Apricot variety Tsarsky was bred at the end of the last century. The state register suggests growing it in the Central region. What caused such a name of the variety and is it justified?
Royal Apricot: description
Apricot fruits strengthen the walls of blood vessels and the heart. They have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the liver, their use relieves asthma attacks. In addition, they are also very tasty. But apricot is a southern plant. Therefore, breeders pay much attention to breeding varieties that can withstand winter frosts. One of these apricots is Tsarsky.
Description of the variety indicates that the height of the trees is medium. They do not grow above 4 meters. This allows you to get a high yield and at the same time makes it possible to take care of the tree without much difficulty. The variety is distinguished by unusually large white flowers. They reach 4 cm in diameter.
The fruits of this variety are oval in shape, have a mass of about 20 g. Apricot Tsarsky has a rather dense yellow skin. The photo shows that it is covered with a light fluff. Fruits that are illuminated by the sun have a delicate pink blush. Tasty and fragrant orange pulp is dense, very juicy, soursweet taste. Experts evaluate the taste of the variety at 4.5 points. The amount of sugar in fruits is about 8 percent, acids - one and a half percent.
The stone is small, only a tenth of the weight of the fetus. Usually it is well separated from the pulp. But sometimes it is difficult to do this due to the fact that the fruits are very juicy.
Apricot variety Tsarskiy belongs to the early ones. In regions with a warm climate, it begins to ripen in early August. The variety does not differ in high yield. But it bears fruit every year. The first fruits appear approximately in the fourth year after the tree is grafted. They form on all types of branches.
Winter-hardy variety, easily tolerates low temperatures and frosts.
Apricot Royal bred for fresh use. But from its fruits you can make delicious compote, jam, juices.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
The main advantage of the Tsarsky variety is considered to be delicious juicy fruits. They become especially juicy and fragrant when fully ripe. The fruits have good keeping quality. They are formed on shoots of different types.
The variety is frost-resistant and adapts well to weather conditions. It can be grown much further north than other varieties. Cultivation in the Central region also gives good results.
The disadvantage of the variety can be considered the small size of its fruits.
Planting an apricot
Special differences between the cultivation of apricot Tsarsky and other varietiesno. In the central region, it is planted in the spring. But the plot for apricot is prepared in advance. They add organics and superphosphate. The soil is dug to a depth of about half a meter. The planting hole is dug to a depth of 1 m. A peg is installed to tie the seedling. Before planting, its roots are renewed, cutting them by 1 cm. Then the root system is dipped in a clay solution and allowed to dry a little.
A mound of earth is poured at the bottom of the pit, on which a seedling is placed. Fill the hole, carefully compacting the ground. The upper roots are covered with fertile soil. Watered with two or three buckets of water.
The trunk circle is mulched with peat or humus. The layer of mulch should be at least 5 cm. It prevents the growth of weeds and retains moisture.
Care for growing apricots
After planting, the tree should be watered regularly. Remove weeds near it. The trunk is whitewashed with lime in early spring, to which copper sulfate is added. This contributes to the destruction of pests and helps to avoid gum disease, diseases of moniliosis, verticillium, bacterial spot.
Moniliosis is a fungal disease that can destroy the entire crop or a significant part of it. It is manifested by wilting, and later by drying out, first of flowers, then of leaves and young branches. After some time, the leaves grow back, and until winter the tree looks he althy. But if it is not treated with copper-containing preparations, there will be no harvest the next year. Over time, diseased branches dry up.
The fungus spreads rapidly from tree totree. At the first sign, all stone fruits are processed. Affected areas are cut out and burned.
But it is better not to wait for the development of the disease, but to carry out treatment for prevention. The royal apricot is sprayed several times during the growing season. In early spring, at the beginning of bud break, they are treated with Bordeaux liquid. Before and after flowering, spray with "Horus", "Soon" or other preparations according to the scheme indicated on the package.
Apricot pests
Young branches of the Tsarsky apricot variety most often suffer from plum aphids. Contribute to its appearance garden ants, which help her settle on the branches. Aphids multiply by covering the inside of the leaves. They curl up, then turn brown and dry up. Aphids cover young branches with a continuous cover. If left unchecked, they dry up too.
Fruits are sometimes damaged by plum sawfly and plum codling moth. The sawfly lays eggs inside the fruit, the larva gnaws out its inside and falls to the ground. After that, the sawfly crawls out of the carrion and climbs up the tree along the tree trunk. Lays eggs and spoils another fruit.
Plum codling moth is a gray butterfly. Harm to the fruits of plums and apricots is brought by its larva, which gnaws the pulp near the stone. Methods of pest control - treatment with biological ("Fitoverm") or chemical ("Decis", "Alatar", "Karbofos"). Biological control is not dangerous to he alth, but it is less reliable because the drug is easily washed off by rain.
Preparing the tree for winter
Royal Apricot is a frost-resistant variety. But in the early years it must be protected from severe frosts. To do this, the trunk in the lower part is wrapped with burlap. It will also protect the bark of a young tree from hares and rodents.
The soil in the trunk circle is being dug up. From above they cover with a layer of humus or peat about 20 cm thick. Straw or corn stalks can be used. But mice can live in them, which gnaw on the bark of an apricot. You can use non-woven covering materials that will protect the Royal apricot from severe frosts.
