Apricot Peach: variety description, advantages and disadvantages, breeding history

In many countries, breeders, by crossing different fruit trees, get hybrids that combine the qualitative characteristics of several crops. In taste and aroma, the fruits of the Peach apricot resemble the Breda variety, which was very popular in Europe. Gardeners of the Nikolaev and Odessa regions of Ukraine speak positively about the hybrid, cultivate it in the North Caucasus. The flesh of the fruit is sweeter than that of ordinary apricots and has a pineapple flavor.

History of occurrence

Today, breeders breed not only new varieties of fruit trees, but also hybrids that are distinguished by endurance, are less likely to be affected by diseases, and the fruits have an unusual, but also pleasant aftertaste.Scientists obtained Major by crossing cherries with plums. The tent, which is grown in the Caucasus, captivates with the rich aroma of cherry plum, a beautiful purple color, but does not contain the characteristic sourness, it is interrupted by the sweetness of the plum.

Apricot Peach breeders bred by crossing both popular horticultural crops, resulting in a self-fertile hybrid, pleasing with high yields, disease resistance, and a pleasant taste of rather large fruits.

Description

The hybrid apricot tree does not grow above 3 meters, there are no difficulties in collecting fruit. The variety has a rounded and wide crown and thin shoots, which have to be shortened every year. The smooth, rich green leaves expand from tip to base.

Fruits are different:

bright orange;
matte skin;
juicy pulp;
slightly bumpy surface;
oval shape.

The taste of apricot harmoniously combines acid with sweetness, and the smell is reminiscent of tropical pineapple. From the peach, the hybrid inherited the shape of the leaves, the size of the fruit. The mass of some specimens reaches 60 g.

Before planting an apricot in the garden, you need to carefully read the description of the variety, because, in addition to advantages, the plant also has disadvantages. The pulp ripens unevenly, the stone is not separated very well, the fruit ripening period is extended for a long time.

Characteristic of the tree and fruits

The tree blooms in the second half of May, when frosts are rare, the variety can be cultivated in the middle latitudes, but the apricot has not received distribution there.

With a lack of moisture, the ovary of the hybrid crumbles, with its excess and overripe, the flesh becomes mealy, the taste worsens. The life span of a tree does not exceed 10 years.

Features of cultivation

Apricot Peach, although considered a hardy crop, does not always take root well, sometimes it does not please with sweet fruits even in the southern regions.

Choosing a landing site

A site for growing a tree must be looked for carefully. A heat-loving culture needs a lot of sun; it does not tolerate cold winds blowing from the west and north. You can protect the apricot from drafts with buildings, a fence, but the shadow from them should not fall on the tree.

You should not plant a plant in a lowland where groundwater comes close to the surface of the earth. The roots will not withstand excess moisture and will rot. The best place to grow a hybrid is the slightly elevated, well-lit south side of the plot.

Date of planting

Young trees are sold in the market both in spring and autumn. The apricots selected in the nursery take root better, and there is a high probability that it will be the Peach variety, and not the wild game that grew next to the railway. In the south, they resort to planting already in March, in the middle lane - in May.

Apricots have time to get used to new conditions if they are moved to open ground in September or October, in the North Caucasus or in Ukraine trees are planted in November. They are placed at a distance of 4 m from each other.

Soil type

Apricots do not grow where groundwater is located closer than 3 meters from the surface of the earth. The culture feels best on light loams, sandstones, irrigated chernozems, in which trace elements and vitamins are present in large quantities.The tree does not tolerate acidic soils. To reduce this figure, the site is limed with ash.

Heavy soil should be diluted with peat and sand. Apricot does not grow on clay itself.

Care

In addition to observing the rules of agricultural technology, a hybrid plant needs nutrients, moisture, protection from pests and diseases.

Irrigation

Some gardeners mistakenly believe that if an apricot is drought tolerant, there is no need for irrigation. When mulching the ground in the near-trunk circle, trees are rarely watered, but in the heat it is necessary to check whether moisture is present at a depth of 10 cm. If the ground is dry, several buckets of water must be added under the apricot.

Feeding

How to fertilize a tree depends on its age and soil type. A two-year-old hybrid needs organic matter. For one plant, a bucket of rotted manure is enough; a quarter cup of ammonium nitrate, potassium chloride and 130 g of superphosphate are also added.

For a five-year-old tree, the dosage of mineral fertilizers increases, organic matter will need at least 25 kg.

Pros and cons

Apricot Peach is valued for being both drought and cold tolerant, quickly recovering from spring frosts. The ovary does not die, because the tree blooms late. The benefits of a hybrid include:

no need for pollinator neighbors;
high yield;
good transportability;
excellent looking fruit.

Hybrid rarely affected by leaf curl and perforated spot. Significant shortcomings of apricots are called uneven ripening of the pulp, a short period of life.

Pest and disease control

Cool weather provokes the activation of fungi, the reproduction of which leads to the infection of fruit trees with gray rot and coccomycosis. Helps prevent a problem:

Pruning diseased shoots.
Burning blackened fruits and leaves.
Spraying plants with Bordeaux liquid or a solution of copper sulfate;
Treatment of wounds and cracks with antiseptics.

To cope with moniliosis, systemic fungicides are used. To combat codling moth, aphids, spider mites, folk remedies are used in the form of decoctions and infusions of garlic and onions or insecticides.