Apricot Academician: variety description and characteristics, planting, cultivation and care

Apricot is a perennial deciduous tree of the Plum genus of the Pink family. It is a fruit that is most often grown in the gardens of regions with a warm mild climate, but there are varieties suitable for harsh climates. I. V. Michurin began work on breeding winter-hardy apricot varieties. Gradually, new apricot varieties began to appear, such as Akademik.

History and description of the variety

The variety was bred more than 20 years ago, it was entered into the State Register in 1996. At the experimental station of the Far Eastern Research Institute of Agriculture in the Khabarovsk Territory, specialists from the Institute G.T. Kazmin and V. A. Marusich crossed two winter-hardy varieties Khabarovsky and Sputnik, the result was subsequently recommended for cultivation in the Far East region. Since 1972 it has been listed in the register of promising varieties, since 1975 in elite varieties.

Description of Akademik variety apricot

Tall tree up to 5 m, rough trunk, tuberous, dark gray, green-gray young branches. Buds are formed on annual and biennial branches, 3 pcs. together, large, light brown, conical.

Leaves are heart-shaped elongated with a pointed edge, thin, shiny dark green above, pale green below, located on long brown petioles.

The flowers are large white with pink patches on short petioles. After flowering, they form green fruits, which, when ripe, turn orange with a pink blush on the sides. The shape of the fruit is round, elongated, with a small protrusion-beak.The skin is thin, tasty, tender, the flesh is juicy, sweet-sour, yellow. Inside the fruit there is a round-flattened stone with a rib, the core is sweet.

Characteristic

Apricot Academician is partially self-fertile, pollinators are needed for higher yields Amur, Khabarovsk:

1. Frost resistance of the root system from -38 to -40 °C.
2. Early ripening, blooms in the 1st-2nd decade of May, from the 10th to the 25th, the fruits ripen at the end of July - the 1st decade of August.
3. Does not fade.
4. Academic's bones are used as a parent variety for breeding new hybrids.
5. Drought-resistant apricot, resistant to waterlogging in the upper layer of the ridge, scorch-resistant.
6. High-yielding apricot up to 124 q/ha.
7. Fruits have a long shelf life, up to 7 days at room conditions.
8. Do not crack.
9. They tolerate transportation well, do not wrinkle, have a presentation.
10. Medium resistance to diseases and pests.
11. Has a long fruiting period up to 40 years.

Fruits contain more than 11% sugar, about 3% acid, no more than 17% dry matter.

Pros and cons

Lack of apricot variety Akademik freezing when planted in coastal areas, lowlands of rivers, in wet soils, gets a monilial burn. There are a lot of advantages of Academician: winter hardiness, abundant harvest, sweet large fruits, transportability, good presentation, it is used for cooking, it is dried, made into juice, consumed fresh.

Features of cultivation

In the Far East region, the planting of the Akademik apricot should be carried out in well-drained soil on hillocks, it is better to avoid places where groundwater is closer than 2 m.It needs fertile soil with a neutral level of acidity, so before planting, you need to check the pH, if it is high, add lime. Seedlings are planted in spring or autumn in most regions, but for Siberia and the Urals, spring planting is better.

The landing site should be sunny, without drafts, the pollinator should be planted on the site at a distance of no more than 40 m.

Diseases and pests

Akademik is resistant to diseases, but can be affected by gray or fruit rot, klesterosporiosis, in order to avoid these diseases, it is necessary to observe the cultivation technique, carry out preventive spraying and sanitary pruning. If the apricot is sick, then it is worth spraying with Bordeaux mixture, "Soon", "Horus" or other fungicide.

Pests of apricot Academician - aphids, codling moth, leafworm, to get rid of them, it is enough to spray insecticides in spring and autumn, as well as dig up trunk circles and clear foliage.

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