To this day, Honey Apricot has not been included in the State Register of Fruit Trees of the Russian Federation, despite the fact that it was bred at the State Scientific Institution based on frost-resistant varieties obtained there. The fact that the plant is not officially recognized did not in any way affect its popularity among amateur gardeners. It is one of the few apricot varieties that can easily withstand harsh winters.
History of variety development
In 1996, breeder Kabir Kadirovich Mullayanov, an employee of the South Ural Research Institute of Horticulture and Potato Growing, gave gardeners in the Urals and central Russia the opportunity to grow apricots on their plots. Experiments to improve the previously bred variety Kichiginsky lasted since 1990, they were carried out on the basis of the Chelyabinsk State Scientific Institution. With free cross-pollination, the original varietal seedling received new characteristics. This is how a new variety turned out.
Description of the frost-resistant apricot variety
A mature tree reaches a height of 5 meters. Its crown (4 m in diameter) is spreading with medium-sized dark green teardrop-shaped leaves, decorated at the edges with a fringe of small jagged edges. Gray-brown, hard bark with signs of cracks running along the trunk are varietal characteristics of a cultivated plant with dry, rough bark.
During flowering, the tree is strewn with white and slightly pinkish single flowers.
Honey is not known for its large harvests; about 20 kg can be harvested from one tree per season. The variety has:
- high winter hardiness;
- early fruiting;
- stable yield;
- unpretentiousness to the climatic characteristics of the growing region;
- minimum care;
- immunity to fungal and infectious diseases.
A description of the apricot variety would not be complete without mentioning its fruits, which are more similar in size to a medium-sized plum. Ripe fruits contain vitamins, minerals, tannins, malic, citric and tartaric acids.
Characteristics of the fruits of the table variety of apricots Honey:
- weight - 15 g;
- elastic, medium-thick skin with a small edge;
- color - from bright yellow to light orange;
- The bright yellow pulp has a granular-fibrous structure.
The tasting rating of the fruit is 4.3 on a 5-point scale.Honey apricot fruits are suitable for canning.
Advantages and disadvantages
Honey has only two disadvantages - the height of the tree, which complicates the care of the crown and the collection of fruits from the branches in the upper part of the crown; in order to form an ovary, the tree requires natural cross-pollination with another (self-sufficient) apricot variety.
There are much more positive aspects when growing a winter-hardy apricot variety in a temperate climate:
- The fruit tree produces its first harvest 3-4 years after planting;
- 15-20 kg of apricots every year;
- easily tolerates frosts down to – 40 °C;
- good regeneration after frostbite;
- fruits are stored for a long time without losing either taste or presentation;
- resistant to damage during transportation.
Note: the Kichiginsky variety is often used as a pollinator tree.
Characteristics of the pollinator tree
The frost-resistant variety Kichiginsky became the progenitor of Honey and is a necessary addition to the garden for its fruiting. Not all the best traits of this variety were passed on to its descendant Honey.
General characteristics:
- smooth, symmetrical fruits;
- tree height is from 3.5 to 5 meters in height;
- the skin and bone are easily separated from the pulp;
- the yield is stable (about 15 kg);
- The variety is self-sterile.
The differences lie in the absence of excessive branching of the crown and a later period of fruit ripening.
Attention! Kichiginsky serves as a pollinator for many apricot varieties of Ural selection.
Features of planting and care
The younger the seedling, the faster it adapts to new conditions - soil characteristics, air temperature. Experienced gardeners recommend taking an annual plant. A seedling grown from a seed will adapt even better.Before planting a young plant with an open root system, its growth can be stimulated with “Kornevin”, “Epin”, “Heteroauxin”. The root system is soaked in one of these solutions for 12-24 hours.
When planting several trees, the distance between adjacent seedlings should be 3 m, and between rows 5 meters. Planting is best done in early spring, and holes for seedlings should be prepared in the fall. Each of them is 80 cm3. A 20 cm layer of drainage is laid at the bottom of the pit - crushed stone, broken brick, coarse pebbles or gravel.
The soil selected from the hole is enriched with ash, peat, humus, ash and superphosphate fertilizer, after which it is returned to the hole with a beacon pre-installed in it - a stake rising above the surface. The roots should not be in direct contact with the mineral-enriched layer; they should be separated by a cushion of ordinary garden soil.
The planting depth depends on the length of the root system. The root collar is not buried, it should be on the surface. A moat is made around the seedling like a drainage one. It is needed to distribute water directly within the radius of the root system. After abundant watering, the tree needs to be tied to a vertical guide.
Apricot pruning
Old tree branches are pruned once every 5 years. But pruning is also necessary to form the crown. The first time pruning is done immediately after planting the seedling, it is shortened to 70-80 cm. This contributes to the formation of skeletal branches of the plant. By mid-summer they will have grown by about 70 cm, they need to be pinched, which will be a signal for the formation of branches of the next level.
Incorrectly growing branches must be cut off. These include those whose angle relative to the trunk is less than 50°.Shoots will appear from the stambik at the cut site. Of these, you need to leave only one, the strongest. Fruiting spurs form on branches that are 2-3 years old. Branches that have stopped bearing fruit are removed at the stage of the planned 5-year pruning.
Diseases and pests
Cytosporosis. Despite the high immunity to fungal infections, Honey Apricot can be affected by this type of fungus. Cytosporosis manifests itself as tubercles on the bark. You can prevent its spread if you remove old branches in a timely manner. The probability is small, but still bacterial necrosis, like any cancerous tumor, can destroy a winter-hardy apricot variety. At an early stage, it appears as burn spots on the bark. A little later, ulcers form, from which gum oozes.
The disease affects all tissues of the tree, and it gradually dies. If the first signs of the disease appear on the branches and not on the trunk, then the tree can be saved.
Monilial burn is a consequence of exposure to cold and moisture on the shoot during flowering. Some of the branches die, the blossoming leaves turn brown and dry out. If ovaries appear on the plant, the consequences of the damage may appear during fruiting in the form of rot on the fruit.
The pests of plums and apricots are the same - aphids, codling moths, and leaf rollers. This is the main reason for planting these fruit trees as far apart as possible. When planting Honey apricot, you no longer need to be afraid of infection by infectious diseases or fungi, but of insects.
