Elita columnar apple tree: description and characteristics, yield with photo

The columnar type of apple tree, bred by Canadian breeders, is interesting for its structure. On thickened shoots, the leaves are so close to each other that the trees look like green columns with a dense compact crown. Thanks to this, in a small area you can plant a garden and get high yields of fragrant apples. Among the varieties of wood, one can distinguish the columnar apple tree Elita, which is valued for a number of positive qualities.

Description and features

The Elite apple variety has many advantages:

1. Columnar semi-dwarf forms a compact crown, intensively developing the first 3 years of life.
2. Straight shoots are strongly thickened, and the trunk is densely covered with annuli.
3. Turnip fruits appear from the 2-3rd year of life. They reach full maturity in late September - mid-October.
4. The average weight of ruddy apples reaches from 100 to 150 grams.
5. Fruits have a dessert sweet and sour taste and are preserved through the winter. The taste of the harvest only improves with time.
6. Apple tree is not affected by scab, resistant to pests, like the best standard varieties.

The Elite columnar apple tree is also valued for its decorative effect. With the help of plantations, alleys and hedges in country areas are created. The fruit tree is unpretentious in care.

History of variety selection

Elite was bred by Russian breeders under the guidance of Professor V. V. Kichina by crossing.

There are several varieties of the variety that differ in the donors used. Elite:

• 224/8 from Vazhak variety and scab immunity donor;
• 310/3 - donor of columnar and scab resistance;
• 368/139 was obtained by crossing the Ivanovskoye apple tree and the KV9 form;
• 384/168 - through the sowing of KV102 seeds by free pollination method;
• 385/185 was obtained after sowing seeds of KV103 also by free pollination;
• KV22 through the connection of the donor material of the scab-immune columnar material;
• M38/35 due to the crossing of the Cinnamon striped apple tree and the Vazhak variety.

Fruit hybrids have been obtained since 1982. For 10 years, new variants of the elite variety have been created. They differ in different winter hardiness. Therefore, it is necessary to choose those varieties that will survive and bear fruit in this region.

Characteristics of the columnar apple Elite

It is worth studying the main characteristics of the variety in more detail in order to make the right decision.

Tree dimensions

The Elite variety belongs to semi-dwarf trees, reaching 2-3 meters in height during maturity. The tree is distinguished by its compact crown. The small dimensions of the plant allow it to be planted in small suburban areas. The shoots of the tree are powerful with short internodes. There are a lot of ringlets on the trunk, which allows the apple tree to bear fruit abundantly, starting from the 2-4th year of life.

Frequency of fruiting

The first fruits appear after 2-3 years of the life of the tree on the ringlets. At first there will be few of them, from 2 to 5 pieces. Fruiting grows intensively every year. Best of all, the variety bears fruit in the 3rd and 4th year of budding, grafting by buds.

The hybrid belongs to the autumn-winter species, as apples reach technical maturity in October. You can store them from a month to 4.

Yield and fruit evaluation

The yield of horticultural crops depends on care. With the right agricultural practices, Elite can produce up to 30 kilograms of apples from one tree.

Fruits are evaluated from 4 to 5 points, having:

• pleasant fragrance;
• dessert sweet and sour taste;
• juicy yellow-green flesh;
• ruddy skin.

The fruits are even, without ribbing, well preserved, do not deteriorate. And their taste improves with the duration of storage.

Frost resistance

Many varieties of the Elite variety are frost-resistant at the level of standards. Poorly tolerates low temperatures Elite 224/8 and 284/168. Very often, the top of a columnar apple tree freezes, because due to protracted growth it does not have time to ripen. If you exclude watering the tree in time, and apply nitrogen in moderation, then this will not happen.

Diseases and pests

The advantage of the columnar Elite apple tree is its absolute resistance to scab. Rarely, fungal infections can occur if the tree is not properly cared for. This can be avoided by protecting the apple tree from frost damage. The winter sun does harm, burning the trunk, dehydrating the cells of the bark. They protect the tree by whitewashing the trunk with lime, tying with brushwood, cloth.

Of the pests, the apple codling moth is dangerous, the caterpillars of which damage the fruits. Many gardeners prepare containers with kerosene diluted with water in a ratio of 1:15. Tanks illuminated at night attract butterflies, and they die when they get into the liquid. Damages fruit crops and aphids. They get rid of it by spraying the trees with tobacco infusion.

Growing regions

Suitable columnar hybrid Elita for growing in the gardens of the Moscow region. You can plant it in the regions of the Urals, Siberia, but wrapping it up for the winter. Varieties with low frost resistance, 224/8 and 284/168, are suitable only for the southern regions.

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