What is good about the Golden apple variety, characteristics of the variety, planting and care
Informational article about the golden apple tree. Description of the variety, its advantages and disadvantages. Planting a golden apple tree in the garden and caring for it. Since ancient times, people have eaten the fruits of wild apples. Even in the Garden of Eden, the first people, violating the divine prohibition, could not resist and bit off an apple.
And in some languages, the Garden of Eden sounds like an apple orchard. To this day, there are wild species of apple trees. For the first time wild plants were domesticated apple tree on the territory of modern Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. And the targeted selection of these fruit trees began in ancient Greece.
The ancient Greeks developed about forty varieties. The number of modern varieties is difficult to count. In the garden named after Vavilov collected more than 5 thousand samples of this plant. Today this is the most impressive apple orchard, which also serves as a gene pool. Let's consider the variety of golden apples - one of the most popular varieties of our time.
Content:
- Description of the golden apple variety
- How to plant a golden variety in the garden
- Features of growing golden apple trees
Description of the golden apple variety
The full name of the variety is Golden Excellent or Golden Delicious. According to statistics, Golden apples are considered to be the most popular variety among consumers of fresh apples. Large areas in the USA are allocated for this variety. Origin of gold apples completely unknown.
The variety is believed to be the result of accidental pollination or an unknown mutation.An unusual apple tree was discovered in Southern Virginia. The plant immediately attracted the attention of breeders and gardeners.
Description of the variety
Young trees have a cone-shaped crown; as they grow and begin to bear fruit, the crown changes shape to a wide-rounded one. Trees of this variety have good branching and densely growing foliage. The variety is usually grown in grafted form. The quality of the rootstock determines both the size of the adult plant and the time it begins to bear fruit.
On dwarf rootstocks it shows good early fruiting and produces a harvest already in the third year. On vigorous rootstocks it begins to bear fruit after five years. The variety has been steadily grown in the last quarter of a century in the gardens of the CIS as an early-bearing and productive variety. Even in not the best year, one tree can produce about 80 kg of fruit.
With proper care, the yield reaches 100-120 kg per apple tree. Fruits are produced on biennial shoots and last year's growth.
Moreover, on last year’s growths the fruiting is abundant and the apples simply hang in garlands. According to the ripening period, golden apples are classified as late winter varieties.
After harvesting in the first ten days of October, they are stored without loss of quality until April. In appearance, apples are one of the most attractive and beautiful fruits. Their shape is elongated, slightly expanding towards the stalk. The color of the skin is green, when fully ripe it becomes yellow-golden.
Which apparently gave the variety its name. Small cork dots, streaks or a grayish mesh may be scattered across the entire surface. The average size of apples is 90-120 g. In warm and favorable climates, the weight of apples can reach 170 g.
In terms of taste, the variety can be classified as a universal variety.Apple lovers are attracted not only by the pleasant sweet taste, but also by the unusual caramel smell. The fruit pulp is juicy with a delicate texture. The color of the pulp is light yellow or cream.
Nutrient Content:
- sugars 14-20%
- organic acids from 5 to 12 mg/100 g
- pectins 0.7 mg/100 g
- The undoubted advantages of the variety include:
- excellent presentation
- excellent transportability
- versatility
- productivity
The disadvantages of apple trees varieties golden include:
- low tolerance to powdery mildew
- older apple trees show periodic fruiting
- crushing of fruits due to improper pruning or unfavorable conditions
It should be noted that the variety has several clonal forms:
- Goldspur
- Reinders
- Golden Column
The early fruitfulness of the variety has been widely used in breeding work to obtain the following varieties:
How to plant a golden variety in the garden
Choosing a location and seedling
Getting ready disembark Golden variety in the garden, you need to remember that this apple tree prefers well-lit places. Any soil is suitable, but you should give preference to areas with loamy and sandy loam soil. In terms of acidity, neutral or slightly acidic soils are best suited. If the soil on the site is clayey, sand will be required. You need to add 2-3 buckets per tree.
Lands with groundwater depths of less than 1.5 - 2.0 m are not suitable.
Without a high-quality varietal seedling, it is not possible to grow a healthy tree with the declared characteristics. Therefore, it is advisable to make purchases from fruit nurseries that have certified planting material. The size of the seedling depends on the rootstock.
On a strongly growing rootstock, the height of the trunk of a two-year-old seedling of the Golden variety reaches half a meter; it should contain 2-3 skeletal branches up to 0.6 m long. The root system is well developed, with roots up to 0.4 m long. On dwarf rootstocks these indicators can be less by about 1/3. Annual seedlings of this variety most often do not have branches.
It is advisable to buy seedlings with an earthen lump or in containers. Varietal apple trees with exposed roots they take root less well. When purchasing, you need to inspect the vaccination site. It should be free of sagging, ugly growths and cracks.
Landing
The best time to plant is spring. It should be done before the leaves bloom. The deadline is the stage when a green cone appears on the buds. Seedlings in containers can be planted later. The planting hole is dug deep enough. It can be up to 0.6-0.8 m deep and up to 1.0 - 1.2 m wide. A layer of drainage is placed at the bottom of the hole, on top of which up to two buckets of fertile mixture are poured. It includes:
- leaf soil
- rotted compost
- mineral mixture
If the seedling is in a container or with a lump of earth, then it is simply installed and covered with soil. A seedling with bare roots is dipped into a solution of a growth stimulator for an hour or two. Then they are placed in a hole, the roots are straightened and covered with soil. The soil around the seedling is carefully compacted.
The tree is watered abundantly. This will require at least 20 liters of water. After watering the soil in the tree trunk circle mulch compost. Ground shoots are shortened. It is most convenient to leave three developed buds on each branch. 6 buds are left on a shoot without branches.In the year of planting, a young golden apple tree needs to be watered regularly, as this variety does not respond well to dry soil.
Features of growing golden apple trees
In order for a golden apple tree to produce a good and regular harvest, it needs to select a pollinator variety:
- Kuban spur
- Wagner prize money
- Cortland
- Golden Groymd
- Ranet Simirenko
Standardization of the number of flowers and ovaries
It should be said that apple trees of this variety require crop rationing. If all the flowers are left during abundant flowering, then the apples will shred and they are unlikely to reach the minimum varietal weight of 75-80 g. In this case, the branches will be overloaded with the harvest, which can cause them to break off. Therefore, it is advisable to carry out a gradual removal during the period of flowering and ovary formation extra buds and ovaries.
In order for the varietal qualities of a golden apple tree to fully manifest itself, it needs regular pruning. Amateur gardeners, in addition to formative pruning in the first years of the apple tree’s life, must carry out at least sanitary, thinning and rejuvenating trimmings.
The golden variety sometimes occupies up to 50% of the area in industrial gardens. In an amateur garden, even one or two trees of this variety will provide the family not only with fresh apples in the winter, but also with delicious compotes, jams and juice.
Video about Golden apples:
