Results of a long-term study of introduced apple varieties in the conditions of the Southern Urals

Abstract

The article presents long-term data on the study of introduced apple varieties. The experiment was carried out on the basis of the Orenburg branch of the Federal Scientific Center for Horticulture. The objects of research were the introduced winter-ripening apple varieties Anis Sverdlovskiy, Blagaya Vest’, VEM YArkij, Krasa Sverdlovska, Otlichnik, Pervoural’skoe, Rumyanka Sverdlovskaya, Samotsvet, Fermer, Ekrannoe, Bratchud (K), Kovrovoe 1, Kovrovoe 3, Bolotovskoe, Kandil’ Orlovskiy, Kulikovskoe. The planting scheme was 3.0x5.0 m. Modern industrial horticulture requires intensive orchards that meet a range of quality requirements: their early fruiting, restrained growth, compact crown type, active increase in yield, high commercial and consumer quality of fruits, reduction care costs compared to gardens on vigorous rootstocks. In this regard, the following features were studied: winter hardiness, tree height, crown diameter, bole circumference, precocity, and yield. After a critical winter, the most winter-hardy varieties turned out to be Blagaya Vesti, Farmer, Screen, Otlichnik, Bratchud (K). The varieties Kovrovoe 1, Kovrovoe 3, Krasa Sverdlovska had the highest reductive capacity. The highest average fruit weight over the years of the study had the Kovrovoe 1 variety (132.0 g), the high-yielding varieties included Kovrovoe 1, Kovrovoe 3, VEM YArkij, Krasa Sverdlovska (from 12.4 to 13.0 t/ha).