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Apple tree Sunshine is a variety of selection, which cannot be called outstanding or unique. Nevertheless, it has been popular with gardeners for two decades, despite the constant appearance of serious “competitors” on sale. The yield of the tree is consistently high, apples are distinguished by good “consumer properties”, especially complex and time-consuming care is not required.
The story of
Apple tree Sun is a variety created by nature itself, the result of “spontaneous” pollination. The seedling appeared in the early 80s of the last century in the collection garden and attracted the attention of specialists from the Research Institute of Fruit Crops Breeding.
It took more than 15 years to “fix” varietal characteristics. In 1997, this organization filed an application for official registration of the variety. The necessary tests stretched out for four years, since 2001 the Sunshine apple tree has been listed in the State Register of Breeding Achievements.
Description of the apple tree Sunshine
Many gardeners choose the Sunshine apple tree, focusing on the small dimensions of the tree. This variety is suitable even for household plots with a “classic” area of six acres.
tree appearance
The tree grows up to a maximum of 3,5 m in height. More often, this indicator is limited to 2,5-3 m. The crown of the Sun apple tree is not too thickened, rounded. Leaves with a “wrinkled” surface.
The shoots will droop as they grow, often the branches of an adult apple tree hang almost to the ground, but they rarely break under the weight of the crop.
Description of fruits
The fruits are one-dimensional (weighing about 170 g), slightly elongated, with a few “ribs”. Often there are specimens with a “bevel” on one side.
The skin is thin and elastic, moderately strong, with a few, but large and well-marked subcutaneous points. As the apples ripen, it changes color from light green to pale yellow. But this shade is almost completely hidden by a “vague” raspberry-crimson “blush”.
To the touch, the skin of ripe fruits seems to be oily, there is a slight glossy sheen
Characteristics of the apple variety Sunshine
Experts estimate the “presentation” of fruits higher than taste – by 4,8 points. The description of apples of the Sun variety and the photos taken by gardeners confirm their presentability. However, not only an attractive “appearance” contributes to sustainable popularity.
Palatability
The pulp is creamy white, fine-grained on the cut, very dense and juicy, crispy. The aroma is pronounced, typically “apple”.
The taste is sweet, but not insipidly sugary, with a well-defined “balancing” refreshing sourness. It was rated 4,3 out of five by professional tasters, but many gardeners who have tried the fruit agree that it deserves better.
The timing of the ripening of the apple tree Sunshine
Based on the fruit ripening period, the Sun is classified as a winter apple tree. Depending on the climate in the region and the weather in summer, the harvest can be harvested from mid-September to early October.
Productivity
The “official” yield of the Solnyshko apple tree, demonstrated during variety trials, is 128 centners per hectare. According to this indicator, the variety chosen as the reference one turned out to be unable to “compete” with it (the difference was 85 c/ha).
Amateur gardeners can count on 80-120 kg of apples per season from an adult tree. When grown on an industrial scale, the yield increases to 170-200 kg.
The first fruits can be tasted 6-7 years after planting (the tree is considered medium-fruited). The “peak” of fruiting begins at 8-10 and lasts up to 20 years.
The period of “productive life” of the Sunny apple tree is 25, maximum 30 years
Frost resistance
In terms of frost resistance, the Sunshine apple tree is comparable to the Antonovka variety well known to gardeners for a long time. It successfully or with minimal damage survives winters with colds down to -35-40 ° C, especially if there is a fairly dense snow cover.
Trees affected by frost are fully restored during the next season. In the future, this fact does not affect the yield.
Apple Pollinators Solnyshko
Apple tree Sunshine belongs to the category of self-fertile varieties. Without “outside help” the percentage of “setting” of fruits is a maximum of 20-25%. Trees planted nearby that bloom at the same time significantly increase the yield:
- Antonovka ordinary;
- Orlik;
- The memory of a warrior;
- Imrus;
- Moscow pear.
Growing regions
Officially, the Sunshine apple tree is recommended for cultivation only in the North Caucasus. However, the experience of gardeners shows that it successfully adapts to the temperate climate of central Our Country, and to more severe conditions.
The Sunshine apple tree is quite popular among gardeners in the former Soviet republics. It has long “taken root” in the territory of Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Kazakhstan.
Resistance to diseases
The tree has an “innate” immunity to scab. Other fungal diseases are also extremely rare for him, even in the absence of preventive treatments with fungicides.
Scab immunity is due to the presence of a special gene
Pests do not have a special “love” for trees of this variety. But in the event of “mass” attacks on the garden, the side of the apple tree Sunshine will not be bypassed. Therefore, prevention cannot be neglected here.
Advantages and disadvantages
The height and appearance of Sunshine apple trees varies slightly depending on whether they are dwarf, semi-dwarf, or columnar. She also has a variety-“clone” Orlovsky.
Fruits from apple trees Sunshine are suitable for any home-made preparations, after heat treatment, the characteristic refreshing sourness in taste is preserved
Pros:
- general “stress resistance”, endurance in relation to any negative external influences;
- very high winter hardiness;
- good transportability and keeping quality of fruits;
- small dimensions of the apple tree, a relatively sparse crown, which facilitates the process of care and harvesting;
- “friendly” and annual fruiting;
- close to the record yield, especially considering the small size of the apple tree;
- “Innate” immunity to scab, resistance to other fungal diseases;
- presentable appearance, one-dimensionality of apples;
- balanced sweet-sour taste, the versatility of the purpose of the fruit
Cons:
- average fertility;
- sensitivity of apples to mechanical damage;
- the need for preventive treatments against pests;
- low “setting” of fruits without the “help” of pollinating varieties;
- tendency to shed quickly after full maturation.
Planting an apple tree Sunshine
The right choice of a place for an apple tree The sun has a positive effect on both the volume of the crop and the quality of the fruit. The tree needs:
- good illumination (drafts and gusts of wind do not harm the apple tree);
- a substrate that is both breathable and quite fertile;
- acid-base balance of the soil, close to neutral.
The tree reacts most negatively to a “heavy” substrate (clay, peat), as well as to constant waterlogging of the soil. The latter is facilitated by groundwater, which lies less than a meter below ground level and landing in the lowlands, at the foot of the hills. It is there that melted, rainwater, cold damp air constantly stagnates.
With a lack of light, the fruits become smaller, the taste deteriorates significantly.
You can plant the Sunshine apple tree both in spring and autumn. The gardener determines the timing based on the climate and personal preferences. The approximate dimensions of the landing pit are 50-60 cm in depth and in diameter.
The hole is always dug and filled with a mixture of soil with humus and fertilizers in advance, allowing it to “stand”. When planting in the fall, 2-3 weeks are enough, if the procedure is planned for the spring, the pit is left for the winter. Directly planting an apple tree Sun does not have any fundamental differences from a similar procedure for seedlings of other fruit and berry crops.
Immediately after planting, it is recommended to cut off the existing side shoots and mulch the trunk circle.
Care Tips
The Sunny apple tree does not need specific labor-intensive care. It can be limited to standard agrotechnical measures:
- Watering. The tree tolerates “drought” better than constant waterlogging of the soil. If the soil turns into a “swamp”, the roots cease to function normally, which negatively affects the yield. In the absence of rain, an adult tree is watered every 10-12 days, in extreme heat – every 5-7 days.
- Loosening and weeding. If the trunk circle is not covered with mulch, the soil is loosened after each watering, 2-3 times a month, combining this procedure with weeding. The presence and timely updating of the mulch layer allows not only to abandon these events, but also to water the Sunshine apple tree less often.
- Top dressing. Despite the high yield, the tree does not need large doses of fertilizers. Top dressing is applied according to the standard scheme: shortly after the “awakening” of leaf buds (nitrogen), before flowering, during the formation of ovaries and 2,5-3 weeks after harvest (complex preparations).
- Preparing for winter. Due to the high frost resistance of an adult apple tree, the Sun can be limited to cleaning the trunk circle from debris, updating the mulch layer and whitewashing the trunk. For the first winter, seedlings are prepared more carefully, providing thermal insulation with the help of special covers, home-made “huts”, covering material.
- preventive treatments. To protect against pests, both folk remedies and other drugs are used. Preventive treatments are carried out at the peak of insect activity, when the weather is favorable for them for a long time, as well as during “mass” attacks on the site.
- Pruning. The variety does not differ in high growth rates and a tendency to thicken the crown, so you can limit yourself to sanitary pruning in spring and autumn.
Autumn moisture-charging watering is an important stage in preparing for winter
Collection and storage periods
The fruits of the Sunny apple tree reach technical ripeness from mid-September to early October, depending on the climate in the region and the “good luck” of the weather during the season. The variety is distinguished by “friendly” and massive ripening of apples.
They are sensitive even to minor mechanical damage, so the harvest from the Sunshine apple tree is harvested manually, preserving the stalks. You need to act carefully so as not to “disturb” the fruits on neighboring branches: at the stage of full maturity, they are prone to shedding.
The minimum shelf life of fruits from the Sunny apple tree is 2,5-3 months. However, you can extend it until the end of winter, if you provide them with optimal conditions:
- temperature 5-8 ° C;
- air humidity 75-80%;
- good ventilation;
- lack of light.
Apples are stored in any container that allows air to pass through. They are put into boxes or boxes in 1-2 layers and “isolated” from each other, sprinkled with sawdust, wood shavings, scraps of newsprint, sand. Once every 2-3 weeks, the fruits are sorted out, getting rid of specimens that have begun to deteriorate.
Fruits, even with minimal mechanical and other damage, are not suitable for long-term storage.
Conclusion
Apple tree Sun – a variety of winter or late autumn ripening. Among its main advantages are “innate” immunity to scab, annual fruiting and stable yields, little dependent on the vagaries of the weather. These qualities, coupled with a balanced taste and a presentable appearance of the fruit, make the variety interesting not only for amateur gardeners, but also for professional farmers.
Reviews of gardeners about the apple tree Sunshine
