Apple Sunshine: description and characteristics of the variety, planting and care rules

Apple tree of the popular variety Sunshine of late ripening. She is loved and planted on their plots by amateur gardeners. Clusters of yellow-red apples look great on the branches of a small tree. To get a high yield, special care for seedlings is not needed. The apple tree is planted not only singly in personal gardens, but also on an industrial scale. Apple tree Sun is listed in the register of elite varieties for beautiful and numerous fruits.

History of selection of the Sunshine apple tree

A new generation of apple trees was bred from the seeds of a wild tree in the early 80s by employees of the All-Russian Research Institute - V.Zhdanov and Z. Serova. A young tree at the end of the sixth year of growth surprised with a high yield of beautiful and tasty fruits. The new variety has appeared on the farms of many amateur gardeners in Russia.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Solnyshko variety has positive and negative sides. Benefits include:

winter hardiness;
ease of care;
decorative when flowering;
yield and keeping quality of fruits;
good survival rate of cuttings.

The disadvantages include the timing of the return of the crop, shedding of fruits long before ripening in a dry summer or in a season of high humidity.

Key Features

Apple Tree The Sun is distinguished by its compactness. In addition to this type of tree, there are dwarf and semi-dwarf varieties; on dwarf rootstocks, which grow up to 2 meters in height, bear fruit in 4 years.By selection, the Oryol sun variety was bred. It has the same characteristics and qualities.

External Description

The crown of the tree is rounded, the branches are sprawling - in autumn, under the weight of ripe fruits, they bend to the ground. In spring they are covered with a hat of lilac flowers.

Tree height

The tree grows up to 4 meters in height. The bark on the trunk is dark brown, glossy. Branches in the form of large arcs depart from the trunk.

Crown width

Large and small branches diverge by 3.5 meters. Shoots and buds are hairy, placed on short internodes.

Size and shape of leaves and flowers

On short petioles are ovate dark green shiny leaves with a sharp twisted tip. 3-5 pale pink buds bloom on dense stalks, which cover the crown with a purple veil.

Who is the pollinator variety

For pollination of the self-fertile Sun, other varieties of apple trees will be required, such as: Antonovka, Moscow Grushovka, Imrus, White filling, Orlik, Mechta, In memory of a warrior.

Precocity

After planting, the tree develops for six years before the first return of the harvest.

Yields

About 200 kg of apples are harvested by gardeners from an apple tree, and in horticultural farms from a hectare of plantings - 100-120 centners.

Fruit tasting evaluation

The fruits have a sweet taste with pronounced sourness. Apples score 4.3 on a 5-point tasting scale.

Regarding the chemical composition, 100 g of pulp contains:

7.9% sugar;
0.86% titratable acid;
7.2 mg ascorbic acid;
100 mg of P-active compounds.

Frost resistant

The variety is not afraid of cold weather - it withstands frosts down to -40 °. At lower rates, only the upper parts of young shoots and the buds on them are affected.

Susceptibility to infections and pests

Solnyshko has a high resistance to scab. The sucker, mite, and codling moth cause significant harm, so preventive treatments are required.

Lifetime of a tree

The tree develops and bears fruit from 7 to 35 years. The first harvest is given at a young age, starting from the age of 30, the yield gradually decreases.

The period of ripening and fruiting

Flowers open in mid-May. In one inflorescence there are 3-6 fleecy buds. The tree gives its first harvest at the end of the sixth year of development.

Start

After pollination, fruits set, fill and ripen by September.

Terms of fruit ripening

Full ripening of apples occurs at the end of September, but the full taste quality is revealed after a month of ripening. Excellent quality and presentation last 5-6 months.

Collecting and using apples

Apple fruits are harvested in late September, early October. In an unfavorable season, part of the crop crumbles before the full ripening period. Experienced gardeners remove part of the crop to regulate the pouring of the fruit; the removed part is used for winter preparations.

Harvest carefully, without touching neighboring branches with apple clusters. The fruits are placed in clean cardboard boxes, lining each row with paper, at a distance from each other. The harvested crop is stored in a dark, cool place at temperatures up to +8 °.If the boxes are lowered into the basement for storage, they should not be placed next to the potatoes - this reduces the taste of apples and shortens the shelf life.

Regular fruiting

Apple varieties bear fruit well, but the yield depends on the amount of ovary, fertilizer applied, and the age of the tree. Experienced gardeners remove some of the flowers on young and old trees in the spring for a regular return of the crop.

Features of growing varieties in the regions

Variety Solnyshko has been zoned in three regions: the Central and Volga Federal Districts, on the Lower Volga. Characteristics and winter hardiness allow the Sun to develop and bear fruit in the Urals, in the Moscow region, in the Leningrad region. In rainy summers, it is required to divert water from the trunk circle.

Planting and caring for a seedling in the garden

A young tree is planted in a permanent place in autumn, a month before frost, or in early spring. The place is chosen sunny, without close occurrence of groundwater.

How to choose a he althy seedling

A two-year-old seedling is suitable for planting. The root on the seedling should be with a good lobular beard, without damage. The trunk of the tree is of a solid color, with a shiny bark, without affected areas. At the top of the branch, several sheets are kept. They should be dense, free from visible infections and insects.

Date of planting

In the spring, the seedling is planted in early April, before the buds swell, or in autumn, in September-October, before the leaves are completely shed, a month before the cold weather.

Technology and schemes

The pit for planting is prepared in advance, its depth is 60 cm, diameter is 60-80. The top layer - 20 cm, is laid on one side, the bottom - on the other. Broken bricks, wood waste for drainage are poured at the bottom of the pit. The top layer of the excavated earth is mixed with rotted manure (3: 1), supplemented with ash and mineral fertilizer.Fertilized soil is poured into the pit up to half and left for 2-3 weeks.

Before planting, an apple tree seedling is immersed to the root neck in water with the addition of 200 ml of manure infusion for 3 hours.

After the root is saturated with water, the seedling is lowered onto the mound formed in the planting pit. A support for tying the trunk is installed next to the tree, the pit is covered with the remaining soil, and tamped. The scion is placed 4 cm above the soil, so that after subsidence it is equal to the ground level. The trunk is fixed on a support, the pit is filled with water. Trees are placed at a distance of 4-6 meters from each other.

Agrotechnology

To get a decent harvest, a seedling needs proper care: watering, loosening the soil, fertilizing, pruning, adjusting the density of the crown and ovary, treating diseases and insects.

Irrigation and fertilization

In the hot summer, the tree is regularly watered, and in the rainy season, water is diverted from the near-trunk circle.A year after planting, in the spring it is watered with infusion of chicken manure, nitrogen-containing compounds, in the summer, after watering, superphosphate, nitroammophoska are applied, in the fall - mineral fertilizers, for the winter the trunk circle is covered with rotted manure.

Pruning and crown shaping

The first year the shoot is cut off by 1/3 for the growth of side branches. Subsequent years cut out damaged, inward-growing branches, and also form a crown.

Seasonal processing

Plants are treated against pests and diseases by spraying with a solution of copper sulphate with the addition of infusion of laundry soap, dry mustard powder. After flowering, the apple tree is treated with drugs such as Topaz, Hom.

Shelter for the winter

Variety Sunshine is winter-hardy, so only young seedlings require covering the near-trunk circle with rotted manure 15 cm high and spraying the crown with a solution of superphosphate (30 g per 1 liter of water).