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Getting acquainted with different varieties of apple trees, you often get the feeling that you want to plant them all in order to fill the garden to the full with a variety of shapes, colors, tastes. However, you often have to choose between released varieties and those that do not require careful care. To expand the list of varieties of fruit trees that are undemanding to care, in this article we will talk about the Orlovim apple variety.
Description and characteristics
“Orlovim” is one of the late summer varieties that was bred at the All- Research Institute by crossing “Antonovka ordinary” with a seedling of summer ripening SR0523. Scientists Serova, Sedov and Zhdanov were engaged in breeding and creating a new variety.
A distinctive feature of “Orlovim” is the incredibly high resistance to scab, which is provided by the Vm gene.
The Orlovim apple tree grows medium-sized, up to 5 meters in height, with a medium thickened crown, which is sometimes round, and sometimes broom-shaped. Skeletal branches are rarely located, at right angles to the trunk, often curved. The trunk and branches are covered with light brown bark with pronounced peeling. Shoots are formed thin, rich brown in color, covered with rare small lenticels. The leaves of the tree of this variety are not very large, wrinkled, light green in color with a yellow tinge. Veins are almost non-existent. On the edges of the foliage is wavy, small-grained. The tree blooms with large pale pink buds, shaped like saucers, with boat-shaped petals.
An apple tree of medium size bears fruit with apples weighing up to 170 grams. The fruits are one-dimensional, flat conical in shape with little pronounced ribbing. The skin is smooth and glossy to the touch. The main color of apples is green, but when ripe it becomes light yellow. The integumentary color occupies almost the entire area of uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe apple, manifesting itself as a blurry red blush or rich red stripes. The seed chambers inside the apple are half open. The pulp is cream-colored, dense, incredibly juicy, sweet and sour in taste with a persistent strong aroma.
The chemical composition of apples also deserves a separate description. 100 grams of pulp accounts for:
- 10% sugar;
- 10 mg of ascorbic acid;
- 0,8% titratable acids;
- 14% pectin;
- 186 mg of P-active substances.
Orlovim apples ripen at the end of August. At the same time, caution should be exercised during harvesting – when falling, the fruits can split and this reduces their shelf life.
It will not be possible to preserve the fruits for a long time, they retain their commercial qualities for only 4 weeks. That is why apples are often used to make compotes, jams, marmalades or marmalades.
Trees enter the fruiting phase as early as the 3rd year of growth in the garden. At the same time, the yield increases every year. So, an 8-10-year-old tree produces up to 80 kilograms of fruit, a 15-18-year-old tree – up to 100 kilograms from one tree. In addition, the description cannot do without mentioning the high resistance of the apple tree to low temperatures, since it can survive the mark of -35 ° C. Also, the variety has good resistance to scab.
History of breeding
As already noted, the variety was bred at the All- Institute of Breeding back in 1977 after crossing “Antonovka ordinary” with seedling SR0523. Initially, the variety was developed and zoned for central Our Country, but over time, the regions suitable for cultivation expanded to the Central regions. Given the high winter hardiness of the variety, it can also be grown in regions with short critically low temperatures.
Growing geography
Taking into account the resistance to scab and other fungal diseases, as well as good winter hardiness, “Orlovim” is suitable for cultivation in the Central and Central regions of Our Country, as well as almost throughout Belarus. That is, as the description says, an area with a moderately cold climate and rare drops in air temperature, down to -40-45 ° C, is ideal for growing apple trees of this variety.
Planting and care
Planting a variety is not much different from planting other varieties of apple trees. You will need a well-lit area in which groundwater does not lie close to the surface. These two requirements can be considered key, since the final sweetness of the fruit depends on the amount of light, and the health of the tree depends on the stagnant moisture.
For planting, a breathable soil is suitable that passes water well, that is, all variations of loamy, sandy and floodplain soil with neutral acidity. You will need a hole about 90-110 centimeters deep, and the width is the same as the roots of the seedling. Fill it with a mixture of soil, humus, superphosphate, potassium and ammonium nitrate, sprinkle with ordinary soil. Straighten the roots and place the seedling in the hole so that the root neck is 5 centimeters above ground level. Thoroughly backfill and tamp the soil around the roots of the seedling, and then water it liberally.
“Orlovim” also does not require specific care. Of course, in the early years, careful and regular watering, weeding and mulching of the trunk circle are necessary. It is not necessary to loosen the soil after watering and rains, but it is highly desirable – this way you provide oxygen access to the roots, which has a positive effect on the growth of the tree.
For the winter, even though frost-hardy, young trees should be insulated to help them cope with growth.
In the spring, it is necessary to carry out preventive pruning of old, dried, frozen branches, as well as remove the old bark. It is recommended to whitewash the trunks with garden lime, as well as treat the trees with fungicidal and insecticidal preparations of complex action.
Diseases and pests
As a preventive measure for fungal diseases, the Orlovim apple tree must be sprayed with special preparations: Zircon, Topaz – from fungal diseases, preparations based on karbofos – from insects. They do this several times a year.
The first treatments fall on the period before bud break, while using chemicals or a solution of copper sulphate mixed with urea. The second spraying should be carried out before flowering with the same composition.
The next spraying (Bordeaux liquid or karbofos solution) is carried out during flowering in order to destroy insect clutches (for example, aphids or apple moths). Repeat spraying with Bordeaux liquid after 25 days.
The last spraying (anabasine solution) is carried out shortly before harvesting in order to level the remnants of insect colonies, as well as to protect the tree from fungal spores.
Video “Harvest of apples of different varieties”
Watch a video about different varieties of late summer apples.
