Simple tips before buying pear seedlings, mistakes when buying. Several ways to understand that the seedlings are linden First white, then red

Care Radishes are fertilized only if their leaves turn white. As a nutrient, it is best to use a garden mixture (340 g per 10 liters of water). To maximize the effect of fertilizer, it must be applied after heavy watering or rain. For 3

Care In the process of growth, radishes can occasionally be fed with mineral and organic fertilizers. But since it is able to quickly accumulate nitrates, you can do without top dressing. Radishes are watered often and plentifully. Otherwise, it will lose its appearance and taste.

Care After thinning the seedlings, it is necessary to fertilize the plants with mineral fertilizers. To do this, use ammonium nitrate (20-40 g per 1 m2), as well as phosphorus and potash fertilizers (5-10 g per 1 m2). The second feeding is recommended 2 weeks after

Care During the growing season, parsley is fed once, using 10 g of ammonium nitrate, 10 g of superphosphate and 30 g of potassium salt per 1 m2. Nitrogen fertilizers are applied very carefully, as parsley accumulates certain types of nitrates. Parsley is watered regularly,

Care If organic fertilizers were applied to the soil in the fall, then top dressing can be excluded during the growing season. Parsnips are watered regularly, preventing the soil from drying out in the garden, as moisture deficiency can lead to premature flowering of the plant. After each

Care For the entire growing season, beets are fed twice: the first time after the second thinning, adding 10 g of ammonium nitrate, 10 g of superphosphate and 10 g of potassium salt per 1 m2 to the soil, and the second time - after 20-25 days, using 15 g for this ammonium nitrate, 15 g superphosphate and 15 g

Care Feed onions twice a season. The first time in 12-15 days after planting the sowing or after the first thinning of seedlings. To do this, use 10 g of ammonium nitrate, 15 g of superphosphate and 5 g of potassium salt per 1 m2. The second top dressing is carried out during the formation period

Care In the first year of life, caring for chives is no different from caring for onions sown with seeds. But there is one slight difference - it is not recommended to thin out chives in the first year. In subsequent years, in early spring, onions are lightly harrowed with a rake,

Leaving The first time the onion is watered 10 days after planting, and then after 5-7 days. The aisles are regularly loosened, freeing them from weeds. During the season, onions are fed 2-3 times, using 8 g of ammonium nitrate, 10 g of superphosphate and 2-3 g of potassium chloride per 1

Care During the season, spring garlic is fed at least 2 times: the first time 2-3 weeks after planting, and the second time during the formation of the bulb. To prepare the nutrient mixture, take 15-20 g of ammonium nitrate, 20 g of superphosphate and 10- 15 g of potassium chloride per 1 bucket

Garden care and tree care Keep the soil in the garden free from weeds, loose and sufficiently moist, especially during periods of greatest water demand (beginning and active growth of shoots, fruit ripening). During the growing season, 3-4 loosening is carried out. autumn

Caring for a pear Caring for a pear is not much different from caring for an apple tree, but there are some minor differences. Landing placeThe pear, more than other fruit trees, requires warm places protected from the prevailing winds. Particular attention should be paid to the relief of the site,

So that juicy ripe apples and pears please the gardener all year round, he should familiarize himself with the varieties of these fruit trees and the features of caring for them. It is important to understand that proper pruning, planting, watering, fertilizing and spraying against pests are effective ways to maintain the beauty and health of the garden.

What is a garden without an apple tree? This fruit crop can be found in any corner of Russia. Pear gardeners grow less often: it is more thermophilic and not always possible in the northern regions. Despite the undoubted differences, these cultures still have a lot in common. The main thing is that in your garden they make friends and bear excellent fruit!

Apple tree and pear tree in the garden

Apple and pear are the most prominent representatives of pome fruit trees. Care for them is almost the same: watering, fertilizing, pest and disease control, full and timely harvesting.

On a traditional plot of six acres, it is quite possible to place several apple and pear trees different varieties. When choosing, follow not only your tastes and preferences, but also take into account the degree of winter hardiness of these crops, their resistance to the fungal disease to which they are susceptible - scab. Pay attention to the time of the appearance of the first crops, the regularity of fruiting, the size of the tree.

We will pay special attention to the correct choice of varieties of apple and pear trees.

The most important question when choosing a variety of apple or pear is the ripening period.

Summer varieties are especially necessary for a family with children spending the summer in the country. In this case, it is not at all necessary to grow a whole tree of each variety! It is better to regraft half of the apple tree of one summer variety with other summer varieties that differ in ripening time. Or half a pear of a summer variety - autumn.

As for apple trees, it is more rational to grow more autumn varieties in the family garden. Then the family will be provided with their own apples until late autumn - straight from the tree!

Early ripe apple and pear varieties

They are so long-awaited and tasty, but, unfortunately, short-lived! And practically untransportable. Therefore, I recommend removing summer apples and pears from the tree a little earlier than they finally ripen.

Grow apples of different ripening periods.

The apple season in the garden is opened by Summer Striped, Early Red, Yellow Arkad, Early Golden China, Cypress, July Petrova, Early Grushovka, July Chernenko.

About a week later, Moscow Grushovka, Mantet, Papirovka, Korobovka, Solntsedar, Ottawa ripen.

Successfully fills the “empty” period from the end of summer to the appearance of autumn varieties Dessert Budagovsky, ripening 10-12 days later than Melba.

And the first harvest of sweet and fragrant pears is given to us by Skorospelka from Michurinsk, which ripens already at the end of July. By mid-August, other annuals, August dew, Cosmic, Lada, Severyanka, Chizhovskaya, also ripen.

Varieties of apple and pear trees with long shelf life

Apples and pears of these varieties are distinguished not only by their high taste, but also by their long shelf life.

Apples from the good old Antonovka are perfectly stored until the New Year. And modern varieties of apples until spring! Among them are Lobo, Mekanis, Orlik, Asterisk, Beforest, Memory of Michurin, Welsey, Calvil golden, Student, Polinka, Noris, Berkutovskoe, Spartan, Bogatyr, Kulikovskoe, Mekintosh, Imrus, Stroevskoe, Bolotovskoe, Celandine.

Record holders for keeping quality: Moscow later, Moscow winter, Rossiyanka,
Northern Sinap, Orlovsky Sinap, Belarusian Sinap, Verbnoe, Winter Beauty, Freshness. Their fruits last almost until next summer!

And among the pears there are "long-livers". All of them are autumn and winter varieties. I recommend the following: Muscovite, Memory of Yakovlev, Favorite Yakovleva, Elegant Efimova, Memory of Zhegalov. You will keep such pears until the middle of winter.

Sweet varieties of apple trees

Having such apples in the garden is especially important for people who do not like ordinary, sweet and sour or they are contraindicated for them.

Among the sweet varieties stand out Bessemyanka Michurinskaya, Vityaz, Candy, Medok, Melba, Pepin saffron, Pink excellent, Renet Chernenko.

Apple varieties of intensive type

These varieties are characterized by early onset of fruiting, plentiful and regular harvests. For example, while most varieties begin fruiting in the 5-7th year, intensive varieties begin to bear fruit already in the first 3 years after planting. Choose Folk, Winner, Student, Melba, Lobo, Welsey, Dessert Isaeva, Mekanis, Young Naturalist, Orlik, Zhigulevskoye, Northern Sinap, Antey, Darunak, Imant, Memory Kovalenko, Haste.

The so-called spur varieties are famous for superintensity. Low-growing trees with shortened internodes are completely covered with “fruiting points” - ringlets. Most of them come from American varieties and are grown mainly in our south: Delicious, Golden Delicious, Mekintosh.

Apple varieties with annual fruiting

Do you want to have an apple harvest every year, and not once every 2 years, as usual? Then choose varieties such as Folk, Autumn Joy, Zhigulevskoye, Northern Sinap, Rossiyanka, Pepin Saffron, Antey. Trees of such varieties are characterized by moderate flowering, less tall, relatively compact. This allows them to be planted more densely, increases the yield per unit area and makes it easier to care for them. Relatively small size Trees are distinguished by the varieties Narodnoe, Cowberry, Young Naturalist, Zhigulevskoe, Student.

Scab-resistant apple and pear varieties

scab - common fungal disease fruit trees. Especially often it affects apple and pear trees in rainy springs. The only salvation from it is spraying trees with chemicals.

Plant scab-resistant varieties. From apple trees, I recommend Bessemyanka Michurinskaya, Autumn joy, Cinnamon new, Renet Chernenko, Winner, Dessert Isaeva, Welsey, Young naturalist.
Of the pear varieties, the most resistant to scab are Cosmic, Lada, Severyanka, Severyanka red-cheeked, Skorospelka from Michurinsk, Chizhovskaya.

How to care?

The main thing in caring for apple and pear trees is proper watering and fertilization. I offer you effective method their watering - through pipes. We retreat from the trunk a distance equal to the radius of the projection of the crown on the ground. We make a hole in the ground with a rotation, dig into it a piece of a plumbing pipe with a diameter of 10 mm and a length of 1 m. Its upper edge should rise slightly above the ground. Through this pipe we will water the tree and apply liquid fertilizers to the soil. After each watering, close it with a lid so that dirt and fallen leaves do not get inside. There should be at least four such pipes around each tree. With such a system of watering and feeding, the nutrient solution immediately goes directly to the roots of the tree!

And a few more words about watering. Apple and pear trees require at least 4 plentiful waterings over the summer. How much water to pour? To answer this question, estimate by eye the dimensions of the near-trunk circle of a tree in square meters and multiply the resulting number by 3. That's how many buckets of water the tree needs!

What to do if the apple tree does not bear fruit?

An apple tree, with the exception of intensive varieties, usually begins to bear fruit in the 5-7th year after planting. But sometimes the start of fruiting is delayed. Why? There may be several reasons. First, we check if we deepened the neck of the tree too much when planting. If so, the apple tree will have to be raised. Second possible reason- vertical growth of branches. Fruit shoots of an apple tree are formed only on horizontal branches. Therefore, with the help of weights or braces, we give them a horizontal position.

There is another old "grandfather's" way to make an apple tree bear fruit. We drive a few rusty nails into the trunk of an apple tree or simply bury various metal objects in the trunk circle.

This is how we replenish the missing supply of iron for fruiting. Try it! Do not trust "grandfather's" advice? Then do not forget to spray the apple tree 2-3 times per season with a 0.1% solution of ferrous sulfate (1 teaspoon of vitriol per 10 liters of water).

How to plant?

Apple trees and pears can be planted in autumn and spring. We plant immediately in a permanent place - these fruit crops do not like transplants. And it is better to have several varieties at once - for pollination.
We dig deep planting pits (100-120 cm), since the root system of these fruit trees has a diameter of up to 80 cm and is located at great depths. In the pit we lay manure or vegetable humus (2-3 buckets), 1 glass of superphosphate, 3 tablespoons of potassium sulfate, 1 kg of organic fertilizer "Berry Giant" or "Berry", 2 buckets of coarse sand. We mix everything with the soil previously taken out of the pit. Then we dilute 2 cups of dolomite flour or fluff lime in 10 liters of water and pour it into the pit. Pour 2 buckets of water there and leave the pit for 6-7 days.

Before planting, we drive a stake into the ground, which will support the young tree. Its length is not important: the main thing is that it ensures the stability of the seedling. Pour soil into the hole until a mound forms. We take a seedling, put it on a mound, spread the roots evenly and cover it with soil. In this case, the root neck should be 5-6 cm above the ground. When planting, shake the seedling several times so that there are no voids between the roots and the soil. Then we slightly trample the earth, water it and mulch with a small layer of dry humus to retain moisture.

How to cut?

In most varieties of apple and pear trees, the crown forms naturally and does not require significant pruning. The only exceptions are vertically growing top shoots. We cut some of them into a ring, and leave some as a continuation.

To scare away pests, plant tansy of skeletal or semi-skeletal branches under an apple or pear tree. At the same time, we give the tops a horizontal position - otherwise they will not bear fruit.

How to prepare fruit trees for winter?

For the successful overwintering of apple and pear trees, not only the degree of frost resistance inherent in the variety is important, but also proper preparation trees. If the first does not depend on us, then the second is our direct responsibility!
Timely and complete harvesting of fruits, watering, fertilizing, pest and disease control ensure not only a high yield, but also a safe overwintering of trees.

To mitigate the effects of winter cold, you can use frost-resistant stamp formers or pile up tree boles with forks of skeletal branches with snow. A good effect is obtained by growing apple and pear trees in a “creeping” form, which makes it possible to protect them from frost without any problems with any covering material.

Keep in mind that young pears freeze more often. Therefore, in winter we warm them more thoroughly with snow and cover the stems.

To our fruit trees overwintered well, in late autumn the garden needs to be disinfected. Usually, solutions of preparations containing copper and iron are used for this. But these elements accumulate in the bark and soil, and in high concentrations become toxic. In my garden, I use a soap-ash solution for disinfection. For 10 liters of water I take 5 glasses of wood ash. I fall asleep it in an old nylon stocking, so that later I don’t have to filter the solution. I fill it with water and insist for 2 days, periodically moving the stocking with ash. I add 40 g of laundry soap to the finished solution - for better adhesion to the bark. With this solution, in dry, clear weather, I process all the branches and trunks of fruit trees.

Do not forget about the autumn watering and feeding of apple and pear trees. The immunity of trees to low temperatures depends on this.

In autumn, when active growth ends and the need for nitrogen is reduced to a minimum, trees need phosphorus and potassium. It is these elements that are especially actively washed out of the soil in winter.

We free the near-stem circle of the plant from mulch and apply fertilizer. We dig into the soil with a rake. Then water and mulch with a thick layer of dry grass.
Our garden is now ready for winter!

Apple tree

The apple tree is the main fruit crop worldwide. Such a wide distribution of the apple tree is explained by its high adaptability to the most diverse soil and climatic conditions, the richness of species, the presence of varieties of different ripening and consumption periods, and high yields.

How to plant?

Usually, even novice gardeners are well aware that a tree must be planted to the root collar. But where this very neck is located - the majority determines incorrectly.

Remember: the root neck is the place where the first root leaves the trunk, in other words, the transition of the trunk to the root. The vaccination can be both 10 and 20 cm above the root collar (see photo). The deepening of the apple tree leads, as a rule, to a gradual warming of the bark, especially on heavy clay soils, where melt and rain waters hold for a long time.

Fruit trees with a deepened root neck, if they do not die immediately because of this, develop very poorly, have an oppressed appearance, do not grow, their leaves are small, pale. Up to ten years, and sometimes for the rest of their lives, they do not have a normal harvest.

That is why it is important not to allow deepening, to notice it in time, and to raise or even transplant a buried tree in a timely manner.

Having learned about this mistake of theirs, they often make a new one: they dig up the earth from the trunk. But such a technique will not only not help - it will even aggravate the situation. In the formed depression, damage to the bole by frost intensifies. On heavy clay soils, water will stagnate in the recess, which will also lead to warming of the bark.

By the way, one of the common reasons for deepening is planting in freshly prepared planting pits, the loose soil of which gradually settles to about 1/5 of the depth. At the same time, the seedlings are also pulled down, and the deeper the pit, the deeper they go. At a depth of 50 cm, the root neck of the seedling may be 10 cm below the level of the soil in the area.

For new apple trees, it is better to allocate the land occupied by currants and gooseberries. If you still have to plant an apple tree on an apple tree, then new trees are placed at some distance from the center of the old trunk circles. Proximity ground water can be the cause of weak fruiting or even a complete lack of yield on the apple tree. In this case, it is necessary to plant on a hillock.

Crown shaping and pruning

The most suitable time for pruning an apple tree is the end of March - the beginning of April. Where to begin?

If you are going to prune malformed trees, pay attention to the crown as a whole first. Mark the branches coming from the trunk at a sharp angle and cut them with a saw. Do not cut out thick branches completely, leave stumps that you cut out for next year. The thicker the stump, the longer it should be (from 25 to 70 mm). Consider how many tops the tree has and remove competing branches.

Now pay attention to the skeletal branches. They often overtake each other in growth, as a result of which the crown of the tree becomes one-sided. Trim them in tiers so that each lower tier is 15–20 cm away from the next.

Evaluate the development of annual shoots that end the main branches. To prevent sharp corners, cut every second shoot to give room for the first to develop. Shorten all remaining shoots by 1/3 - length. This will cause additional branching, which will make the tree thick and lush.

With perfect subordination, each terminal shoot will be longer than the one below. Competing shoots should also be removed in this case.

When shortening the shoot of trees with a pyramidal crown, leave the outer bud at the top, and the inner one for sprawling trees. Also shorten large branches. After such pruning, pyramidal trees will take the form of glasses, and sprawling trees - wide glasses.

In addition to external and internal buds, there are buds of other directions on the shoots. They are used in cases where the branch needs to be turned in the other direction, for example, towards the bare part of the crown, the fallen branch.

If you decide to form the crown of a recently planted tree, then it is better to start with a two-year-old seedling. We offer a ready-made recipe for the formation of a strong and affordable discharged-tiered crown.

Stem height 50 cm. Select 3 branches with a distance of 10–15 cm from each other on the stem and an angle of divergence (when viewed from above) of 60–70°C. These are future skeletal branches. Shorten them by 1/3 of the length so that the ends are at the same level. The conductor after shortening should rise above the branches by 15–20 cm.

Reject all intermediate strong branches to slightly drooping to the ground with twine tied to pegs. Do not touch small branches. Competitor cut on the ring.

It remains only to add that this form provides not 3, but 5–6 skeletal branches. The missing 2–3 branches will have to be planted in subsequent years, one per year, since the distance between them and the first tier should be 50–60 cm. Choose new branches according to the same rules as in the first case: cut them, cut them into ring competitors and branches with sharp corners, keep the weak ones. We will spend 5-6 years on crown formation. The tree during this time will reach 2–2.5 m and begin to bear fruit. Wait another year and cut the conductor over a good horizontal branch. In the future, the growth of the tree should be limited and kept within 2.5–3.0 m.

When pruning a tree, pay attention to the fact that the crown is not too dense. This is necessary so that the fruits ripen more evenly.

Apple trees on dwarf rootstocks

The climate of the Chernozem region is favorable for growing apple trees on dwarf rootstocks. But you need to know the problems and all the nuances in agrotechnical measures in order to expect a 100% return.

The main advantage of dwarfs is precocity and high yield. They begin to bear fruit from the third year, and then give up to a ton of apples per hundred square meters. Small-sized trees can be planted much more densely, and even in a limited area, you can have the right set of varieties. Often an unscrupulous trader blames the poor quality of a seedling on superdwarfism. Do not believe it: the dwarfing of a tree is manifested due to the dwarf stock only after it enters the fruiting season. Seedlings on any rootstock should have normal growth strength and development characteristic of the scion variety. For a one-year-old, this norm is 50–70 cm.

Apple trees on a dwarf rootstock should be planted in well-warmed areas with light soil, where there is never an accumulation of stagnant water. If the soil in your area warms up for a long time in the spring, then try to grow dwarfs on the stem insert of a dwarf rootstock. In this case, the roots will belong to a reliable and proven seed stock, which will ensure good growth and high yields.

The disadvantage of dwarf rootstocks is a weak superficial root system, which is why the trees lean and, if not taken care of, die. They definitely need support. But caring for them is very convenient: when treating trees from diseases and pests, the entire crown is under control, when harvesting, you can get up to 90% of removable fruits.

Top damage. If, for any reason, a seedling on a dwarf rootstock loses its top and only a stump remains, do not rush to put an end to it. A damaged tree can be restored, provided that at least 2-3 buds of the grafted variety are preserved on it. In the spring, as soon as shoots begin to grow from them, it is necessary to pluck out the two upper buds and tie a strong shoot to the remaining stump. In this case, it will grow vertically. The remaining shoots should be removed so that only one gets food. When the shoot acquires a stable vertical position and becomes woody, the tie is removed, and the stump is cut out at the very base. This can be done in late July or early spring next year. If the growth of the remaining stub is left to chance, then instead of a slender tree, a low bush will turn out, since the lateral buds grow to the sides.

Need pruning to limit the crown.

columnar garden

In the last century, horticultural science has made significant progress. During the life of I. V. Michurin, the goal was to develop large-fruited winter-hardy apple and pear varieties for all corners of the Soviet Union. Fruitful work was carried out in the field of creating dwarf rootstocks. Experimental stations and variety testing plots were organized throughout the country, where varieties were tested and new technologies in horticulture, berry growing and viticulture were developed.

Dwarf and semi-dwarf rootstocks obtained by V.I. Budagovsky gained worldwide fame. The breeders of Michurinsk and Orel bred a number of beautiful, large and tasty apple and pear varieties that successfully competed with southern varieties. A lot of interesting things have been brought into science and practice by amateur gardeners. N. M Skorodumov from Taganrog, for example, developed an original technology for laying a garden, called the “Taganrog boat”.

But horticultural science also advanced abroad. So, in England, the technology of laying and growing a "meadow garden" was developed. In the USA, the first spur variety Starcrimson was obtained, characterized by a compact, slightly branched crown and fruiting on annuli and spears.

The yield of one hectare of the "meadow garden", "spur garden", "Taganrog boat" was 5-10 times higher than the yield of an ordinary dwarf garden.

However, a clone discovered in 1964 on a Canadian farm surprised all gardeners in the world. The branch on the Mekintosh apple tree was thicker than the others, grew vertically upwards, and was covered with densely growing dark green leaves. On branches around the circumference, bright red fruits with smooth skin grew on spurs. The taste of fruits differed little from the taste of fruits of the main variety.

After the rootstocks were planted with buds taken from the branch that surprised everyone, the desired seedlings were received. They grew vertically upwards with one trunk. In the second year, the seedlings bloomed all over the circumference and gave delicious fruits.

This gift of nature has come under the close attention of gardeners around the world. The variety was named Vazhan. In the 1970s, this variety and part of the seedlings from England were brought to the Moscow region by V. V. Kichin. Since that time, in various horticultural centers of Russia - Moscow, Orel, Michurinsk, Rossosh, Krasnodar - many columnar varieties of apple trees have been created.

When studying columnar varieties, it was found that these natural dwarfs retain their qualities only on dwarf and semi-dwarf rootstocks. An important point are the features of pruning columnar varieties. Usually, the central conductor is not shortened, the side branches are cut by 2-3 cm, turning them into fruit-bearing branches - “spurs”. If the columns have many side branches, then they are not loaded with crops.

The experiments carried out on the planting schemes of columnar varieties showed that such varieties do not tolerate shading, require good care, fertilizing, irrigation and pest and disease control. Recommended schemes for planting columns on dwarf rootstocks in our region: 0.5–0.8 m in a row, 0.8–1.2 m between rows.

The fruiting of columnar varieties is concentrated on calves and spurs, which live up to 15 years. Columnar varieties bred in Russia in terms of winter hardiness are at the level of well-known Antonovka and Melba varieties. In general, these varieties are resistant to scab. The yield of fruits from one tree is 3-10 kg. Almost 100% can be removed without the aid of a ladder. According to the ripening period, most of the columnar varieties are summer-autumn and autumn-winter ripening.

Columnar varieties allow on a plot of 100 square meters. m to plant 30-50 trees, which cannot be done with trees on dwarf rootstocks. At the same time, you can choose wide range of varieties that differ in taste, color and fruit ripening.

Now about the most important thing: where to buy seedlings of columnar varieties? Of course, in specialized nurseries, at regional experimental stations. Voronezh amateur gardeners can use the services of the nursery of I. O. Rodionov (Babyakovo village, Novousmansky district).

Using this characteristic, every amateur gardener who wants to lay a columnar garden on his site can choose varieties for him to his liking.

Growing rootstocks and seedlings from lignified cuttings

In the fall, when the leaves fall, lignified apple and pear cuttings are harvested. best material seedlings grafted in the current year are considered. In autumn, the strongest plants are cut 12–15 cm above the place of budding. Then, cuttings are cut from these branched shoots so that each cutting has a part of a two-year-old shoot below - the “heel”. It is believed that a large number of dormant buds are concentrated at the place where the lateral shoot departs from the main shoot, which then form roots. Sliced ​​cuttings should be no thinner than 7 mm in diameter and 25–30 cm long. The cuttings are disassembled and tied into bundles, separately - with and without a “heel”. The cuttings tied in bundles are stored dug in the sand at a temperature of +2°C ... +6°C. In the basement of some cuttings, callus (root tissue) is formed at the cut points. In early spring, cuttings are placed on kilchevka for better formation of rudimentary roots. For kilching, they dig a trench 40 cm deep and the same width, the length of the trench will depend on the number of cuttings. After preparing the trench, cuttings are installed in it with the upper ends down, and the lower ends up. The bundles are placed tightly to each other, the soil is poured on top with rotted manure or sawdust, well moistened. Wire arcs are installed on top of this trench: their height above the cuttings should be no higher than 30–40 cm in the center. A film is pulled over the arcs from above, which is then covered with earth from all sides. Once a week, it is advisable to open the film and moisten the soil.

A month later, the trench is opened. In the cuttings, by this time, on the underside, facing upward, the rudiments of roots, or callus, are formed, which in almost 100% of cases are formed in such rootstocks as 62-396, 54-118, Arm-18, quince-A, quince VA- 29. Zakilchevannye cuttings are covered with a canopy or immediately placed in a dung-earth mash. Planted cuttings are planted, watered after planting. For better rooting and preparation of plants for budding, arcs of steel wire 4–5 mm thick are installed above the paired rows and the film is stretched. It is covered with earth on both sides so that high humidity and heat are maintained in the resulting tunnel. After 8-10 days, the film is lifted from the end and an irrigation hose is lowered into the furrow.

Under the film, the cuttings are 25-30 days. Depending on the rootstock, 70-80% of the planted cuttings of rootstocks such as 54-118, 62-396, Arm-18, quince M-A, quince VA-29 take root, and are suitable for budding. This method is good when there is a shortage of stock material for apple and pear trees. You need to shoot the film in cloudy weather or in the evening so that there are no burns.

Yu. V. Kositsyn.

Foliar top dressing

Foliar feeding provides the plant with nutrition through the leaves. They stimulate growth, the formation of flowers, the formation of crops and at the same time eliminate the deficiency of nutrients or prevent physiological disorders and diseases.

Foliar top dressing is especially effective in cases where the soil is poor in nutrients due to strong leaching or, conversely, their poor solubility with a lack of moisture. In addition, if the soil is cold, nutrients are less absorbed through the roots and the effect of foliar top dressing is higher.

They also help solve other problems. So, the main measure to combat lime chlorosis is spraying the leaves of fruit trees with a 0.5–0.7% solution of ferrous sulfate.

After flowering, apple orchards are sprayed with Bordeaux liquid with the addition of 5 g of urea or 3–5 g of ammonium nitrate per liter and in the fall after harvesting with a 4–5% solution of urea.

In case of freezing of trees or a plentiful harvest, as well as when sodding between rows, foliar top dressing is carried out in autumn (before leaf fall) with a 4–5% solution of urea, in summer - 0.5% to enrich plants with nitrogen and fight scab. In the latter case, Crystallin in the same concentration gives the best effect.

If the ends of the shoots die off on apple and pear trees, the pulp of the fruit corks, the trees are sprayed in the budding and flowering phase with a solution boric acid(0.05-0.15%) or borax (0.2-0.25%).

In case of a disease with small-leaved and rosette shoots, trees are treated during the growing season with a solution of zinc sulfate (0.25-0.50%). During the dormant period, you can spray with more concentrated solutions - from 1 to 3%.

Foliar top dressing is effective at the beginning of flowering and in the phase of laying fruit buds. For spraying use a 0.3-0.5% solution of urea, 1% solution of superphosphate and potassium sulfate.

In the second half of summer, to increase frost resistance, plants are given foliar top dressing with a 3% extract from simple superphosphate or a 2% extract from double superphosphate.

Fast Harvest

There are some tricks that speed up the entry into fruiting of young trees.

Bending (deviation, changing the angle of inclination) is a technique that has long been known and quite effective. When bending, the branch slows down its growth in length, and at the same time the number of awakened buds increases, from which mainly short increments (fruit branches) grow. Branches can be rejected at any time - from the beginning of sap flow to leaf fall (it is better to reject the growth of the current year in July, after the end of growth, semi-lignified). The lower bent branches are tied to pegs driven into the ground or to a trunk, and the subsequent ones to the branches located below. After the branches take the desired position, this usually happens after 3-4 weeks, the fixing material is removed. This must be done in a timely manner so that constrictions do not form.

Bent branches after several high harvests, as they age, either rejuvenate or gradually cut out.

For good fruiting, soil content plays a significant role. If you prefer to keep it under black fallow, then systematically apply organic and mineral fertilizers, otherwise the soil structure will be disturbed. It is better to dig up the ground in the garden in a young garden, when the trees are still small.

In a fruit-bearing garden, it is recommended to plant the soil with cereal grasses with a weak root system - meadow bluegrass (1.5–2 g per 1 sq. M), meadow fescue (4–5 g per 1 sq. M) or a mixture of them. The grass is mowed 4-6 times per season and left in place. Organic fertilizers are not applied to tinned areas. If the soil was initially poorly cultivated, fertilizers can be given to tree trunks at the rate of 4–6 kg of fertilizer per 1 sq. m crown projection.

Why are they tasteless?

It would seem that everything was done right in the garden: in the fall, “manure and mineral fertilizers were brought in, in the spring, the trees were pruned, fed with nitrogen, and the apples, although large, were pale and unsweetened. Moreover, they are poorly stored: spots appeared on some, others softened, some cracked. What's the matter?

FIRST MISTAKE. If fertilizers are applied in the fall, this should not be done in the spring.

SECOND MISTAKE. Top dressing and pruning of trees were carried out in the same year.

These techniques cannot be combined, since pruning is tantamount to applying nitrogen fertilizers. By the way; a high level of nitrogen nutrition, combined with pruning, delays the entry of apple and pear trees into fruiting for several years.

Pay attention to the weather of the past and present seasons. After a warm year, a lot of mineral nitrogen accumulates in the soil, and top dressing will be harmful. They will enhance the growth of shoots to the detriment of fruiting and especially the quality of apples. For this reason, it is undesirable to apply nitrogen even at the “dry” beginning of the growing season.

Often fruit quality is associated with an excess of nitrogen. However, studies show that diseased fruits have a low calcium content.

Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, boron and magnesium affect plant life through interaction with calcium.

In recent years, the widespread use of concentrated, almost ballast-free fertilizers, the replacement of Bordeaux liquid with new fungicides that do not contain calcium, and steam tillage have led to a decrease in the calcium content and, accordingly, to a deterioration in the quality of fruits.

On soddy-podzolic soils, long-term use of acidic fertilizers, such as ammonium sulfate, potassium chloride, as well as long-term use of pesticides containing sulfur in their composition, leads to the loss of calcium.

Often, an increased need for calcium occurs with the systematic application of nitrate nitrogen fertilizers due to the fact that more oxalic acid is formed in the plant and the need for calcium to neutralize it increases in the cells.

If nitrogen fertilizers are applied in May-August, then the quality of apples and pears decreases.

In addition, gardeners sometimes water fruit trees too often. In this case, soluble calcium is washed out of the root zone.

At first, the roots stop growing, and sometimes they rot. Young leaves become small, ugly in shape, with spots and even dead areas. It happens that the apical buds die on the shoots. By the way, alfalfa does not grow with a lack of calcium in the soil. Reduces soil acidity and at the same time improves calcium nutrition of apple and pear trees Liming - 20–30 kg of lime materials per 100 sq. m. They should be buried in the soil by 12–15 cm. With deeper digging, the effect is lower. It is not necessary to apply lime in high doses, since a sharp (more than 1.5 pH units) change in the acidity of the soil solution at one time is harmful to plants.

It can render boron in a form inaccessible to the roots, as well as reduce the content of essential manganese and phosphorus. It is better to lime one or two more times in 2-3 years.

In healthy apples with good keeping quality, calcium is not less than 200 mg / kg, and in pears - 300 mg / kg of dry weight. In all cases, fruits affected by bitter pitting, spotting, scab, browning of the core, other rots and physiological disorders always contain 30-40% less calcium than healthy fruits in the same garden. To enrich fruits with calcium, 2 to 5 sprays are carried out with 0.5% solutions of calcium chloride or calcium nitrate. The first time during the formation of the ovary, and the last - three weeks before the fruit ripens.

If the soil in the garden is under black fallow, an excess of nitrogen may appear with a simultaneous lack of potassium. This leads to crop failure and pale fruit color. To establish a balance between the size and quality of the crop, moderate doses of potash fertilizers - 1 kg of potassium salt or 0.7 kg of potassium chloride per 100 square meters should be applied to the fallow soil. m.

Sodding the soil without excessive watering and fertilizing with nitrogen will provide you with well-stored dense fruits with bright colors. Of course, so that the fruits do not shrink, in such a garden, for every hundred square meters, depending on the density of the herbage, 1.5–2.5 kg of ammonium nitrate should be applied. Nitrogen will serve as nutrition for grasses so that they do not take soil nitrogen from the roots of trees. As a rule, in such a sodden garden, the fruits are of high quality and without spraying and "bathing" in calcium chloride solutions.

In order to link the system of soil maintenance, the size and quality of the crop with the convenience of caring for the garden in any weather, it is necessary to loosen the soil on one side of a tree or row of trees and apply potash fertilizers during the season, and on the other hand, keep it under grass and feed it with nitrogen.

The quality of the fruit is noticeably improved if the growth of the current year is removed 2–4 weeks before the fruit is harvested.

Fruiting frequency? Cancel!

Many apple trees bear fruit in a year. In certain varieties, this phenomenon is hereditary, in others it is acquired. Periodicity appears due to poor care or heavy pruning (more than 30% of the branches) of an apple tree that has not been pruned for a long time. Therefore, heavily thickened trees are pruned in several stages over 3-4 years.

It is possible to deal with the frequency of fruiting with a balanced diet in combination with bandaging.

At the end of the growing season, when fruit buds are laid, phosphorus-potassium fertilizers dissolved in water (20 l) are applied at the rate of 40 g of double superphosphate and 60 g of potassium sulfate per 1 m 2 of the trunk circle. After 1–2 hours, pour the same amount of water under this apple tree and mulch the near-trunk circle with humus with a layer of 5 cm. Bandages are applied at the beginning of April, finishing this work before the kidneys swell, so as not to damage them. The material for bandaging can be a strong rope with a diameter of 4–6 mm or soft aluminum wire. On the main skeletal branches or on the conductor, if it is not thicker than 12-14 cm, choose flat area and turn to turn very tightly impose a bandage 20–30 cm long. During the season, three foliar top dressings are carried out with complete mineral fertilizer with trace elements: the first after flowering, the second after 20 days, the third 22–25 days after the second top dressing.

At the end of the growing season, the bandages must be removed and under them cut the bark to wood from three sides with a garden knife - “prioritize”. This technique allows the banded area to be equal in thickness to the non-banded one. Usually bandaging together with proper nutrition already from the first time “cancels” the frequency of fruiting. By the way, it is useful to carry out the trailing of the conductor and the main branches on all apple trees. The bark in these places thickens, becomes elastic, resistant to low temperatures and sunburn. The fruits on such apple trees become larger, they ripen better. It is desirable to carry out road trips in 2-3 years and always in new places.

You can also use this technique in cases where the tree gives a low yield, or in order to speed up the entry into fruiting of young apple trees. Only it is necessary to reduce the length of the bandage and impose it on the conductor.

Ax under the apple tree

Many gardens have small plots where something inhibits the development and fruiting of plants. Experts in the field of plant bioenergetics suggest the presence of geopathogenic zones in such places.

In the old days they said: “If an apple tree does not bear fruit for a long time, bury an ax under it”, as if hinting: now, if you do not give fruit, I will cut it down! Indeed, the apple tree began to bear fruit. Now we know that the reason lies in the location of the tree in the zone of intersection of geomagnetic lines of force. Their influence and vector can be changed by placing a metal object in this zone, of course, not necessarily an ax. This means that when planning plantings, especially trees and valuable shrubs, one should take into account the location of geopathogenic zones using the dowsing method. Otherwise, do not wait for the harvest.

When turfing a garden, the mowed grass is left in place. It insulates the roots and fertilizes the soil.

apple storage

Can you save the apple harvest? Why does it depend? First of all from right choice varieties, fruit quality and the ability to keep the temperature, relative humidity, and composition of the atmosphere in storage at a certain level.

In the conditions of the middle lane, the fruits of winter varieties of apples Severny Sinap, Renet Chernenko, Bogatyr, Lobo, Spartak, Welsey have the highest keeping quality. Meanwhile, the keeping quality of fruits of even one variety, but grown in dissimilar ecological and agrotechnical conditions, is different.

Each variety has its own harvesting period, calculated in several days. It is better to harvest in the morning - the fruit cools overnight.

10-12 days before laying in the basement, the fruits begin to cool, using lower air temperatures at night or on non-hot days, placing under a canopy or in a cool and clean room. If apples are cooled only for a day (at a temperature of 18–20 degrees), then their shelf life will be reduced by 10–15 days.

Sorted fruits are usually placed in boxes with a capacity of 10–25 kg (they are pre-disinfected with a 0.25% solution of calcium hypochlorite or a 4–5% solution of copper sulphate). It is better to wrap each fruit in paper soaked in mineral oils (vaseline). At the same time, the development of sunburn is excluded, moisture losses are reduced, and losses from rot are reduced. Napkins for packaging are prepared as follows: a cloth is wound on a rolling pin or roller, slightly impregnated with vaseline oil and paper napkins are rolled.

If oil paper is not available, plain paper can be used, although the results will be somewhat worse. For the re-layering of fruits, healthy, clean leaves of oak, maple, aspen, soft shavings are used. hardwood or finely chopped parchment paper.

Late-winter apples can be stored for a long time in ordinary plastic bags or bags, they do not let in smell, retain carbon dioxide, that is, they create a special microclimate. Remove apples of winter and late winter varieties from the tree in the phase of technical ripeness and let them rest in a cool room for 10-15 days. After that, healthy mechanical damage, put the fruits that are not affected by diseases in bags of 8-10 kg each, tie with a polyethylene cord so as to create tightness. Then put them in boxes, and then in the basement.

Apples are usually stored in rooms where the air temperature can be maintained for a long time not lower than -1°C and not higher than +5°C, relative humidity of 85–95%. Most often, cellars or cellars are used for this. With differences even of 2-3 degrees, intensive breathing begins in the fruits, the ripening processes are accelerated, and the quality deteriorates.

Apples of varieties Antonovka ordinary, Pobedel, Bogatyr are stored at a temperature of 2–4 degrees, Pepin saffron, Welsey, Northern sinap, Zhigulevskoye, Orange - at a temperature of -1 to +1 degrees.

Optimum relative humidity is maintained by moistening the basement: watering the floor or installing vessels with water. High humidity especially important during the loading period. The basement is systematically ventilated to remove ethylene and other organic compounds. Apples of the Bessemyanka Michurinskaya, Cinnamon New, Welsey varieties react especially quickly to low air humidity and wither.

To protect fruits from spoilage in winter, you can line the container with pine shavings. Resinous substances kill pathogenic bacteria. Pine "bed" for fruits can be successfully replaced by aromatic herbs growing on personal plot- marjoram, basil, savory. They need to be dried before flowering and hidden until autumn in paper or canvas bags, hung in a dry, ventilated area. When it's time to harvest, line the bottom of the boxes with herbs, put apples on them, cover them again with a layer of such "hay". In a flavored bed, fruits are stored for a long time without losing their presentation and taste.

The keeping quality of apple fruits is not least affected by the weather at the time of their ripening. In a cold rainy summer, the fruits are slightly colored, they have high acidity and, as a result, they are poorly stored. But even in hot summer, when the process of growth and ripening is intensive, the keeping quality of fruits also decreases.

According to the duration of storage, all varieties are divided into three groups:

early winter consumption (up to 90 days) - Antonovka vulgaris, Bessemyanka Michurinskaya, Belflerkitayka, Zhigulevskoye, Zvezdochka, Kuibyshevskoye, Oryol striped, Autumn striped, Glory to the winners;

winter consumption (90-150 days) - Babushkino, Bolotovskoe, Cinnamon new, Imrus, Lobo, Mekintosh, Orange, Orlik, Memory of a warrior, Pepin saffron, Memory of Michurin, Rossoshanskoe striped, Spartan, Stroevskoe;

winter-spring consumption (more than 150 days) - Bogatyr, Belarusian synapse, Beforest, Winter striped, Renet Chernenko, Freshness, Northern synapse, Sinap Orlovsky, Welsey.

Apple varieties

Varieties of intensive type

These varieties are characterized by an early onset of fruiting, a rapid increase in yields, their abundance and regularity. In the full complex, all these properties are found only in some varieties, individually - in a large number. For example, while most varieties begin fruiting in the fourth or sixth year after planting and even later, some - Melba, Lobo, Welsey, Young Naturalist, Orlik, Zhigulevskoe, Spartak, Papirovka's Daughter, Elite- begin to bear fruit in the first three years after planting. At the same time, it is important not only the early start of fruiting, but also the rapid increase in yields.

Varieties differ in the ability to regularly bear fruit. Some - regularly fruiting - produce crops annually, others - periodically fruiting, bear fruit in a year. Many varieties are characterized by an average frequency of fruiting: they alternate high yields with small ones, and in some years even a complete absence of fruits is possible. The frequency of fruiting in these varieties is usually associated with the conditions of their cultivation: with careful care, they bear fruit annually, with poor care - after a year. The main reason for the periodicity of fruiting is excessive yields. There is a "failure" in fruiting. That is why varieties with a fairly high, but at the same time regular fruiting, are especially valued, for example Zhigulevskoe, Northern Sinap, Kuibyshevskoe, Spartak, Papirovka's Daughter, Kutuzovets.

Since the frequency of fruiting is related to the size of the crop, it is clear that in young trees it manifests itself to a lesser extent, and with age, with increasing yields, it increases.

Evgeny Sedov, academician of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Orel: “I think that the future belongs to immune varieties. Extra 5-6 sprays can be eliminated. These varieties have quite high commercial and taste qualities.

Varieties immune to scab

Scab is a common disease of the apple tree and is truly the scourge of our gardens. It affects leaves, fruits, reduces tree yields, worsens their condition, winter hardiness. The infection in the garden is spread in the spring by spores of a fungus that hibernates in leaves that have fallen since autumn. Even cultivars such as Welsey and Cinnamon, previously resistant, have become vulnerable. The only way out is chemical treatment or new varieties that are immune to the disease, that is, they are not affected by the disease even in the rainiest summer. This advantage allows you to do without numerous spraying of the garden.

Here a brief description of new varieties.

VENIAMINOVSKOE

Winter, relatively winter-hardy variety. The trees are quite large, with a relatively rare crown. Medium-sized fruits (130 g), conical, wide-ribbed. The skin is smooth, oily, shiny. The cover color on most of the surface is in the form of a raspberry blush. The pulp is white, greenish, dense, juicy. Evaluation of the appearance and taste of fruits 4.4 points. Removable maturity mid-September. In storage or basement, the fruits can be stored until the end of February. The yield of a young tree is 15 kg.

KANDIL ORLOVSKY

The trees are medium-sized, with a rounded crown and drooping branches. Medium-sized fruits (137 g), oblong-conical, strongly ribbed, oblique. The integumentary color occupies half of the fruit in the form of a blurry raspberry blush. The pulp is white, greenish, tender, fine-grained, juicy, sweet and sour taste (4.4 points). Harvest in mid-September. The fruits can be stored until February. The variety is early-growing, productive (14 kg from a young tree) and quite winter-hardy.

KORNAKOVSKOE

The trees are medium-sized, with a pyramidal crown of medium density. Medium-sized fruits (125 g), oblong-conical, slightly ribbed, sloping at the top. The integumentary color occupies most of the surface of the fruit in the form of pink stripes. The pulp is creamy, dense, tender, fine-grained, juicy, good taste (4.3 points). The variety is early-growing and productive (15 kg from a young tree). Removable fruit ripeness occurs in the second half of September. In storage, they can be stored until mid-February.

OREL POLESIE

Medium sized trees. The fruits are relatively large (170 g), oblong-conical, wide-ribbed. Integumentation on most of the surface in the form of stripes and specks of red. The pulp is white, creamy, dense, prickly, coarse-grained, very juicy ( appearance 4.4, taste 4.3 points). The variety is early-growing and productive (13 kg from a young tree).

SUN

Early winter variety. Trees are below medium size with a rounded crown. Winter hardy. The shoots are relatively thick, with close internodes. Fruits are above average size (160 g), oblong, wide-ribbed, oblique, with a short stalk. Integumentary coloration over the entire surface in the form of a bright solid blush of crimson color. The pulp is white, creamy, dense, fine-grained, very juicy (appearance 4.4, taste 4.3 points). Removable maturity occurs on September 15–20. The consumer period is from October 10 to the middle or end of January. The yield of young trees is 11 kg.

STROEVSKOE

Winter variety. Trees of medium size, fast growing, with a wide pyramidal crown of medium density. The variety is characterized by relatively high winter hardiness. The fruits are large or above average (150-170 g), conical, slightly ribbed, flattened. Cover color on most of the surface in the form of merging stripes and a blurred crimson blush. The pulp is white, greenish, dense, coarse-grained, juicy (appearance 4.5, taste 4.4 points). Removable fruit ripeness - mid-September. They can persist until mid-February. Productive variety (13 kg from young trees).

START

Winter variety. The trees are medium-sized, with a rounded crown, quite winter-hardy. Shoots are thin, straight. The fruits are harvested on September 15–20. The consumer period lasts from mid-October to mid- or late February. The yield of young trees is 17 kg.

Varieties with high resistance to scab

In addition to immune varieties, varieties with high resistance to scab (slightly affected by it in unfavorable years) have become widespread. These varieties include: Veteran, Venyaminovskoe, Imrus, Kandil Orlovsky, Orlovim, Orlovsky pioneer, Orlik, Orlovsky striped, Sinap Orlovsky, Zoryanka, Orlinka, Early scarlet.

Orlovim

Summer ripe variety. High-yielding - up to 25 t / ha. The fruits are large, one-dimensional. Integumentary coloration - in the form of bright red stripes and a blurry blush. Fruit pulp is creamy, very juicy, sweet and sour, with a strong aroma, taste - 4.5 points.

OREL PIONEER

Autumn maturity. High-yielding - 18.4 t / ha. The fruits are large (150 g), strongly flattened (ribbed). The main color at the time of removal is greenish, the cover color is in the form of a blurred blush and red stripes, the taste of the fruit is 4.2 points.

IMRUS(immune Russian)

Winter maturity. High-yielding -16.7 t/ha. The fruits are above average size (120–130 g), conical, slightly ribbed. Cover color in the form of stripes, strokes and a blurred blush of brownish-red color at the time of picking the fruit, raspberry color - during consumption, taste - 4.3 points. The fruits are stored until the end of February - mid-March.

BOLOTOVSKOE

Variety of winter ripening. The fruits are large (150–180 g), flattened, broadly ribbed. Cover color on the smaller part of the fruit in the form of a red blush, consisting of stripes and specks. The pulp is greenish, dense, juicy, fruit taste - 4.3 points. The fruits are stored until the middle and end of February.

Varieties of long-term storage

Now the number of varieties with long-term storage of fruits has increased significantly. Among them are Lobo, Orlik, Welsey their fruits are stored until February. Northern Sinap, Sinap Orlovsky, Spartan, Bogatyr, Kutuzovets, Late Sweet, Renet Chernenko, King's Seedling retain their qualities until April and later. But almost all of these varieties do not have high winter hardiness.

WELSI

The fruits are quite large, weighing 160 g, symmetrical, orange-yellow, almost completely covered with a strong blurred blush. The pulp is very juicy, sweet and sour, with a rose aroma, very good taste. The best pollinator is Melba.

summer varieties

Apples of summer varieties are almost never stored and are not transportable. Therefore, they are recommended to be removed a little earlier than they ripen. Many varieties are characterized by non-simultaneous ripening of fruits on a tree, but for a family garden this is even good, since apples can be used longer, selectively removing them as they ripen. There are few summer varieties.

Opening the apple season Quinty, Early Red, July Chernenko, Red Arcade, Candy, in about a week Papier's daughter and even later Lungwort, Mantet, Melba. Showed themselves well Sunshine, Carol, Early Scarlet, but they still need to be watched.

WHITE FILLING

This variety does not need a special introduction. Its name is widely known to the widest range of people, even those not connected with gardening. The fruits are large 100-120 g, round-conical. When fully ripe, the color is whitish-yellow. The pulp is light yellow, juicy, fine-grained, melting, pleasant wine sweet and sour taste. Productivity up to 170 kg per tree.

MELBA

Fruits weighing from 120 to 200 g, yellow at full maturity, with a bright, delicate, pink-red blush. The flesh is snow-white, pink under the skin, deliciously tender, juicy, fine-grained, excellent taste. The best in taste summer variety, ripens at the very end of August, is stored for two months. The best pollinator is Welsey.

SUMMER STRIPED

The tree is very beautiful, with a rare pyramidal crown, good winter hardiness, productive. The special value of the variety is in the very early ripening of the fruits, they begin to ripen already at the end of July. The apples of the Summer Striped, weighing up to 100 g, are beautiful, marketable, ovoid-elongated, greenish-white, with a red blush. The pulp of the fruit is tender, white, loose, fine-grained, juicy, with a good sweet and sour taste.

PAPIRING

An excellent summer variety of folk selection. It is very close to the White filling variety, with which it is often confused. Papirovka differs from White filling in larger fruits and a pronounced seam. The winter hardiness of the variety is high. Papirovka is one of the most unpretentious varieties, and feels good even in adverse soil conditions. The yield per tree is 225–350 kg. The variety is self-fertile, the best pollinator is Welsey.

AUTUMN STRIPED

It has another name - Shtreifling. One of the most popular autumn varieties. Mature trees of the Autumn striped are very beautiful, have a stocky, strong trunk, powerful branches, with drooping ends. Fruits of medium size or large (120–140 g). Throughout the fruit, bright red stripes harmoniously alternate with bright yellow stripes. The pulp is melting, loose, juicy, excellent dessert taste with a hint of raspberries. The best pollinators are Antonovka and Papirovka.

Pear Care

Caring for a pear is not much different from caring for an apple tree, but there are some minor differences.

Landing place

The pear, more than other fruit trees, requires warm places protected from the prevailing winds. Particular attention should be paid to the relief of the site, the elimination of microdepressions in which water stagnates and the soil is compacted, which leads to the death of trees.

The growth of a pear and its yield are primarily related to the quality of the soil. It must be structural and fertile. This culture tolerates any soil. The only exceptions are sandy and gravel. But the taste and aroma of fruits, the consistency of the pulp of a pear depends on the properties of the soil to a greater extent than in other fruit plants. The reaction of the soil is also essential. Pear grows best on slightly acidic and neutral, rather loose lands. When swamped, the roots are more difficult to absorb iron, and the trees become ill with chlorosis. Varieties grafted on low-growing rootstocks, such as quince, need more fertile soils than those grafted on vigorous ones (pear seedlings).

A pear at a young age requires more moisture, since at this time the tap root has very few root lobes. And when the roots grow and reach a considerable depth, the pear, on the contrary, reacts negatively to excess moisture in the lower layers of the soil. Moreover, with prolonged waterlogging, the roots die off. Excess moisture is eliminated by drainage (drainage) of the soil and cultural grassing (grass sowing).

The pear belongs to light-loving plants, so when the lighting is insufficient, the trees develop poorly, their productivity decreases. With favorable lighting, the trees do not stretch and grow more in width, their branches do not become bare. The pear makes the greatest demands on light during flowering and fruit formation. Due to insufficient lighting, flower buds are underdeveloped, and the fruits have a weak color.

Western European, Baltic, as well as many varieties bred in the more southern regions of Russia, cannot be grown where frosts reach 26 ° C and below. Frosts down to 30–35°С are tolerated only by the most winter-hardy Central Russian varieties (Tonkovetka) and Lukashovka (Lida, Olga, Polya).

The nature of winter damage in trees depends on the age of the tree, its condition, the degree of fruiting in the previous year, the compatibility of the variety with the rootstock, and finally, on agricultural technology. Young trees for the first 2-3 years are more sensitive to frost due to damage to the roots when digging out of the nursery. Moreover, the frost resistance of various parts of the tree is not the same: for example, for branches, the critical temperature is minus 25–30 ° C, vegetative buds - 30–35 ° C, flower buds - 25–30 ° C, opened flower buds -4 ° C, flowers - 2 -3°С, ovaries -1-2°С and roots - 8-10°С. The winter-spring period with sunny days is especially dangerous, when the stem and skeletal branches of the pear are very hot during the day and quickly cool at night. Frost resistance in this case is reduced by about a third, especially in the cambium and bark. With their strong cooling and the subsequent death of damaged tissues, sunburns are formed.

As a result of selection, new, more economically valuable varieties have been bred. Of particular interest are the varieties of summer ripening Lada and Chizhovskaya, as well as Vidnaya, Detskaya, Kosmicheskaya, Rogneda. There are many good varieties of autumn ripening. The most valuable are Belorussian late, Nevelichka, Otradnenskaya, Velesa, Vernaya, Thumbelina, Moskvichka, Autumn Susova, Memory of Zhegalova.

From planting to harvest

You can grow seedlings with your own hands. First you need to take care of harvesting rootstock seeds. The best vigorous ones are seedlings of the Tonkovetka variety and local semi-cultivars. As low-growing rootstocks, you can use irgu, chokeberry, mountain ash. Seeds are removed from the fruits when they begin to soften: in shadberry - in July-August, chokeberry - in August-September, mountain ash and pear - in September or early October. For spring sowing, pear seeds are stratified at 0–2 ° C for at least 90 days, shadberry - 90, chokeberry - 80, mountain ash - 90 days. Using undersized rootstocks, such as mountain ash, the gardener takes a little risk. Such seedlings can develop normally at first, and signs of physiological incompatibility appear when they start fruiting due to the high costs of flowering and fruiting. When buying, pay attention to the roots of the seedling: rowan roots.

Seedlings are grafted in the summer with an eye (budding), in the spring - with a cutting or winter vaccination. When budding and grafting with cuttings, it takes at least 3 years to grow a 2-year-old seedling; when grafting in winter, seedlings are obtained a year earlier.

Pears on vigorous rootstocks are planted in pits with a diameter of 100-120 cm and a depth of 50-60 cm, on weakly growing -70 and 50 cm, respectively. To the top layer of soil taken from the pit, add 0.8–1 kg of superphosphate, 0.1–0.15 kg of potassium chloride or 1 kg of wood ash and 1.5 kg of lime. 25–30 kg of organic fertilizers are applied to each pit (manure is preferable). It is better to refuse nitrogen fertilizers, since upon contact with them, the roots may die and the survival conditions worsen. Fill half of the hole with fertilized soil. The root neck of a planted tree should be 4-5 cm above the soil level. Regardless of the weather, the seedling is watered (2-3 buckets per tree). Then the soil is mulched with a layer of peat or compost of at least 5-10 cm. Pears with rounded crowns (ordinary) on vigorous rootstocks are planted at a distance of 7 m between rows, with flat ones -5 m. The distance in the rows is from 3.5 to 4 m. Rows of trees on low-growing rootstocks are 4–5 m apart and 1.5–2 m apart in a row.

Pears will freeze less if varieties are grafted into the crown of a skeletonizer. In this case, a single organism is formed, consisting of three parts: a seedling (a low-growing stock is also possible), a winter-hardy insert (Tonkovetka or onions) and the selected variety. The skeletonizer is grafted with an eye or a cutting (improved copulation or by the bark) in early spring or at the beginning of the growing season. It is important to vaccinate no closer than 20-25 cm from the base of the branch. In this way, it is possible to form a tree with frost-resistant stems and bases of skeletal branches, which are most susceptible to winter damage. Using this method, those who wish can grow a "tree-garden".

In the year of planting, the tree usually grows weakly and almost does not need pruning the next spring. At a young age, when the skeleton of the crown is formed, pruning should be kept to a minimum and carried out only to form the crown. The extra branches are bent to a horizontal position, pulling them with twine to a nail driven into the base of the stem. This technique accelerates the onset of fruiting.

In contrast to the apple tree, the pear crown is rarer and lighter, the annual growth is stronger. If the latter are not cut off, then few branches form on them. Therefore, the shoots are shortened by one quarter. Pruning fruit-bearing trees is needed for high yields and good fruit quality. This is possible if the length of annual increments is at least 30 cm.

When pruning pears, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that two-year-old shoots are shortened, and flower buds are formed on steeply growing upward shoots. Pears are very prone to crown reshaping due to the appearance of long, steeply growing shoots. Therefore, it is necessary to make regular formative pruning, removing powerful branches from time to time. During summer pruning, the inner parts of the crown are thinned out.

As the trees age, they fail to provide a sufficiently strong growth even with the help of high agricultural technology. In this case, short pruning is the only way to enhance the growth and bookmarking of fruit formations. For this purpose, rejuvenating pruning is carried out every 2–4 years along the entire periphery of the crown, and inside it, the branches are partially cut off for the last annual growth of normal length.

Some pear rootstocks form root shoots. In this case, during the digging of the trunk circles, it is dug up to the place of discharge and cut out without stumps. For young plants with weakly branched roots, soil mulching is of great importance.

fertilizers

It is better to apply fertilizers in autumn into annular grooves 40–50 cm deep along the crown projection or into furrows. Phosphorus and potash fertilizers, together with organic fertilizers, are applied every 5–6 years. Nitrogen fertilizers are fed twice per season: in the spring at the first loosening and during the period of increased shoot growth.

For pear, foliar top dressing is important - spraying trees with nutrient solutions to stimulate growth and crop formation, as well as to increase the frost resistance of trees (1–2% potassium sulfate or nitrate solution and 2–3% superphosphate solution). Spraying trees with a 0.5-1% urea solution is highly effective 8-10 days after flowering, repeated after 10-14 days.

An obligatory element of annual care for protection against sunburn is the early autumn whitewashing of trunks and forks of skeletal branches with a solution of lime or a special water-emulsion white paint VD-KCh-577.

You should not wait for the full ripening of fruits on tree branches in pears of the following varieties: Elegant Efimova, Moscow, Venus, etc.

Fruits from pear Vidnaya, Veles, Petrovskaya are harvested selectively. The harvested crop is ripened in a cool room.

Pear varieties

Pear is a very productive crop. Two to three times more fruit is usually harvested from one tree than from an apple tree. It often happens that under the weight of the crop, skeletal branches break off from the trunk. With the beginning of fruiting, it is necessary to put props under them - chatala.

The pear loves good hydration, it should not be watered often, but plentifully. A feature of the pear is its reduced winter hardiness at a young age, therefore, in order to protect against frost in the early years, it is useful to bury the tree in a snowball. With the onset of fruiting, winter hardiness increases sharply.

It is very important to correctly determine the time of removal of pear fruits. Summer and early autumn varieties should be removed as they ripen with the onset of yellowing of the skin color. Autumn and winter are harvested in the second or third decade of September before the onset of frost at night below -3°C.

summer varieties

KRASULYA

This is the best early variety. The fruits are medium and large, weighing up to 110 g, yellow, with a dark red blush, very elegant. The pulp has a rich sweet taste, slightly spicy, with a very rich and unique range of shades. The taste of the fruits of this magnificent variety was rated at 4.7 points. Fruits are stored for 10-12 days.

LADA

Early summer variety. The tree is medium-sized, winter-hardy, productive, resistant to scab. Enters fruiting for 3-4 years. Fruits of medium size 100–120 g, pear-shaped, light yellow with a red blush, resistant to scab. The pulp is yellowish-white, fine-grained, juicy, with a very pleasant sour-sweet taste. Sugar content 8.6%, acids 0.3%. The variety is self-fertile. Removable fruit maturity occurs in the first half of August. Shelf life - up to two weeks, later become mealy and tasteless.

CATHEDRAL

Late summer variety. According to its morphological and technical characteristics, it is very similar to Lada, however, it has larger fruits (up to 160 g) and a slightly later ripening period.

MARBLE

The tree is medium tall, with a wide pyramidal crown of powerful skeletal branches. The variety is winter-hardy, resistant to scab. Ripens at the end of August. Fruits weighing 120-160 g, round-conical shape. The skin is greenish-yellow, with small rusty spots. When ripe, the skin becomes with a beautiful red blush. The pulp is white with a slight yellowness, coarse-grained, very juicy, melting, fragrant, of high taste. In the refrigerator, the fruits are stored until January.

CHIZHOVSKAYA

Late summer/early autumn variety. The tree is medium-sized, winter-hardy, resistant to scab, productive. Fruiting begins at 3-4 years. Fruits are medium size 120–140 g, moderately oval, light green, sometimes with a slight reddish blush with small subcutaneous dots, ripen at the end of August, stored for up to a month. The flesh of the fruit is white, fine-grained, juicy, sweet dessert taste. The variety is self-fertile, the fruits are able to be tied in relatively bad weather. The shelf life in the refrigerator is no more than a month.

Autumn varieties

AUTUMN YAKOVLEVA

Early autumn variety. The trees are winter-hardy, vigorous, of medium early maturity (from 6–7 years). Fruits are above average, short pear-shaped, with a slight blush, good dessert taste, stored until mid-October. Scab resistant.

P AMYAT YAKOVLEVA

Highly winter-hardy, disease-resistant, self-fertile cultivar with compact, low-growing trees. The yield of 13-year-old trees is 70 kg. Enters fruiting in the 3-4th year after planting. The pulp is sweet with slight acidity and a very pleasant aroma. The consumption period is the second decade of September. In the bed, the fruits can be stored until November in the cellar.

DESSERT ROSSOSHANSKAYA

The trees are quite winter-hardy in the south and weakly winter-hardy in the north of the Voronezh region, moderately winter-hardy in Orel, medium vigor, very early fruiting (for 4–5 years). High yielding in favorable conditions. The average yield in the conditions of Rossosh is 20, the maximum is 80 kg. The fruits above are large, short pear-shaped or apple-shaped, yellow with a slight blush, good or excellent dessert taste, universal use. They make excellent compotes. Pears are marketable and transportable. Removable maturity occurs in early September, consumption lasts until November. The variety is resistant to scab in the conditions of the entire zone, self-infertile. The best pollinators are Marble, Autumn Yakovleva and other simultaneously flowering varieties.

FAVORITE YAKOVLEV

The variety is partially self-fertile, tolerates drought well. Enters fruiting in the 4-5th year after planting. Bears fruit annually. Productivity up to 80 kg from a 13-year-old tree. The tree is vigorous with a pyramidal crown. Fruits weighing 100-130 g, cube-shaped, greenish-yellow, with a dirty carmine blurred blush. The pulp is juicy, sweet-sour, with a quince aroma. In wet years, fruits can be affected by scab. Ripens at the end of September. The fruits are stored in the bed until November, a table variety.

OTRADNENSKAYA

The tree is medium tall with a pyramidal crown. Fruits of medium size, weighing 120-140 g, round-conical. The main color of the fruit is light green, the integumentary is a dark red blush. The pulp is dense, juicy, good taste. The variety is not damaged by scab and stable yield. Fruits can be stored in polyethylene in the refrigerator for up to 160 days.

THUMILE

The tree is winter-hardy in the conditions of the Voronezh region, relatively weak-growing, early-growing (on the 5-6th year from planting), productive. The fruits are above average and large, weighing 180-230 g, pear-shaped, light green with an almost continuous raspberry-red blush, from good to excellent taste. Consumption period until November. Highly resistant to scab.

FABULOUS

The tree is medium-sized, winter-hardy, productive. The fruits are perfectly regular pear-shaped, yellow-green, with a slight tan on the sunlit side. The average weight is 180 g, large - up to 250 g. The pulp is tender, juicy, sweet with spice. Taste qualities are estimated at 4.6 points. They ripen in early September and can be stored for up to a month. Highly good combination large-fruited with good taste.

LARINSKAYA

The tree is large, fast-growing, highly winter-hardy, productive. Fruits of the correct pear-shaped form, large, weighing up to 200 g, very attractive. The pulp is juicy, sweet and sour, with a taste rating of 4.5 points. They ripen in early September and can be stored for one and a half to two months. Good for fresh consumption, processing into compotes, juices, dried fruits.

Winter varieties

ROSSOSHAN LATE

Autumn-winter variety. Scab resistant. The trees are winter-hardy, medium-sized, early-growing. The fruits are large - up to 300 g, oval, yellow when ripe, good taste. Stored until January-February.

RED-SIDED

The fruits are beautiful pear-shaped, yellow-green when ripe, with a blurred red blush, very attractive, with an average weight of 130 g, large - up to 180 g. The pulp is yellow when picked, the taste is tart. During storage, the taste changes unrecognizably. Large, beautiful pears become very sweet, their flesh is white, very juicy, fine-grained, melting. Upon reaching consumer maturity, the taste is rated with a very high score of 4.9 points. Stored until the New Year.

DEKABRINCA

The tree is medium-sized, winter-hardy, high-yielding. The fruits are dark yellow, with a slight tan, with an average weight of 100 g, large -120 g. The pulp is white, juicy, sweet. Good for fresh consumption. One of the best varieties, which is stored until the New Year.