Common apricot is a perennial deciduous tree of the Plum genus of the Rosaceae family. This is a fruit that is most often grown in gardens in regions with warm, mild climates, but there are varieties suitable for harsh climates. I.V. Michurin began work on developing winter-hardy apricot varieties. Gradually, new apricot varieties began to appear, such as Academician.
History and description of the variety
The variety was developed more than 20 years ago and was included in the State Register in 1996.At the experimental station of the Far Eastern Research Institute of Agriculture in the Khabarovsk Territory, the institute’s specialists G. T. Kazmin and V. A. Marusich crossed two winter-hardy varieties Khabarovsky and Sputnik, the result was subsequently recommended for cultivation in the Far Eastern region. Since 1972 it has been included in the register of promising varieties, and since 1975 in elite varieties.
Description of apricot variety Akademik
The tree is tall, up to 5 m, the trunk is rough, lumpy, dark gray, young branches are green-gray. Buds are formed on one-year and two-year branches, 3 pieces each. together, large, light brown, cone-shaped.
The leaves are heart-shaped, elongated, with a pointed edge, thin, shiny dark green above, pale green below, located on long brown petioles.
The flowers are large white with pink splashes on short petioles. After flowering, they form green fruits, which, when ripe, become orange with a pink blush on the sides. The shape of the fruit is round, elongated, with a small protrusion-beak. The skin is thin, tasty, tender, the flesh is juicy, sweet and sour, yellow in color. Inside the fruit there is a round-flattened stone with a rib, the kernel is sweet.
Characteristic
Apricot Academician is partially self-fertile; for greater productivity, pollinators are needed Amur, Khabarovsk:
- Frost resistance of the root system from -38 to -40 °C.
- Early ripening period, blooms in the 1st-2nd decade of May, from the 10th to the 25th, the fruits ripen at the end of July - 1st decade of August.
- Not subject to weathering.
- Akademika seeds are used as a parent variety for breeding new hybrids.
- Drought-resistant apricot, resistant to waterlogging in the upper layer of the ridge, burn-resistant.
- High-yielding apricot up to 124 c/ha.
- The fruits have a long shelf life, up to 7 days in room conditions.
- Do not crack.
- They tolerate transportation well, do not wrinkle, and have a marketable appearance.
- Resistance to diseases and pests is average.
- It has a long fruiting period of up to 40 years.
Fruits contain sugar more than 11%, acid about 3%, dry matter no more than 17%.
Advantages and disadvantages
The disadvantage of the apricot variety Akademik is freezing when planted in coastal areas, lowlands of rivers, and in wet soils and gets monilial burn. Academician has many advantages: winter hardiness, abundant harvest, sweet large fruits, transportability, good presentation, used for cooking, dried, made into juice, consumed fresh.
Features of cultivation
In the Far Eastern region, the Academician apricot should be planted in well-drained soil on hillocks; it is better to avoid places where groundwater is closer than 2 m. It requires fertile soil with a neutral acidity level, so before planting you need to check the pH, if it is high, add lime . Seedlings are planted in spring or autumn in most regions, but for Siberia and the Urals it is better to plant in spring.
The planting site should be sunny, without drafts; the pollinator should be planted on the site at a distance of no more than 40 m.
Diseases and pests
Academician is resistant to diseases, but can be affected by gray or fruit rot, clasterosporia, to avoid these diseases, it is necessary to follow agricultural cultivation techniques, carry out preventive spraying and sanitary pruning. If the apricot is sick, then it is worth spraying with Bordeaux mixture, Skor, Horus or another fungicide.
Apricot pests Academician - aphids, codling moths, leaf rollers, to get rid of them, it is enough to spray them with insecticides in spring and autumn, as well as dig up the trunk circles and clear them of leaves.
