Apple tree Golden Delicious

Golden Delicious is a favorite variety for gardeners, because apple trees bear fruit with a beautiful appearance and good taste. They have many positive characteristics, including resistance to various climatic conditions.

Breeding history

The variety first appeared in America, in East Virginia. He was not taken out on purpose. Officially, these apple trees were noted in 1890 and began to rapidly spread and be used for breeding. Quite quickly, the variety moved to Europe, and then to the territory of the Russian Federation.

The trees are of medium size, in some cases they can grow a little taller. Young apple trees have a cone-shaped crown, on fruit-bearing crops you can see a wide-round crown with dense branches, which is well leafy. The fruits are heavy and taste good. Their number depends on what the climatic conditions and care were.

Apple trees have many advantages:

• plants have good resistance to various common diseases;
• the variety is not afraid of low temperatures;
• apple growers boast a bountiful harvest;
• fruiting begins early;
• the fruits are beautiful and tasty;
• fruits can be stored for a long time.

But there are also some disadvantages:

• the tree needs pollinators;
• fruiting can be periodic;
• the culture does not tolerate droughts;
• the plant needs regular pruning, otherwise the apples will be small.

The beginning of fruiting of the early-growing variety is 2–3 years after the seedling is planted in the ground. In subsequent years, if growing conditions are unfavorable, the tree may bear fruit intermittently. Fruit should be removed at the end of September.

Many gardeners would like to have a not too whimsical and productive variety. Most often, apple trees are grown in the southern states of the CIS and in the south of Russia. The northern and cold territories are an unfavorable place for growing Golden Delicious, but you can plant a crop there, if you do it on a frost-resistant rootstock.

Golden Delicious is a fairly productive variety, thanks to which many people fell in love with it. 7 years after planting, about 250-300 c / ha can be harvested. In 18–23 years, apple trees will produce about 230 c / ha.

Apples have a golden-light green color and rounded-conical shape, weigh about 140-170 g. The skin is dry and rather dense, with gray subcutaneous cork punctures. The pulp is greenish (when removed), very juicy and dense, with a sweet dessert taste and a strong pleasant aroma.

The fruits are universal, which indicates the possibility of using them not only fresh, but also for the preparation of various dishes and drinks. They can be stored for up to 6 months, they do not crumble from trees.

Despite the unpretentiousness of the culture, you should be aware of some of the nuances of its cultivation in order to get a high-quality harvest annually. The cultivar needs fertile soil and sunlight.

Golden Delicious is a non-self-fertile variety. In order for its fruits to be tied and formed, pollinating varieties should be planted next to it. These are:

• Wagner Prize;
• Delicious spur;
• Jonathan;
• Kuban spur.

Apple trees are fertilized every season throughout their life. In the spring, fertilizers are necessary to awaken trees from hibernation, as well as to strengthen their immunity. In the summertime, the lack of nutrients that were used in the process of apple formation is replenished. In the fall, the crop is fed to increase its resistance to bad weather conditions and low temperatures.

How much fertilizer should be applied depends on the age of the plant. At 1 year old, the apple tree does not need feeding if it is planted in a fertilized pit. Next spring, you need to feed it with urea (70 g per 10 liters of water) so that the tree grows a root system and a dense crown. In September, a phosphorus-potassium solution is used to fertilize the seedling (2 tablespoons per 10 liters of water).

Top dressing is applied in doses, since if there are too many trace elements, this will have a bad effect on the fruit crop (the apple tree will not be able to resist diseases and insects, its yield will become worse). For apple trees that have already begun to bear fruit, more fertilizing is needed.

• In the springtime, trees need nitrogen to grow abundant crowns. In mid-spring, 40 g of ammonium nitrate or 30 g of urea is distributed along the edge of the trunk circle.
• To accelerate the flowering of the culture and the beginning of its fruiting, you need to add 60 g of superphosphate, dissolving it in 10 liters of water. Processing is carried out before the buds appear.
• After the tree has faded, add 50 g of nitrophoska (per 10 liters of water).
• When the fruits are poured, fertilize with sodium humate (15 g per 30 l).
• To restore the strength of the apple tree, increase its frost resistance, you need to add 100 g of potassium sulfate and 100 g of superphosphate (per 10 liters of water). Top dressing is done after eating the apples.
• For every 5 years, 500 g of lime per 1 m 2 is added to the soil (if it is acidic).

You should also use organic fertilizers.

• In April, solutions are introduced using chicken manure and mullein, which give the plant the necessary nitrogen compounds. After fertilizing, the soil is watered abundantly with water.
• When the apple tree forms fruits, you need to fertilize it with 300 g of ash per 1 m 2.
• Before winter, rotted manure is placed under the tree (10 kg for seedlings and 25 kg for adult plants).

Also, the variety needs foliar dressing 3 times a year.

The variety has an average frost resistance. In the southern territories, Golden Delicious can be grown without winter preparation, but in regions with cold climates, frost can damage young shoots. Before sheltering a culture for the winter, certain procedures must be done.

• The trunk circle is mulched with humus.
• Branches and stem are thoroughly cleaned of dry bark, whitewashed with a solution of lime. This will protect the plant from insects, will eliminate such problems as cracking of the bark, which can occur with a sharp drop in temperature.
• The trunk is wrapped in burlap or agrofibre.
• In winter, snow is scooped up to the tree, a pillow is formed that protects the root system and the root collar.

The trees are quite resistant to major diseases and pests, moderately resistant to scab. To get rid of problems, timely preventive treatments should be carried out. This will help prevent the development of various infections and insect damage.