Winter apple tree "Bratchud": characteristics and secrets of successful cultivation

Dwarf apple varieties have always attracted the attention of gardeners, because with relatively small trees you can harvest a bountiful harvest. One of the best representatives of this type is the variety "Bratchud", characterized by tasty and juicy fruits, for which you do not have to spend too much energy. How to grow good and strong trees and what you need to know about further care for them - you will know in a few minutes.

Breeding history

The full and original version of the name of the variety - "Brother of the Wonderful", and the abbreviation "Bratchud" appeared a little later. In any case, both names denote dwarf apple trees of the winter ripening period, which were bred by the breeders of the South Ural Research Institute for Horticulture and Potato in Chelyabinsk.

The “parents” of the new variety are the hybrid “Vydubetskoy weeping” apple and a rather complicated form of the hybrid “Ural Winter”. Apple "Bratchud" appeared thanks to the efforts of researchers such as Mazunin N. A., Mazunin N. F. and Putiatin V. I.

In 2002, the variety was successfully zoned.

Despite the fact that the first samples were landed in the areas of the Southern Urals and Siberia, they later turned out to be an excellent option for disembarking in other parts of the Russian Federation, in particular, in different areas of the Altai Territory and areas of the northwestern European part. The tree tolerates frosty winters when temperatures drop to -40 ° C.

Key Features and Features

One of the advantages of this apple variety is the possibility of their long winter storage.

The description of "Bratchud" refers to 140 days of their guaranteed preservation, but only if you immediately after harvest, put the apples in wooden boxes with holes and place them in the basement,where the average temperature is kept at + 10 ... + 15 ° C.

Another feature of the variety, expressed in the requirements for storage conditions, is the intolerance of close proximity to potatoes, so it is worth placing the boxes with cultures in different parts of the basement.

Now let us pay attention to the external features of the trees themselves and their fruits.

Trees

The variety "Bratchuda" is also called "natural dwarfs", with a flat-round crown with a diameter of 2.5-3 m and a height of 2 m (if we are talking about a tree on clonal rootstocks). When using a seed stock, you can grow apples and up to 2.7 m tall.

The color of the bark on the main shoots and shtambe is dark brown, although depending on the growing conditions of the tree it sometimes has a darker or lighter shade. Fruiting is distributed across all fruit branches, including last year's increments.

The young shoots are medium thick, have a greenish-brown color and are characterized by relatively fast growth rates. Oblong-rounded leaves are large, dark green in color, and slight pubescence is clearly visible on the upper part of the leaf plates. The edges of the leaves have a large-crested serration.

Fruit

Bratchud apples are medium in size, slightly elongated and can be ribbed, although the main distinguishing feature of such fruits is the presence of a characteristic side seam, in the form of flat.

The outer surface of the apples is smooth, dry, with a slight glossy sheen and the complete absence of the usual wax coating. Peel - relatively thin.

The color of the fruit of the variety is greenish-yellow, although almost the entire peel of the apple is covered with a diffuse reddish-purple blush. Thick stalk is not very long and placed at right angles. In fully ripe apples, the pulp has a white color, while in unripe it gives off a green tint. The consistency of the middle apple is coarse-grained, not too juicy, sweet-sour to the taste.

Carefully looking at the chemical composition of the fruits of apple "Bratchud", it is easy to see that they have a whole set of useful components: the sum of sugars, titrated acids, ascorbic acid, pectins, soluble solids.

Apples are great for both fresh consumption and processing for jelly, compotes, juices, etc.

The weight of one apple varies between 140-250 g, and about 120 kg of fruits can be collected from one tree. Regular annual fruiting can be expected already in the fourth year after planting.

Rules for the selection and purchase of seedlings

In addition to the general rules for the selection of seedlings (the selection of material without signs of disease, damage, etc.), in the case of dwarf varieties there are several other indicators of the quality of seedlings.

Of course, if you buy a young plant in a nursery, then there is no doubt that the Bratchud variety is in front of you, but if the selection of planting material is carried out in market or fair conditions, then you need to be doubly careful not to buy an ordinary apple tree instead of a dwarf sapling wow.

To exclude such an option, when inspecting a plant, pay attention to the space between the root neck and the stem of the seedling: here there should be a well-marked knee-shaped protrusion on the dwarf rootstock, indicating vaccination.

A two-year-old seedling usually has at least four well-developed branches with large buds on them. For comparison, the dick can observe a lot of sharp branches without a single bud. The root system of a properly selected plant should be formed by a large number of small elastic roots, but it is better to avoid rod-shaped roots, since they indicate that you have a wild apple tree.

Well, if the seedlings sold have certificates of quality - this will be additional evidence of the appropriateness of the purchase.

The choice of space

Before planting apple varieties "Bratchud" it is important to correctly determine the location of the future growth of the tree, because the abundance of the future harvest depends on this.

Like many other dwarf varieties, the described plant prefers elevated and well protected from the wind areas, located in the open sun or in light shade. As for the soil, the most nutritious substrates are ideal, although good fruiting can be achieved when planting in a sandy or clay soil.

Preparatory work

The whole preparation can be divided into two stages: cleaning and processing of the selected area, and later inspection and treatment of the seedling before planting. We will understand the nuances of each of them more closely.

Site preparation

If you are planning a spring planting of apple seedlings of the Bratchud variety, then it is worth doing fertilizer and digging the soil in the selected area in the fall.

To begin with, it is necessary to remove all leaves and the remaining parts of plants from the selected area, and then dig up the soil and add some organic or mineral fertilizers to it (depending on the initial soil composition, the amount of manure used can be adjusted). With the arrival of spring, about a month before planting, the square hole should be dug, 1.5 x 1.5 m in size (approximately the same depth), and put peat or humus on its bottom.

To neighboring plants do not limit the growth of each other, between them leave at least three meters on all sides.

Seedlings preparation

In contrast to the preparation of the site, a similar process associated with the seedlings themselves, is performed immediately before the planting itself, about a day. You need to carefully examine the seedling (especially the root system) and determine its viability.

If the roots are dry, it is advisable to put them in water for 24 hours, although, of course, it would be better if after purchasing the planting material you wrap its rhizome immediately with a damp cloth and land on your site as soon as possible. The roots of a suitable seedling should be cut a little before planting in the soil, which will help to form the lower crown shtambur (the next time the growth is cut off after about a year).

Step-by-step process of planting seedlings

The best time for planting apple trees (and the Bratchud variety is not an exception) is considered to be spring, but this does not mean that you will not be able to plant the acquired seedlings, for example, in the fall.

True, you need to do this before the end of September and the beginning of October, so that before the onset of sustained frost the plant has had time to settle down.

In the autumn, as soon as the trees begin to dive into a state of rest (this usually happens in the beginning or middle of October), you can start organizing a planting place and directly placing a seedling in it.

The upper twenty-centimeter layer of soil from the future pit should be folded to the side, then used to create a nutrient substrate, connecting with 2 buckets of humus (or peat) and adding 600 g of superphosphate and 700 g of wood ash. After thorough mixing, the prepared substrate is poured back into the well, previously driven into the center of the count. As a result, you should have an earthen mound on which the seedling will be located.

At the same time, all the roots of a young plant must be carefully straightened, and then it remains only to cover the pit with the rest of the substrate.

The topmost layer of the mound will be the usual previously abandoned land from the top layer, without any fertilizer. Upon completion of work, the vaccination site should be located three centimeters above the ground level.

After planting, the soil around young plants should be tamped, and departing 0.5 m from the trunk, create a cushion of 15 cm height from the ground. 25-30 liters of water are poured into the near-stem circle, and once it is fully absorbed, the site can be mulched with humus or peat (not more than three centimeters in a layer), but so that they do not touch the tree trunk. The seedling itself must be tied up to a stake.

Planting an apple tree "Bratchud" in the spring (the ground should already be thawed out, but the buds on the trees are still closed), all planting operations are carried out according to the scenario described above, unless during the preparation of the pit in the fall it will not need to be fertilized.

Just hammer in a peg, pile up the soil and place a seedling on it, completing the procedure in the same way as in the first case.

For the convenience of harvesting and well-being of apple trees when planting a garden between adjacent plants should be left at least three meters, and between rows - about four meters of free space.

Seasonal care features

After the planting of the apple of the variety "Brother wonderful" in front of you there will be another important task: to ensure proper seasonal care of the young tree.

This is not to say that this process is too different from similar actions when growing other apples, but you should not forget about the characteristic features.

Soil care

Before the beginning of the fruiting of a young plant, the seedling needs to be watered periodically, but no more than five times a year, pouring in five buckets of water at a time. As soon as the liquid is absorbed, the primer in the circle of the circle needs to be fluffed, not allowing it to harden.

In the process of loosening, which, by the way, can be carried out after the rains, it is useful to remove weeds from the ground, drowning the growth of a still weak tree. In especially hot periods and for the winter, tree trunks mulch, which helps prevent excessive evaporation of moisture and protects the root system from freezing. Peat, sawdust or even mowed grass is suitable for the role of mulch.

Top dressing

If you want to get abundant and high-quality yields of apples, then watering alone will not work. Any plant needs periodic supplements to get the nutrients for its growth and development.

In the case of the Bratchud variety, it will be sufficient to fertilize the soil with organic fertilizers 2-3 times per season: mullein extract, diluted in water in a ratio of 1:10 or infusion of chicken manure, but already mixed with water 1:20.

Three years after planting, a solution of mineral fertilizers can be poured under each tree: for example, in the spring it can be nitrogen-containing or complex compounds.

Preventive treatment

Unfortunately, dwarf apple trees suffer from the same ailments and pests as their tall relatives, so there is nothing surprising in the fact that there are often scars on the trees of the Bratchud variety.

The spores of this disease are easily carried along with the wind, and if you look closely at the leaf plates, you will notice them: usually on the back of the sheet there are oily spots of light green color, which eventually turn brown-olive.

In order to prevent the development of the disease, it is necessary to perform periodic spraying of plants. With the arrival of spring, 3% Bordeaux liquid is used for this purpose, with repetition of the treatment at the budding stage. After harvesting, the tree is sprayed with 5% urea.

In addition, to protect your plantings from diseases and pests will help and autumn processing, which is carried out as soon as all the leaves fall from the apple trees. For spraying using a one-percent solution of Bordeaux mixture or "Nitrafen".

Pruning

For the dwarf "Bratchuda" pruning is needed not only for sanitary purposes, but also for even distribution of fruits and getting rid of weak shoots.

In addition to long withered or damaged branches, the same weak rootstocks are subject to removal, which allows a little thinning of the crown, but the main thing is not to leave completely empty spaces. Gardeners recommend pruning the upper buds of an apple tree so that the middle ones can develop better. Formative pruning of dwarf apple trees is performed twice a year: in spring and autumn.

Protection against cold and rodents

The root system of a dwarf apple "Bratchud" is very close to the surface of the soil, which means it can freeze slightly in cold winters. Therefore, even despite the good winter hardiness of the variety, trees will have to be sheltered for the winter.

Before the cold weather itself (around mid-November), the apple trees are watered again, after which the mulching of the tree trunk is performed. However, if your apple trees grow in areas with high groundwater, then it is better not to conduct such a podzimny irrigation, immediately covering the near-barking circle with a thick layer of compost.

To protect plants from winter frosts and the ubiquitous rodents, you will have to wrap tree trunks with one of the available materials: spruce branches, kraft paper or more expensive roofing felt, roofing boards or reed mats.

In addition, special plastic grids that more reliably shield trees from the annoying attention of fluffy pests do a good job with the task.

If all the rules for growing a dwarf apple tree are observed, the Bratchud variety will delight you with a bountiful harvest of delicious apples, which can be safely kept until spring.That is, even in winter you will always have fresh fruit.