Apple tree Semerenko takes a worthy place in your garden
For more than a hundred years, the Semerenko apple tree has attracted the attention of domestic gardeners with its yield, unpretentious care and drought resistance. Nevertheless, in order to grow a strong and healthy tree that will delight the owner with high yields, you need to know and follow certain rules.
Apple tree Semerenko: a short description of the variety
Renet Platon Simirenko is a tall tree with a wide and spreading crown:
- The bark of the trunk and branches is gray with a slight orange tint.
- The color of the shoots ranges from deep green to brownish brown.
- The leaf is green, glossy, curved-oval, looks like a boat.
- Fruits are large, light green in color with dense white pulp, sweet and sour taste. The apples are round-flat or conical. Average weight of fruits is 150-200 grams.
The fruits grown in the southern regions usually have a “blush” of a light crimson hue. At temperatures from 0 to +5 ° C, ensuring proper circulation and air humidity of 85%, fruits are stored for up to 6 months.
Today, in central Russia, three types of Semerenko apple trees are cultivated:
- Semi-dwarf. The height of the culture is 4.5 - 5 m. The average life span is 35 years. The first fruits can be expected 5 years after planting the seedling.
- Dwarf. Trees up to 2.5 m high. Life with proper care is 30 years.
- Columnar. The height of the culture reaches 2.7 m. The fruiting period is 10 years.
Blooming of all varieties of culture begins in the second half of spring, more often in mid-May. The harvest time for Semerenko apples begins at the end of September and lasts until the end of October.
Characteristics of the variety
The Renet Semerenko apple tree belongs to a high-yielding, partially self-fertile late-ripening culture. In the process of self-pollination, no more than 11% of ovaries from the total mass of flowering are formed. To increase the number of ovaries, the Semerenko apple tree needs proximity to pollinating varieties, the best of which are recognized as Golden Delicious, Idared. The period of active fruiting begins 4-5 years after planting. When planting seedlings on a dwarf rootstock, fruiting occurs at 3 years. From the age of twelve, the tree develops the ability to bear fruit annually.
Semerenko does not belong to crops with a constant yield. The problem of reducing yields is solved by competent pruning and timely feeding of the crop.
The Semerenko apple tree is characterized by good drought resistance and low frost resistance. Good resistance to low moisture content in soil and air makes it possible to grow the variety in areas with dry climates. Low frost resistance creates preconditions for crown freezing even in the southern regions of the Russian Federation. However, the ability to throw out a large number of shoots allows the tree to completely restore the fruiting process already in the third year after freezing.
Many domestic gardeners ask where Semerenko apples are grown? The culture is grown mainly in the southern regions and the middle zone of the Russian Federation. The apple tree is most widespread in the Caucasus and in the regions of the Volga region.
In Ukraine (the homeland of the culture), the Simirenko variety is grown in the steppe and forest-steppe zones.
The benefits of Semerenko apples
The consumption of Simirenko apples is late autumn, winter and spring. It is during this period in the human body that there is a deficiency of vitamins, micro - and macronutrients.
Regular consumption of apples strengthens tooth enamel, stabilizes blood pressure, stimulates metabolic processes and the work of the endocrine glands. The low calorie content of Semerenko apples allows them to be used in various diets associated with weight loss. Fructose, which is contained in fruits, is absorbed by the human body without the participation of insulin, which makes it possible for people with high blood sugar to consume it. Video about the benefits of apples:
Apple tree Semerenko: planting and care
With the right choice of planting material, proper planting, proper care and the presence of pollinators, the yield from one tree can reach 160 kg.
Landing time and rules
The key to good adaptation of the seedling in the new soil is its competent planting, carried out in accordance with all the rules of agricultural technology. Saplings are planted in spring (early April) or autumn (mid-September - October).
When choosing the time for autumn planting, one should be guided by a simple rule: at least 30 days should remain from the moment of planting to the onset of frost.
Landing scheme:
- diameter of the trunk circle 1 m;
- free space between the near-trunk circles - 2.5 m.
Landing rules:
- Pit preparation. A week before planting the seedling, a hole is dug, 600 mm deep, 1 m in diameter.
- Peg preparation. The support should be at least 2 m high. If wood is used as a peg, then in order to avoid rotting, the support peg should be treated with an antiseptic.
- Soil preparation. The fertile soil layer is mixed with part of the river sand and part of the rotted compost.
- The bottom of the pit should be thoroughly loosened to a depth of at least 200 mm.
A small mound of prepared soil is poured at the bottom of the pit. The seedling is set vertically, the roots are straightened, after which the young tree is covered with prepared soil. You can supplement the pit with a mixture wood ash with rotted manure in a 2: 1 ratio. After planting, the seedling should be tied to the support with a figure-eight knot. Watering one seedling requires 40 liters of water. After watering, the tree trunk circle of the seedling should be mulched.
Seedling care
The correct development of young apple trees of the Simirenko variety is watering, feeding, pruning shoots, combating diseases and pests:
- Young seedlings are watered every 20 days during the entire growing process. Watering rate - 20 liters per tree.
- From the age of three, trees require regular feeding. Autumn - organic and complex mineral fertilizers; in the spring - nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization.
- Proper pruning allows you to thin out the crown, which reduces the risk of disease and contributes to an increase in fruit mass. Pruning is done in the spring (before the buds swell) or in the fall (after shedding the foliage).
To avoid mistakes, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the video of the correct pruning of the Semerenko apple tree:
Diseases of the Simirenko apple tree
Apple trees of this variety are highly susceptible to parasitic infections and fungal diseases such as scab and powdery mildew.
The main means of preventing parasite damage is the timely collection and burning of all fallen leaves and carrion. Whitewashing the trunk and spraying it with insecticides can effectively protect the apple tree from pests.If signs of a fungal infection of the culture appear, it is necessary to carry out the procedure for spraying with fungicides: Euparen or Polycarbacin.
In dry years, it is recommended to re-treat the tree with fungicides 14 days before harvesting to avoid contamination of the crop with scab.