A great apple variety in your garden
Apple trees of autumn ripening period, the harvest of which is well stored, are especially popular among gardeners in central and northern Russia. Apple variety Shtrifel is known under the second name "Autumn striped", and we love it for the excellent taste of juicy fruits, winter hardiness and good yield.
Origin and description
In the USSR, the apple tree was entered in the state register under the name "Autumn stripe", now the name "Autumn striped" is more common.
The Shtrifel variety is recommended for cultivation in the North-West region, the Central regions and the Moscow region, the Middle belt, Belarus. The tree perfectly tolerates frosty winters, forms a crop even in cool rainy summers.
Description of the appearance and characteristics of varietal characteristics
The Autumn Striped tree has strong vigor. An adult apple tree reaches a height of 7-8 m. Its crown is spherical at a young age, over the years it acquires a domed shape. The main skeletal branches bend towards the ground under their own weight.
The variety is characterized by natural thickening of the crown with young shoots, which leads to a gradual decrease in yield. To avoid this, excess shoots are cut out annually.
Shtrifel's foliage is large. The leaf plate is curved in an arcuate manner, the outer part is rough, the seamy side has small villi. The color is light green; clear reddish veins are visible on the upper side of the leaf.
The Streyfling apple variety begins to bloom and set fruits after 8 years of age.
The apple tree needs a pollinator, as it is self-fertile. Welsey, Antonovka, Papirovka, Slavyanka were recognized as the best varieties for this role.
Apple Autumn striped has a regular spherical shape and weighs from 100 to 220 g. Fruit weight depends on a number of factors (weather, soil fertility, crown formation, tree age). The largest apples are obtained from trees, 12-18 years old, growing on fertile soil. So that the fruits do not shrink on old trees, they carry out regular anti-aging pruning.
A ripe apple is tinted greenish-yellow. The entire surface of the fruit is densely covered with pink-crimson stripes and strokes. The better the sun shines on the apple, the brighter its red blush will be. The inside of the fruit has a yellowish tint.
The taste of the fruits of the Strifel variety is pleasant sweet and sour, with a wine aftertaste. Apples are characterized by high juiciness, so the fruits are actively used for forcing juice. You can keep the harvest fresh for 2-2.5 months.
The time for harvesting apples Autumn striped begins in the last decade of August - September. The average yield is 250 kg per tree growing on its own roots. If the variety is grafted onto a dwarf seedling, 10-20 kg are removed from one plant.
How much the apple variety Strifel is resistant to disease and cold
According to the collected data, the Shtrifel apple tree successfully hibernates at temperatures down to -33 degrees.In frost, below 34 degrees, fruit buds and thin shoots freeze. Over the next couple of years, the tree regains its yield.
The probability of damage to apple flower buds by spring frosts is low due to the late flowering time.
Apple variety Strifel is resistant to bacteriosis and moderately resistant to scab. To protect against other diseases, preventive treatments of the garden with fungicides and insecticides are carried out.
How the apple variety Strifel is grown
Among other varieties of apple trees, Autumn striped is unpretentious. But in order to obtain a stable harvest of healthy clean apples, it is necessary to adhere to the rules of agricultural cultivation.
Placing in the garden
Apple trees on their own roots (not grafted) are planted at an impressive distance from each other, keeping in mind the size of an adult tree. The diameter of the Shtrifel crown reaches 8 m, its density does not allow planting shrubs and vegetables in the root zone of the tree. The optimal distance between seedlings of Autumn striped is 9-12 m.
In the garden where the Strifel tree is planted, it is recommended to place 2-3 seedlings of other apple varieties to obtain cross-pollination.
Modern gardeners are increasingly refusing to plant vigorous self-rooted apple trees because of the saving of the area of the site. Cuttings of varietal plants are grafted onto semi-dwarf and dwarf rootstocks, which can be planted at a distance of 1.5-2.5 m from each other. The height of such trees is limited to 3 m. For semi-dwarfs, early fruiting is characteristic - by 4 years, versus 8 years of waiting for a harvest in a vigorous tree. As a result, a low (no more than 20 kg) yield from one tree is compensated by an increase in the total yield per plot area and early maturity.
For the Autumn striped rootstock they use: Red-leaved Paradizka (for the southern regions), M9, MM106, M4 (for the middle lane).
Planting seedlings
Traditionally, the laying of an apple orchard begins in spring or autumn, although summer planting is also permissible. The exact timing of planting depends on the climate of the area where the site is located.
Spring gardening is practiced in northern regions where autumn is short and rainy. A seedling placed in the ground at the end of August - September may not have time to take root before the arrival of cold weather, and will die.
In the southern regions, on the contrary, autumn planting is encouraged. By September, the summer heat subsides, it rains, and the weather is comfortable for plants until November.
In the summer, you can plant apple trees growing in a container. The seedling will successfully take root, provided the trees are shaded from the scorching sun, watering and spraying the crown with water.
Apple trees Shtrifel grafted on a dwarf and semi-dwarf stock are recommended to be planted in the spring and in the first half of summer.
Preparation of soil and planting holes
Apple trees of the Osennee striped variety do not impose strict requirements on the quality of the soil. Special attention is paid only to the depth of the groundwater. If the seedling is own-rooted (vigorous), then it is planted in an area with a groundwater level of 2.5 m and below. For grafted dwarf plants, the location of water at a depth of 70-80 cm is permissible.
Experienced gardeners recommend starting the digging of the planting pit a month and a half before planting. Its size depends on the size of the seedling root system + 30 cm. The approximate size of the holes is 50 (width) by 70 cm (depth).
Layers on the bottom of the pit:
- drainage from broken brick, crushed stone or expanded clay - 25 cm;
- a mixture of humus (biohumus), forest soil, 60 g of superphosphate, 2 glasses wood ash - 2 buckets.
Separately, near the pit, clean fertile soil is poured to fill the roots of the plant.
Planting an apple tree seedling Shtrifel step by step with a photo:
- Before planting, it is recommended to soak the roots of the apple tree in a disinfectant solution. To destroy the infection, potassium permanganate, Fitosporin, Maxim are added to the water. The seedling is kept in the solution for 30-40 minutes.
- The seedling is lowered into the center of the pit and placed on the fertile mixture poured earlier. The roots are straightened, making sure that their tips do not bend up.
- The roots of the Autumn striped apple tree are covered with soil, leaving the graft on the surface. The soil is pressed tightly to the roots, carefully trampled underfoot.
- An earthen roller, 15 cm high, is poured around the planting pit. It will prevent the spread of irrigation water.
So that the young tree grows evenly and does not break from gusts of wind, at the same time as the seedling is immersed in the hole, a strong stake is driven into the same place. The trunk of the seedling is not tightly tied to the support with a soft tape.
Apple tree care Shtrifel from the moment of planting a seedling
After planting the seedling, it must be watered abundantly. Consume at least 2 buckets of non-chlorinated water. Re-moisten the soil as it dries. So that a crust does not form on the surface of the earth, the soil must be loosened to a depth of 3-5 cm.
Most gardeners use tree trunks mulching and row spacing in an apple orchard.
Mulching a circle near the trunk with straw or hay cutting, chopped up tree bark, and large shavings allows the ground under the shelter to retain moisture longer after watering. Under the shelter, earthworms actively reproduce, weeds do not germinate. The thickness of the mulching layer must be at least 15 cm.
Mulching seedlings during autumn planting allows young plants to winter more successfully.
Tinning is the seeding of lawn or field grasses in order to drive out weeds and maintain soil moisture. In the orchard, white clover, wild bent, fescue, mint and other fast-growing herbs are sown. Their roots form a superficial turf, preventing growth weeds... The greens are periodically mowed, leaving it as mulch.
Before the beginning of winter, the trunks and skeletal branches of the apple tree are covered with whitewash. It is necessary to protect the tree bark from sunburn and frostbites.
To prevent the whitewash from being washed off by rains, PVA glue is added to the lime paste. In February - March, the whitewash can be updated.
If there are a lot of rodents on the site, you can protect the young garden from mice using plastic bottles. The bottle is trimmed so that an even cylinder remains. Having cut the plastic lengthwise, the cylinder is put on the barrel and secured with a rope. The trunk should be protected above the snow mark.
In the spring, young seedlings are examined for damage. If the bark has cracks, sores and wounds, they are cleaned out to healthy wood. The wound is covered with garden varnish based on resin. Instead of var, you can use a mixture of clay and mullein, the "compress" is fixed to the trunk with strips of cotton cloth.
Top dressing
Apple variety Shtrifel needs two additional fertilizing per season, starting from the second year of cultivation:
- In the spring, in April - early May, the tree is fed with nitrogen fertilizer. Nitrogen is necessary for the growth of young shoots and greenery. Use an aqueous solution of urea (50 g per 10 l of water) or nitroammofoska (40 g per 10 l). For a young seedling, 20 liters of nutrient solution is enough, a fruiting tree needs from 3 to 6 buckets of dissolved fertilizer. It is possible, immediately after the snow melts, to mulch the near-stem circle of the plant with rotted manure (horse or mullein), spending 3-4 buckets. With rain and irrigation water, nutrients will gradually go into the soil, feeding the roots.
- In September, it's time for the garden to prepare for wintering. The trees are fed with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers, which promote the maturation of the wood and the root system. Apply superphosphate 50 g per 10 l and potassium sulfate 30 g per bucket of water. The amount of top dressing is the same as for spring application.
When feeding an adult tree, it is convenient to pour the nutrient solution into holes pre-drilled around the crown circumference. Their depth is 20-30 cm, diameter is 3-5 cm.
How the apple variety Shtrifel is pruned
Apple tree varieties Autumn striped like no other variety needs regular formative pruning. The tree begins to form as early as 2 years after planting. If the seedling is own-rooted, its crown is made cupped or spherical. If the variety is grafted onto a dwarf rootstock, the crown of the apple tree is shaped like a column.
In addition to formative, there is also sanitary pruning. Every spring, sick, damaged and weak shoots are removed from the tree.
Spring cutting of an apple tree Shtrifel is carried out in March, before the start of sap flow. In the fall, the tree is pruned in October.
Pest control and disease prevention
Apple trees are exposed to the invasion of aphids, weevils, apple moth, flower beetle, scale insects, moths, ticks. Most often, old trees with damaged bark and untreated diseases are affected. The spread of pests is facilitated by overgrown weeds in the garden.
To protect the garden from pests, the crown is sprayed and sticky trapping belts are installed on the trunks. The belts reliably protect the plant from ants that carry aphids from tree to tree.
Against flying insects, apple trees are treated with: Inta Vir, Permethrin, Deltamethrin. Processing is carried out 2 times per summer, at the beginning of the season and in the middle (or at the end of summer for young trees). It is forbidden to use these drugs later than 2 weeks before harvest.
More gentle pest control measures that do not negatively affect the harvest: an aqueous solution of fir, garlic, mint oils. By installing feeders with food for birds, sparrows, jays, thrushes and other birds - natural enemies of insects - are attracted to the garden.
Autumn striped apple trees can suffer from viral and some fungal diseases. Correct agricultural technology, together with preventive treatments, will save the garden from infection.
Starting with bud break, trees are sprayed with preparations: HOM, Abiga Peak, Bordeaux mixture 1%. Treatments are carried out 3 times over the summer: in spring, before flowering and after leaf fall.
It is important to remove all fallen leaves and apples - volunteers in autumn, so that plant debris does not become a haven for wintering pests and fungal spores.
Apple variety Shtrifel - harvesting and storing
Streyfling apples begin to ripen at the end of August in the southern regions and in September in the north. The ripeness of the fruit is indicated by the appearance of gloss on the skin and the coloring of the seeds in a dark brown color.
For storage, the fruits are removed from the tree, preventing them from falling to the ground. If it is difficult to remove apples from a large apple tree with your hands, fruit pickers are used. The simplest design is a cut-off plastic bottle attached to a long pole.
For storage:
- Apples that look healthy, not broken, are selected.
- They are placed in picture or wooden lattice boxes, sandwiched with thick paper or dry straw, sawdust of deciduous trees. The fruits should not touch each other.
- The fruits laid in this way are harvested in the storage, where the temperature is +2 +4 degrees and the air humidity at 70%. The shelf life under such conditions is 2.5 months.
During storage, apples emit ethylene gas into the space. It promotes accelerated ripening and quick deterioration of vegetables. Therefore, apples are not stored together with potatoes, carrots, beets and other products.
You can store some of the harvested crop in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks by folding the fruits in a plastic bag. Autumn striped apples are an excellent unpretentious variety that can be grown in small gardens, thanks to the dwarf rootstock.