all without exception recommend protecting apricot trees from the cold wind, as they are afraid of them. Therefore, for planting it is necessary to choose a sunny and quiet part of the garden.
