Apricot varieties Russian, according to agrarians, is characterized as a plant with increased resistance and adaptive ability. In addition, gardeners liked the culture for its abundant harvests of delicious fruits. Read more about its features and growing rules below.

Description apricot variety Russian

The variety under consideration is the result of the work of breeders of the North Caucasian Research Institute of Horticulture and Viticulture. Scientists aimed to get a culture that will be able to tolerate changes in temperature and a sharp change in weather conditions. The result has been successfully achieved. The Russian is a seedling from free pollination of the P-3-1 form. Culture has been in state trials since 1985.

The life form of the plant is a tree, for apricots it is not high - from 3.5 to 4 m. The crown is lush, sprawling, which facilitates harvesting and eliminates the need to form a crown. The branchiness of the branches is average, the shoot-forming ability is high. The leaf plates are bright green in color, have an elongated shape, with a sharp tip.

Did you know? Due to the fact that apricots came to Europe through Armenia, they were called “Armenian apples” for a long time.

The edge is fine-toothed. The bark of young specimens is red-brown, smooth, with multiple lentils. With age, the crust becomes covered with cracks, acquires a brownish-gray hue. The fruits are large, bright orange in color, with a pronounced abdominal suture. The weight of one reaches 50 g. The peel is medium-dense, pubescent. The pulp is orange, fleshy, juicy. It tastes sweet, with a faint sourness.

Variety characteristic Russian

Before you purchase a Russian seedling, you need to familiarize yourself with its characteristics. This information is useful at the pre-planting stage when choosing the soil composition and terrain.

Frost resistance

The culture tolerates a strong decrease in temperature. It is able to withstand without loss of frost at –30 ° C. It is moderately resistant to drought, so you need to carefully monitor the soil moisture in the hottest periods.

Learn how to warm apricot trees for the winter.

Apricot Pollinators

Culture is self-fertile.

To improve the quality and quantity of the crop, next trees of the following varieties can be planted:

• Bai
• Red-cheeked;
• Snowflake;
• Favorite;
• Countess.

Productivity and fruiting

Trees of this variety are characterized by high productivity. From one instance, you can collect 75 kg of fruits per season. Fruiting plants begin from 3-4 years. The duration of the fruitful period has not yet been studied until the end, because the variety is still in state trials.

Disease and pest resistance

The culture is rarely infected by disease and is attacked by pests. The main advantage is that the trees of the Russian variety are not infected even with an unstable epidemiological situation in neighboring areas.

Did you know? Apricot kernels are actively used in cosmetology for the production of cleansing and tonic scrubs.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

The culture in question does not tolerate stagnation of moisture in the soil, and at the same time, does not have increased drought tolerance. These are all the cons of the plant.

• Pluses of the apricot variety Russian:
• high productivity without periods of downtime;
• early maturity;
• excellent marketability and taste of the fruit;
• high resistance to diseases and pests;
• the structure of the tree, which allows not to use large, bulky stepladders during cleaning and to refuse to carry out the formation of the crown;
• good adaptive abilities;
• self-pollination;
• high frost resistance.

Features of planting and growing

High-quality pre-planting preparation and the correct technology for performing the manipulation itself are the key to quick plant survival on the site. This work must be approached with all responsibility.

Recommended Dates

This crop is planted in the spring. Around the beginning and middle of April.

Important! The main thing is that at the time of spring planting, the buds on the plant were in a sleeping state. Otherwise, the tree will take root for a long time or die at all.

Choosing the right place

In order to get a good crop of sweet apricots, it is necessary to choose a spacious, well-lit, closed area from the draft on the north side.

Regarding the quality of the soil, the culture is undemanding, but it bears fruit better and develops on loose fertile loams.

Soil preparation on the terrain chosen for planting is started in the fall, which involves the following actions:

• digging soil to a depth of 40 cm;
• disinfection with 3% solution of copper sulfate;
• a week after disinfection, the application of 20 kg of manure, 10 kg of sand, 10 kg of peat and 600 g of wood ash for digging to a depth of 20 cm for every 1 m²;
• in the spring after snow melt, application under cultivation to a depth of 30 cm for each 1 m² of 20 kg of compost.

Preparing planting material

Planting stock is prepared from the evening or the day before planting. First, they examine the rhizome, then wash it with water, cleaning it from dirt. After that, it is dried a little and a refreshing pruning is carried out - cut off the ends with the spine so that a white cloth is visible. Then the roots are dipped overnight or for a day in the Epina solution - 15 ml of substance are added to 1 liter of water.

Landing technology

After the roots of the seedlings are immersed in a solution of the growth accelerator, you can begin to prepare the planting pit. They make it 50 × 50 cm in size. If other apricot varieties are planted nearby, then 5 m of distance between the trees is left, and 4 m in the rows. The upper 20 cm of soil from the pit is mixed with 10 kg of sand, 20 kg of compost and 20 g of superphosphate. The resulting substrate is filled into a 1/3 hole and 10 l of water is poured into it.

Important! After planting, the plant requires compliance with the moisture regime. Throughout the warm season after planting, watering should be done once every 7-10 days, and from the second year they switch to watering on demand.

The next day, they begin to land using the following technology:

1. Form a cone in the center of the pit.
2. Place the roots of the plant on this elevation, check the height along the root neck (it should be 5 cm above the ground level).
3. Sprinkle the pit with soil.
4. Seal the trunk circle.
5. Pour in 20 liters of water.
6. Mulch the soil around the trunk with compost to a height of 5 cm.

Timing of flowering and ripening

Depending on weather conditions, flowering occurs at the beginning or end of May. The fruits ripen in mid-July.

Harvesting and storage period

In the middle of summer, they begin to harvest. Pick fruits manually, if possible, then together with the stalks. Immediately laid out in boxes lined with parchment paper in 2 layers. Store at a temperature of +5 ... + 10 ° C in a room protected from the penetration of sunlight.

Read also about the features of dried apricot.

Subject to these conditions, the fruits will remain fresh for about 3 weeks. It is possible to increase the shelf life up to 50 days provided that there is no light, a temperature of 0 ° C and a relative humidity of 90%. Frozen products fully retain their quality for 12 months. The same shelf life is characterized by winter blanks in the form of jam, compotes, juices.

The Russian apricot variety is promising for cultivation in climatic conditions, characterized by sharp changes in temperature. Although the variety has been in state trials to this day, most gardeners have already managed to appreciate it.