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The apple tree is one of the most common fruit trees in the climate of central Russia. But the variety of varieties sometimes leads to confusion, especially for beginners. Everyone wants to have beautiful, tasty apples on their plot that are easy to care for and have good taste. In our country, the “Bashkir Beauty” apple tree variety has been well known for many years. This is a frost-resistant, unpretentious tree that bears fruit consistently in any year. What the apple tree of the “Bashkir Beauty” variety is, its description and photo, we will tell further.
History of the variety
The well-known name “Bashkir Beauty” was assigned to the variety only in 1928. But the variety itself appeared much earlier. The first mention of it as a variety of industrial scale appears in 1886. The merchant Gribushin grew these beautiful apples in his gardens, which were located in Bashkortostan. It is considered the birthplace of the variety. In modern gardening farms, both private and industrial, “Bashkir beauty” is grown throughout the country, including the Moscow, Kirov and Pskov regions.
Characteristics
Trees of this variety are small in size when they are young, but at the same time they have a slightly leafy, rounded crown. Later, when the apple tree begins to bear fruit, the crown becomes pyramidal and spreading. The tree is of medium height, the skeletal branches are located almost at right angles to the central trunk.
The apple tree of the Bashkir Beauty variety begins to bear fruit at 5-6 years of age. Productivity is high and stable.
The leaves are oval with a slight point at the top. Serrations are visible on the sides of the leaves. The top of the sheet is absolutely smooth and even, but the bottom has hairiness. The bark is smooth and has a brown-green color on the main trunk.
It blooms with large white-pink flowers, in the shape of cups. With good care, the tree grows 10 cm every year.
The yield is high, the ripening period of the variety is late August - September.
Description of fruits
In any case, the description of the apple tree variety “Bashkir Beauty” will begin with admiration for its appearance. These are beautiful small apples weighing up to 130 grams. At the very beginning of ripening, they are green with a slight blush; ripe fruits become white with a bright blush and red stripes. The skin is rough, dense and has a slight waxy coating.
Photos of “Bashkir Beauty” apples appear in many gardening magazines, since the bright and appetizing appearance of the fruits of this variety does not leave gardeners and summer residents indifferent.
As for the taste of the variety:
- apples of this variety are sweet and sour;
- the pulp is white, juicy, fine-grained, crispy;
- the aroma is weak.
In addition, the fruits are characterized by good transportability, which is very important when grown on an industrial scale.With normal ventilation and in a dry room, the harvest can be stored for up to six months. If there is a desire to process the harvest, then Bashkir beauty apples are excellent for processing. This is a universal apple tree, which is its great advantage.
Advantages and disadvantages
The main advantage of this variety is that it has unique frost resistance.. The apple tree tolerates cold winters without snow, and also quickly recovers when frozen.
But besides frost resistance, there are a number of other advantages:
- high yield (80 kg per tree);
- average resistance to diseases;
- unpretentiousness to the soil;
- versatility of use and taste of the fruit.
The disadvantages of the variety include the fallability of apples during prolonged drought, which is fully compensated by regular watering.
Planting and care
Before you can fully enjoy the taste of the Bashkir beauty apple variety, you need to properly plant it and care for the tree. First of all, we select a place where a short, beautiful apple tree will later spread out.
There should be no surface groundwater at the place where the apple tree is planted, as it contributes to the rotting of the root system.
Bashkir beauty is not picky about a certain type of soil, but grows ideally on medium loam, light neutral soils and, of course, black soil.
Selection and planting of seedlings
When choosing a seedling, it is important to pay attention to its appearance. A peculiarity of the young Bashkir beauty is the presence of white shoots at the ends, which are also heavily pubescent. Experienced gardeners recognize an apple tree of this variety by this fluff.
For planting, it is recommended to use a 4x4 m pattern. The landing site should be prepared in advance so that all useful substances have time to settle in the hole and partially dissolve. The hole for the seedling should be 0.6 m deep and 0.8 m in diameter. These are the minimum dimensions, but you should focus on the volume of the root system of the seedling.
The following composition must be added to the bottom of the hole:
- 400 gr. wood ash;
- 2 buckets of humus;
- 100 gr. potassium sulfate;
- 10 tbsp. l. superphosphate.
After installing the seedling, it is necessary to sprinkle the root system with soil so that a tubercle is formed. Ideally, the soil should be mulched. Since at the very beginning the seedling is weak and not able to withstand the winds, at first, until it takes root, you need to tie a support to it.
Care
The Bashkir beauty requires some care. This will significantly increase the level of its fruiting. The most important thing in care is watering. If the tree does not have enough moisture, the fruits will begin to fall off before reaching maturity.
When fruiting, it is important to pay attention to its abundance; you may have to put supports under the branches so that cracks and breakages do not form on the apple tree.
The apple tree responds positively to loosening the soil between the rows and around the trunk, since this provides better air flow to the root system. It is necessary to loosen near the trunk, but not deeper than 10 cm, so as not to damage the roots. At the same time, the soil is freed from weed.
Crown formation and pruning
Description of the apple tree The Bashkir beauty characterizes the crown of the tree as spreading and pyramidal.The sooner the owner begins to shape it, the easier it will be to maintain the tree over time and will make the Bashkir beauty truly beautiful.
When formed correctly, a shape of 5 main branches is created. They should be at a distance of 30 cm from each other. 2 years after planting the seedling, you need to carry out the first pruning, leaving 3-4 of the strongest shoots. After this, it is worth pruning every year, leaving the strongest shoots and forming the correct shape of the apple tree.
Correct pruning of the beauty directly affects the yield, since the crown does not become neglected, and the tree has strength; it is less affected by diseases and pests.
Top dressing
The Bashkir beauty tree is fed three times a year. Urea is used for spring feeding. It is dissolved in 10 liters of water in the amount of 2 tbsp. spoons and apply directly to the root.
Summer feeding should consist of complex fertilizers that contribute to the growth of the green crown of the tree.
In the fall, potassium-phosphorus fertilizers are applied so that the tree can prepare for winter. You should not apply nitrogen in the fall, as this prevents the tree from falling asleep and can negatively affect its preparation for cold weather. As soon as the apple tree begins to bear fruit, fertilizing is increased up to 4 times.
Preparing for winter
Final watering is carried out after the entire crop has been harvested. Then we free the soil around the trunk from the layer of mulch and fertilize it so that the tree can prepare for the winter period. It is recommended to wrap the barrel with protective material to prevent mice from gnawing on it. But this must be done strictly after the onset of cold weather, otherwise the tree will not have time to fall asleep.The leaves need to be collected and destroyed, as they can harbor pests and rodents.
Treatment against diseases and pests
The average resistance of the variety to diseases and pests suggests that preventive treatment should not be neglected.
Most often, the apple tree is affected by the codling moth. The Bashkir Beauty apples after the codling moth look like in the photo.
To combat, you should spray the apple tree with Calypso, Napoval, Fastak. If you don’t want to deal with chemicals, you can get birdhouses and use a soap solution to fight aphids.
When the first signs of disease appear, it is also worth treating. The drugs Delan, Skor, Topsin are suitable for this.
Reviews from gardeners
Conclusion
Many gardeners, after reading the description, reviews of planting, and looking at photos of the “Bashkir Beauty” apple tree, become eager to purchase this variety. This is a high-yielding variety that is suitable for both growing in the countryside for families and for industrial gardening farms. Its sweet and sour taste and light aroma will always find fans.
