Apricot prefers to grow in areas with a warm climate, however, to date, many varieties of this tree have been created, intended for growing in colder climates. One of them is the Triumph North variety.
History of creation and description of apricot variety Triumph North
Apricot Triumph Northern was obtained by crossing the well-known and tested variety Krasnoshchekiy and Transbaikal Apricot Northern Early, which acted as a stock. The aim of this work was to increase the winter hardiness of Krasnoshchek while maintaining its best qualities. And she was successfully achieved.
Initially, a new variety was zoned in the south of the Central Black Earth region, but very quickly spread to the entire middle lane (including the Moscow Region and the Leningrad Region), stepped over the Urals and conquered Siberia.
The variety has high winter hardiness of wood (-30 ... 35 ° C) and average winter hardiness of flower buds (-28 ° C).
Another positive quality as a result of selection was this apricot - a lower tree height. If his parent without crown formation could grow up to 12 m by his venerable age, then the Northern Triumph has a strong, sprawling crown up to 4 m high.
Fruits are large, usually weigh 50-60 g, yellow-orange in color, slightly pubescent, sweet. The stone is easily detached, the core is sweet, with an almond flavor, eaten.
Ripe apricot berries Triumph northern do not crumble for several days
It blooms, like all apricots, early, and in late July - early August, the crop usually ripens. The berries are firmly attached to the branches and, ripening, do not fall off for several days, which allows you to remove them from the tree intact.
The variety is highly self-fertile and does not require neighborhood with pollinators, which undoubtedly refers to its positive qualities.
Early maturity is also at its best - the gardener can taste the first berries already in the 3-4th year. The maximum yield (50-60 kg) needs to wait up to 10-12 years.
The average life span of a tree is 25 years, with good care - up to 40 years. But the yield of old apricots is reduced, so it is advisable to take timely care of replacing with a younger instance.
The variety has good resistance to major diseases and pests, but the usual preventive measures, of course, will not hurt.
Video: Apricot Triumph North
Triumph North Apricot Planting
Of course, the Triumph variety is northern hardy, but in the early years it must be protected from frost, flooding, warming, from hares. It is better to choose a sunny, quiet place, protected from the north and northeast by any barriers (house wall, fence, tall trees, etc.), you can protect the seedling with a specially constructed shield for the first years. Apricot loves loose, slightly acidic or neutral soil.
Selection and storage of seedlings
It is better to buy a sapling young, at the age of 1-2 years. The best time to buy a seedling is definitely autumn. In this case, the gardener himself will lay it for storage - this will give confidence that the planting material was stored correctly.
Proper storage of seedlings is carried out in this way:
- The roots are dipped in a mash of clay and mullein.
Before sending for storage, the roots of a seedling are dipped in a clay mash.
- Wrap in a damp cloth or burlap.
Seedling roots wrapped in damp cloth or burlap.
- They are placed in a plastic bag (it should not be tightly closed). Periodically check the condition of the roots - they should not be dry.
- Place it in the basement at a temperature not lower than 0 ° C and not higher than + 5 ° C.
You can also dig a sapling for the winter. Only in this case should it be insulated with something (spanbond, straw, snow, etc.) and protected from rodents.
Landing time
It is better to plant apricot in early spring, before buds open, but if there is a risk of return frosts, it is better to postpone planting until the soil warms up to + 5 ... + 10 ° C. It could be the end of April and the beginning of May. In this case, the seedling should not be taken out of the storage place before planting, so that it does not wake up ahead of time. He should wake up already planted and immediately begin to take root.
Landing pit preparation
Preparing the landing pit should be in the autumn or spring, then you need to do this at least 2 weeks before planting.
Procedure:
- They dig a hole with a depth of 70-80 cm and the same diameter (it can be square, it does not matter).
- The upper fertile soil layer is laid aside.
- When the pit is ready, it is poured into the bottom, adding:
- 3-4 buckets of humus (can be replaced with compost);
- 2-3 liters of wood ash;
- 300 g of superphosphate.
- All this is mixed with a shovel and covered with a film so that water does not wash out nutrients.
Planting a seedling
The procedure for landing:
- Get the seedling from the storage place, inspect it, free the roots, if there are damaged ones, trim them with secateurs. You can soak the roots before planting for 1-2 hours in water with the addition of a root stimulant, for example, Kornevin.
- In the pit, prepare a mound from the nutrient mixture, place a seedling on it, after spreading the roots and cover it with earth. You need to fall asleep in layers, gently tamping so as not to damage the roots. The root neck should be deepened by 3-5 cm, and on light soils - by 8-12 cm. At the same time, make sure that the vaccination site is not covered, it should be located at least 5 cm above ground level in order to avoid aging. If necessary, the seedling can be tied to a support.
If necessary, the seedling can be tied to a support
- Form a trunk circle, water well, mulch. Cut one-year-old seedling at a distance of 50 cm from the ground. If the seedling has branches, they should be shortened by 5-10 cm, leaving no more than 2 buds on each.
You can cut the seedling at a height of 50 cm from the ground
It will be great if your child is to plant a tree with you. Surely, he will remember this exciting moment for a long time.
Give your child the opportunity to participate in the planting of apricot
Features of care and subtleties of cultivation
Variety Triumph northern inherited from Krasnoshchek unpretentiousness in leaving, therefore the gardener does not cause any special trouble. Basically, it comes down to watering, top dressing, and pruning.
Since Triumph North is a drought tolerant variety, it is watered infrequently, and if you are lucky with rains, then they generally skip this operation. It is only important to keep the near-trunk circle loose - this helps to supply the roots with oxygen and allows the plant to absorb rainwater well. If the season is dry, then apricot is rarely watered, but abundantly, only 2-3 times. Usually they do this:
- in spring, after flowering;
- in the summer, during the growth of the fruit;
- after harvesting.
Watering apricot Triumph North needs infrequently, but plentifully
Undemanding for watering comes with age. While the tree is young (up to 4-5 years old) and the roots are still not sufficiently developed, it needs to be watered regularly, to ensure that the soil does not dry out. Mulching with hay, sunflower husks, rotted sawdust, etc. helps well in this.
If during planting a sufficient amount of fertilizer was introduced, then they begin to fertilize somewhere in the fourth year, when the first crops appear. They feed infrequently - organic fertilizers, such as compost, humus, are applied once every 3-4 years. Application rate - 1 bucket per 2 m2 trunk circle. Every year, a tree is watered in spring with mineral fertilizers dissolved in water. A matchbox of nitrate and 0.5 box of potassium monophosphate are added to 1 bucket of water. This is the norm for 1 m2. If the soil is dry, then before feeding the tree should be watered. In the fall, before digging, superphosphate is scattered on the surface of the trunk circle previously cleared of weeds and fallen leaves (1 matchbox per 1 m2).
Pruning
Pruning is the most important part of apricot care Triumph of the North:
- Sanitary pruning is carried out in late autumn or early spring and consists in the removal of dry, diseased and damaged branches, which are then burned, because they may contain pathogens or larvae of pests.
- Maintenance pruning is performed simultaneously with the sanitary and consists in shortening by one third of all branches, except skeletal. This contributes to the formation of young shoots and, as a result, an increase in the number of flower buds.
- Forming pruning is performed from the moment of planting until the crown is fully formed.
The procedure for forming the crown is as follows:
- When planting, the annual seedling is cut 30-40 cm above the ground. At least 3-4 growth buds should remain on it, from which young shoots will grow by autumn.
- In late autumn, when the sap flow stops, or in early spring, all branches and the central conductor are shortened by 30-40%, and the central conductor should be 30-40 cm higher than the upper branch.
- If there are a lot of branches, choose from them 2-3 the strongest and located one above the other by about 20-30 cm. And also they should grow in different directions. So the first tier of skeletal branches will be formed. The remaining branches, if any, are “cut into a ring”.
- In the third year, the branches of the first tier are shortened by a third and a second tier is formed. The principle is the same - choose 2-3 branches located above the branches of the first tier with the same interval and direction of growth. They are shortened so that they are shorter than the branches of the first tier, and the central conductor is cut 30-40 cm above them.
- In the fourth year, the third tier of skeletal branches is formed in a similar way and the central conductor is completely cut out above the topmost branch. The formation of the tree is completed.
Apricot crown formation ends at 4 year
Anti-aging pruning is performed when the fruitfulness of the tree decreases, and flower buds almost cease to form on the inside of the crown.
Anti-aging pruning is necessary when the fruitfulness of the tree is reduced
Diseases and pests of apricot and ways to combat them
The triumph of the north is resistant to the main diseases and pests inherent in apricots. However, do not neglect the complex of preventive measures carried out for all plants in the garden.
Such events consist of the following simple actions:
- Collection and destruction of fallen leaves. It is better not to use it for compost, because it almost certainly has spores of fungi, insect larvae, ticks, etc. Many of them are likely to survive composting.
- Sanitary pruning, as described above. Cut sick and dry branches are also burned. As a result of these 2 measures, valuable fertilizer will be obtained - ash.
- Some larvae, beetles and ticks are hiding in the upper layers of the soil of tree-trunk circles for wintering, and there may also be spores of fungi. If you dig the soil under a tree in late autumn, all these guests will be raised up and die from frost.
- Autumn whitewashing of boles and skeletal branches with lime will protect against spring burns, will block the path to the crown of caterpillars, bugs, ants, which carry aphids on themselves to young leaves.
- To stop insects, whitewashing alone is not enough. Hunting belts mounted on the bottom of the trunks can help in the fight against them.
- Autumn trimming of trunks with roofing material will protect from biting the bark with hares.
- Some pests and pathogens winter in the cracks of the tree bark. This is especially true for older apricots. It is necessary to clean the dead layers of the bark and treat this place with a 3% solution of copper or iron sulfate. This procedure is carried out twice - in late autumn and early spring, in the absence of sap flow.
- In early spring, preventive treatment is carried out with fungicides (drugs for fungal diseases) and insecticides (insecticides). There are universal drugs that combine both fungicidal and insecticidal properties - this is DNOC (they can process plants no more than 1 time in 3 years), Nitrafen and some others.
Probable Apricot Disease Triumph North
Triumph North is resistant to a disease such as coccomycosis. Moniliosis is a more likely adversary. Most often, the spores of the fungus, which is the causative agent of moniliosis, during the flowering period, bees collect nectar.
In spring, moniliosis affects flowers, leaves and shoots
An inexperienced gardener can confuse a monilial burn of branches with frostbite or a chemical burn with improper spring treatment with chemicals.
If in the summer there are favorable conditions for the development of the fungus, it can again prove itself, but already as fruit rot, affecting the berries. The difference from other types of fruit rot is the chaotic arrangement of black dots on the surface of the fruit.
The first signs of moniliosis on apricot fruits are black dots
Kleasterosporiosis - perforated spotting. This is also a fungal disease that appears with high humidity.
As soon as the characteristic red-burgundy dots are found on the leaves of the apricot, it is necessary to immediately begin processing against clastosporosis
Possible pests of apricot Triumph North
It happens that pests attack the apricot, which can cause significant damage to the crop and even harm the tree itself:
- Weevils. They winter in the bark, fallen leaves and topsoils. In the spring, waking up, they climb the trunk and satisfy their hunger. Then eggs are laid in the soil, from which in summer larvae creep out, feeding on young roots.
Weevil beetles eat leaves, flowers, apricot ovaries
- Khrushchev. These are larvae of beetles, including May larvae, which feed on young roots in summer in the upper layers of the soil.
In the summertime, Khrushchev eats young tree roots
- Aphid. If the leaves began to curl on the apricot in the first half of summer, you need to pluck such a leaf and expand it. Most likely, there will be aphids that feed on succulent leaves and secrete the sweet mucus that ants love so much. They carry these little pests on their shoulders up to the crown of the tree.
Ants carry aphids on apricot
Grade Reviews
The triumph of the north variety was very successful for the middle lane. Even in my northern part of the Moscow Region, the variety shows excellent winter hardiness of both skeletal branches and fruit buds that survived -37 this winter. Bloomed in the 3rd year after inoculation on the seedling of stubborn plants.
Anona
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The taste [of the Triumph of the North] is good, the average fruit size is 40 g. Diseases are practically not damaged, but before moniliosis, he, like other apricots, is powerless. Our sugar is gaining well. Of course, in taste it does not compare with good southern varieties, but for the middle lane it is very good. In comparison with other varieties growing in me, it is the best.
Anona
//forum.vinograd.info/showthread.php?t=11652
A descendant of the famous Krasnoshchekov conquers the northern and eastern regions of immense Russia. Without a doubt, this is the best choice for cultivation in harsh climatic conditions, where it is rarely possible to pamper yourself with a southern sweet berry. Therefore, apricot Triumph North can be recommended to residents of the middle zone, the Urals and Siberia.
