Apple-tree Antonovka Dessertnaya

Antonovka Dessertnaya became widespread throughout Russia. This variety is loved by many gardeners for its simplicity in care and cultivation, as well as for the taste of apples and their size.

Antonovka Dessertnaya was brought out in Russia at VNIIS im. Michurin. The author of the culture is the breeder S.I. Isaev. The variety appeared when crossing the varieties Antonovka Obyknovennaya and Pepin Saffronny. Synonym for the name Malus domestica Antonovka desertnaya.

Antonovka Dessertnaya is not a decorative culture. The trees are vigorous, with a spherical crown. The leaves are oblong, ovoid, bright green in color, with a slightly wrinkled surface, the edges of the leaves are serrated. The apple tree blooms with large white-pink flowers. Flowering begins in mid-May. The height of the tree is 3 m.

The main advantages of Antonovka Dessertnaya include:

• good winter hardiness;

• fruits have a high keeping quality;

• very low acid content in fruits;

• large fruits and a high content of useful vitamins in them.

The disadvantages of the variety include its low resistance to certain diseases, which negatively affects the yield.

Antonovka Dessertnaya belongs to winter varieties, it is also fast-growing. Removable maturity - end of September. The variety begins to bear fruit in the third year of growth.

The cultivation of this variety is common in the center of Russia, the Volga region, in the north of the Chernozem region. And also the culture grows in the Urals, Altai, Siberia and the Far East.

The yield of Antonovka Dessertnaya is average. Harvesting begins at the end of September. On average, the yield of one apple tree is 56 kg. The maximum amount of harvest from one apple tree is 140 kg.

Fruits are round in shape, greenish-cream in color, with a thick rind. The taste is sweet and sour, the pulp is juicy, fragrant, medium-grained. The percentage of nutrients in an apple: 14.4% vitamin C, up to 12% sugar and 1.0% acid. Average apple weight - 200 g. Tasting assessment of taste - 4.2 points.

The fruits are universal and have good transportability. They can be stored for 3 months without losing their shape and retaining their taste. Apples are consumed fresh, and also dried, compotes and jam are prepared from them.

Dessert trees are planted on fertile, loamy soils, in well-lit places, protected from cold winds. Planting is carried out both in spring and autumn.In the spring, the apple tree is planted towards the end of April, in the autumn period - at the beginning of October.

Tree seedlings are planted in a hole with a diameter of 1 meter and a depth of 0.5 meters. The fertile soil layer is mixed with 1 bucket of humus, a liter of ash and superphosphate fertilizer. The planting hole is filled with this mixture so that the root system is covered without voids. Before planting, apple seedlings are placed in water for about a day.

After the seedlings are planted, they are watered. About 20 liters of water is poured under one tree. The trunk of the seedling must be tied to a peg, and before that, the soil around the trunk is mulched with humus. Then the trunk is treated with lime or tied with birch bark. This activity is aimed at preventing insect damage to the tree.

It is necessary to carry out measures for the care of the crop: they do moderate watering, after watering they loosen the soil under the trunk, and remove the weeds.

Pruning is considered an important measure. In the third year of growth, they begin to form a crown by pruning. In addition to formative pruning - to create a certain shape of the tree, they also perform sanitary pruning. It consists in removing diseased, damaged, dry branches. All places after the cuts are treated with garden varnish.

The Antonovka Dessertnaya variety belongs to the self-fertile type of pollination.

In the first year of cultivation, the apple tree is not fed, since the necessary fertilizers were applied during planting. An adult apple tree is fed 4 times per season: in early May, it is fed with urea, at the beginning of flowering - with mineral fertilizers, after flowering, the leaves are sprayed with potassium humate, after fruiting they are fed with phosphorus and potassium fertilizers.

The Antonovka Dessertnaya variety is frost-resistant. It winters well at a temperature of -38 degrees Celsius.

Most often, the apple tree is harmed by insects: aphids, weevils, caterpillars, swamp, silkworm, moth.Compulsory preventive measures for treating trees with special agents are carried out against insect pests, with the onset of autumn it is recommended to whitewash apple tree trunks with lime.

And also the apple tree is prone to be affected by powdery mildew. To prevent this disease, the foliage of the apple tree is treated with Bordeaux liquid.

In July, trees can get a fire blight. They fight this ailment only with preventive actions: treatment against insects, disinfection of planting equipment, burning of diseased trees, processing of the trunk.

An infectious disease - scab - trees are very rarely affected, having great resistance to it.

Gardeners are divided over this variety. Some believe that Antonovka Dessertnaya is very unpretentious, and there are no problems with it when growing, and the apples are very tasty and large. Others believe that the fruits lose their taste and shape by the end of winter.