The apricot variety Delight is known to many gardeners in Russia. It is quite popular due to the many benefits of cultivation. Thanks to this, the fruit tree has honestly earned many positive reviews from different regions of the country. If we compare northern and winter-hardy varieties, Delight will take a leading position among them.
History of selection
Garden culture dates back to relatively recent times. The authors of a worthy winter-hardy variety are breeders F. M. Gasimov and K. K. Mulloyanov. Delight was obtained after free pollination.Apricot seedlings are known by another name - Piquant.
Description of the variety
The fruit-bearing apricot tree Delight does not grow higher than 3 meters. The average crown diameter is 4.5 m.
In the description of the variety, the fruits are characterized as follows:
- rounded, smooth on the sides;
- one weighs approximately 23 g;
- color yellow with red blush;
- the peel is loose, thin, inseparable;
- The pulp is medium dense, light orange in color.
Apricot is noted as a good honey plant; it produces a lot of beebread. Thanks to this, bees are attracted even in cloudy weather.
Features of cultivation
Before planting, the apricot seedling is inspected. It should not have shoots in a damaged or dry state. The roots should be dense, elastic, without damage or disease.
Requirements for the planting site
The place for growing is sunny, protected from gusts of wind. A distance of 4 meters is left from the apricot to the nearest trees. This gap will allow the trees to grow freely without interfering with each other.
Soil selection
The soil for planting is recommended to be medium acidic or slightly alkaline. Too acidic is neutralized with the help of lime or dolomite flour, which is added in the autumn while digging the garden.
An apricot seedling is planted in a hole, where peat, river sand, and alumina in equal parts are first added.
Important! Delight should not be planted close to groundwater. Due to stagnation of moisture in the ground, the root system of the tree begins to rot, which later provokes the appearance of fungi.
Tree care
Apricot produces decent yields if the rules of agricultural technology are observed.
Watering
The Vostorg variety is noted for its high resistance to drought conditions.Despite this, trees must be watered at least once a month.
After watering or rain, the soil is loosened and the tree trunk circle is mulched.
Trimming
The procedure is carried out in the spring before the buds break. Shoots that have frozen, broken, dried out, or lost their strength are removed. The cut areas are covered with garden varnish or sprinkled with pre-crushed charcoal.
At the end of the season, weakened young shoots are pruned. The thickened crown is also thinned out for better penetration of sunlight and fresh air.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Apricot Delight has the following positive qualities:
- Size of fruits.
- Productivity.
- Winter hardiness.
- Good drought tolerance.
- Immunity to fungi and pests.
The main disadvantage is the low level of self-fertility. In this regard, it is necessary to plant pollinators.
Pests and diseases
High humidity provokes the formation of fungal infections, and also contributes to the development of diseases such as clasterosporiasis, moniliosis, and verticillosis. As a preventative measure, apricots are annually pruned, bleached and sprayed with fungicides.
Aphids settle on the reverse sides of leaves, sucking liquid from them. The shoots lack nutrition and the trees develop poorly.
In August, codling moths actively eat ripening fruits and spend the winter in the ground near the trunk or in the lower parts of trees under the bark.
Leaf rollers feed on buds and leaves, which also harms the full development of apricots.
To prevent the spread of pests, damaged apricots are promptly collected and destroyed, old bark is peeled off, the trunk is whitened, the soil is dug up, and single caterpillars are destroyed.
