Today, a huge number of varieties of fruit trees have been bred, including apple trees. You can find varieties to suit every taste. One of the worthy fruit trees is the Baltika apple tree. Baltika is a winter-hardy variety. The tree is easy to care for and produces a bountiful harvest.
Description and features
The Baltika apple tree was bred by breeder P.I. Lavrikov. Ancestor apple tree variety Borovinka. A few years after the selection, the Baltic was zoned for the northern regions.
To characterize an apple tree, you need to start with a description of the tree.The tree trunk reaches 10 m in height. The tree itself is powerful, with long spreading branches. The crown is characterized by a paniculate shape. The density of the leaves is average. The leaves are small, the tip is sharp, the edges are jagged. The tree begins to bloom in the second half of May.
Due to its height, the plant needs annual pruning of dry branches and formation of the crown. If this is not done, the plant will begin to bear fruit worse. Particular attention should be paid to sanitary pruning. The procedure must be carried out every spring, when the buds just begin to appear. Dry, weak and diseased branches are trimmed. The cutting areas must be disinfected.
You will have to plant pollinating apple trees nearby. Melba, Osenneye Polosatoe, and Antonovka are suitable as pollinators for the Baltic apple tree.
Pros and cons of the Baltika apple variety
Like any agricultural crop, the Baltika apple tree has its pros and cons.
Advantages of growing:
- Frost resistance of wood.
- The plant is immune to many agricultural diseases, primarily scab.
- The fruits are of high quality and pleasant to the taste.
There are no significant disadvantages of growing. The only disadvantage that some gardeners note is the late fruiting relative to other apple trees.
Productivity and fruit evaluation
Ripe apples are large, weighing up to 120 g. The peel is green with light pink stripes. The pulp of ripe fruits is crispy, dense, juicy with a pleasant sweet and sour taste. The peel is smooth, glossy. The fruits received a high tasting rating.
Baltika has good productivity. From 190 to 210 kg of apples are harvested from one tree. The tree begins to bear fruit in the 4th year after the seedling is planted in the soil. The harvest is harvested in the first half of September.The collected fruits are stored in a cool room for up to two months. Apples are suitable for making preserves, jams and other sweets. Fresh fruits are also very tasty.
Disease resistance
One of the advantages of the apple tree is the presence of immunity to most diseases that affect agricultural crops. This is especially true for scab. But for prevention, it is recommended to regularly inspect trees.
At the first sign of the appearance of harmful insects or diseases, urgent measures are taken to prevent further development. To prevent the appearance of insects and diseases, mineral and organic fertilizers are added to the soil annually. Such measures help to increase the plant’s immune defense.
Often the bark of trees becomes attractive to rodents. On the bark you can see marks from the teeth of mice or voles. To prevent damage to the bark by rodents, the bark is covered with spruce branches for the first 5 years after planting the seedling in the ground. This helps protect young seedlings from rodent attacks.
In addition, with the onset of the first autumn frosts, you need to mulch the soil around the trunk. Humus or compost is used as mulch. If the region experiences little snow winters, the mulch height is recommended from 15 to 25 cm.
What are the subspecies?
There is one subspecies of the Baltika apple tree. In some characteristics, both varieties are quite similar. The Baltic was taken as the basis for the selection of the subspecies. As a result, a new hybrid was obtained, which was called the Baltika Zhigulevsky apple tree. Otherwise, the characteristics of the hybrid are similar to the Baltika apple tree.
Zhigulevsky is characterized by an extended fruiting period.That is, you can collect ripe fruits all season, from mid-summer to the last days of September. The peak harvest time is mid-September. This variety is grown not only in private plots, but also by large enterprises.
Best Growing Regions
The hybrid was bred in the Leningrad region, and this region is considered the most favorable place for growing trees. Since the trees are resistant to frost and winter frosts, apple trees can be grown even in northern latitudes.
The hybrid is also grown in the central and southern regions. The climate in these latitudes is considered favorable for growing, and summer residents will not have any significant trouble cultivating seedlings.
