Trimming of apricot in autumn: scheme

Apricot belongs to the Roses family. It can be a small tree or a large shrub with a wide round crown. A prerequisite for growing this crop is the pruning of apricot in autumn, which ensures regular and abundant fruiting.

Description

Apricot as a cultural plant in our country grows in the south and east. It belongs to the stone fruit crops and is a fast-moving light-loving tree. Begins to grow abundantly and lay generative buds a year after planting. Their high precocity ensures the growth of apricot in two or three waves during one season. At a young age the tree has a strong shoot-forming ability, which weakens as it grows up.

Bouquet twigs and spur for 3-5 years bring tasty fruit, the flesh of which is notable for its juiciness and aroma. Crown of apricot branched, with long, thick, flexible branches. In young trees, it has a pyramidal shape. And in old plants - round. With a thickened crown, the tree lacks light, which leads to the drying of the branches and their withering away. This reduces the yield and taste of the fruit. Pruning apricot in autumn will correct the situation. And the tree will please you with its tasty fruits for many years to come.

Why do I need pruning?

Trees of apricot at a young age bear fruit abundantly. If they are not pruned, they will stop regularly yielding, they will be exposed to various diseases, the branches will begin to dry prematurely, and the crown will be unstable. Apricot is not able to normalize its harvest, as fruits are formed from almost all ovaries. As a result, the tree is overloaded. The branches under the weight of the harvest break down and wither. The following year, abundant fruiting can not wait.

Pruning of fruit trees in autumn is necessary in order to ensure the formation of new shoots every year. This will help in the future to maintain a plentiful harvest.

Pruning in autumn

Young tree with good care quickly becomes fruiting. To get a high crop for the next year, you need an autumn pruning of apricot, which will prepare it for a long and cold winter.

• Dry, weak and diseased branches are removed.
• If there is damage to the trunk and branches, they need to be cleaned and covered with var.
• In the presence of diseases and insects, sanitary pruning of apricot is carried out.
• After it, the tree is sprayed with preparations and mineral fertilizers are introduced into the soil for restoration and further growth.

Pruning of fruit trees in autumn is necessary for early and medium varieties. It starts from the middle of October. To restore the growth of the tree, you need a strong pruning. It makes it possible to limit the height of the plant. Autumn pruning does not bother the tree. The injured places on the trunk and branches quickly heal. Fruits become larger, and their number increases.

In this case, a sparse-tiered method is used. The apricot pruning scheme for this type is simple. From a height of 90 cm begin to form the first tier. Choose 3-4 skeletal branches and shorten them by half. The distance between them should not be less than 40 cm. The rest cut out along the ring. The second tier is formed over the first at a distance of 40-45 cm. To do this, take 4-5 skeletal branches. This is carried out for 2-3 years after planting the tree. At this time, you can pinch the main shoots, if they have 12-15 leaves each. The branches are shortened to 50 cm if pruning of apricot is carried out in autumn.

The scheme of the procedure is easy and does not require certain knowledge. Slices are made by disinfected tools and very carefully. It is important not to damage the wood. It should be remembered that fruit bearing branches can not be shortened. Formation of the crown for better fruiting of the apricot occurs within six years. In the future, rejuvenating and, if necessary, sanitary pruning.

Rejuvenating pruning

Very often in cold winters the core of the tree freezes. The ability to bear fruit early does not allow the apricot to get stronger. This depletes it, and the formation of new branches on which the formation of the fetal kidneys occurs ceases. Over time, fruiting deteriorates. To prevent this, it is necessary to rejuvenate the tree.

Trimming of the young apricot begins with the branching of the first or second row. In the case of severe freezing, the entire crown is cut out. In the older trees, branchings of the third or second order are removed. After pruning, there are many knots, the sleeping buds of which will give a large number of shoots. They begin to grow intensively and prevent the formation of the main branches of the crown. Therefore, all thin thin shoots must be removed so that they do not interfere with the apricot to develop fully.

Pruning is best done in early spring, until the trees began to grow actively. In the south of the Far East - from late March to late April, and in the north - from early May. If necessary, the procedure can be repeated in the period of active growth of trees, when frozen branches can be found. In summer, it is necessary to regularly remove shoots from trunks and skeletal branches so that they do not thicken the crown and give the opportunity to pass through the sun's rays. The cut location is cleaned and covered with paint or putty. If the wound is large, a synthetic film is applied to it.

Diseases

Apricot is prone to fungal diseases. The most common of these is moniliosis. It develops in foggy wet weather and affects the tree during flowering. Flowers, leaves and young shoots wither, brown and wither. On ripened fruits, infected with fungus, a gray coating appears, they begin to rot, but do not fall off. This disease is the source of infection of the tree for the next year, if it is not treated. To prevent the outbreak of moniliasis, early in the spring, until the buds dissolve, you need to sprinkle the trees and cut off each branch below the infection boundary and burn it. Trimming the apricot in autumn will completely rid the tree of the disease, and it will easily overwinter.

Pests

Apricot is not susceptible to pest damage. At the slightest suspicion of their appearance, it is sufficient to loosen the earth around the tree and impose a hunting belt on the trunk. Pupae of pests usually hibernate under the waist or in cracks in the trunk. Therefore, in the spring, the belt is removed and burned, and the earth loosens. Larvae have a special feature: if you move them, they immediately die. To protect the apricot from pests, frostbites and sunburns in autumn, the trunk and skeletal branches are lime coated with copper sulphate.

Beneficial features

Apricot is valued for the beneficial properties of fruits, the use of which increases the body's resistance to various diseases. It improves memory, activates the work of the brain, heart and kidneys. Helps with excess weight problems, supports cancer patients.

The use of fruits is recommended for patients with hypertension and anemia. Infusions and decoctions of dried apricots have a bactericidal and diuretic effect, relieve swelling. Seeds of fruits are used to treat bronchitis, asthma, tracheitis, laryngitis, from them produce oil. Apricot juice normalizes the work of the intestines.