Aprium is a hybrid obtained by crossing apricot and plum. This culture borrowed the best properties from the parental forms, therefore it is popular with our gardeners and summer residents. We learn about all the features of aprium, the intricacies of its planting, cultivation and reproduction.
Breeding history
For a long time, breeders did not manage to cross two popular garden crops - plum and apricot. Floyd Seiger (University of California, USA) was the first to cope with the task in 1989. The hybrid borrowed taste from apricot, and plum from stamina.
Species and popular varieties
In addition to aprium, there are several more hybrids obtained by crossing plum and apricot.
Other hybrid forms:
Breeders have bred many interesting varieties of aprium, differing in terms of ripening, taste, color and size of fruits.
The most famous varieties:
Main characteristics
Taking the best features of two fruit forms, a priori acquired excellent agrotechnical and taste characteristics.
Wood
Aprium is a fast-growing culture. External signs depend on the variety.
Short description:
- low tree - about 2-2.5 m;
- krone - thick, round;
- leaves are small, green, oblong;
- flowers - white, five petals.
Fruit and yield
People often call apriums "bald apricots" or "apricot nectarine". They look like poured apricots, but without the characteristic rough skin. At aprums, it is smooth like a plum.
Aprium fruits are large, spherical. Their characteristics depend on the variety. They can differ in color, taste, weight, and other properties.
Fruit characteristics:
- maximum weight - 70 g;
- average weight - 40 g;
- peel - smooth, thin, with a light wax coating, sometimes there is a slight pubescence;
- coloring - violet, pink, yellow, orange, dark lilac, burgundy, greenish.
The taste can be dominated by both apricot and plum notes. The former look more like plums, the latter apricots. Aprium's pulp is dense and differs from apricots in less juiciness. The fruit often has an orange aftertaste.
The first fruits on a tree appear no earlier than the third year of life. As you grow, crop volumes increase. 30-40 kg of ripe fruits are harvested from one adult tree.
Frost and disease resistance
Aprium compares favorably with thermophilic apricots in high winter hardiness. This hybrid can withstand temperatures as low as –35 ° C. The tree can get damaged during the thaw in winter.
The culture, like any hybrid, has excellent characteristics, and disease resistance is no exception. Aprium has excellent immunity, successfully resists both various kinds of infections and insect pests.
Advantages and disadvantages
Like any hybrid culture, the aprium was created to obtain a tree that surpasses its parents in all respects. That is why aprium has much more advantages than disadvantages.
Pros:
- high productivity;
- excellent taste;
- unpretentiousness and undemanding care;
- high frost resistance - the hybrid is grown in regions where severe frosts are observed in winter;
- high immunity.
Aprium has one minus - there is too much sugar in its fruits, so it is not recommended to use them for some diseases, for example, diabetes.
Landing Features
Apririum prefers areas well lit by the sun and protected from blowing winds. Soils for planting are well-drained, the acidity reaction is neutral.
With a high acidity of the soil, quicklime is added - "fluff". The norm is 400 g per 1 sq. m
It is recommended to purchase seedlings only in specialized nurseries, otherwise the chances of obtaining a varietal hybrid are very scanty.
When choosing a seedling, they pay attention to the condition of its bark and roots, they must be healthy, not dried out, without damage.
Apri landing process:
- Prepare a landing pit 2-3 weeks before planting. If you prefer to plant in the spring, prepare the holes in the fall, then the nutrients are better absorbed into the soil.
The depth of the pit is 80 cm. The width is 80-90 cm. - Place a layer of broken brick or small stones on the bottom of the pit.
- Pour nutritious soil on top of the drainage layer. Prepare it by mixing two buckets of organic fertilizer (humus, compost), 100 g of mineral fertilizer, consisting of 65% phosphorus and 35% potassium.
- Put the seedling in a hole - on an earthen hill. Carefully spread the roots and cover them with the rest of the soil mixture. Fill the hole all the way to the top.
- Water the seedling and tie it to a support with soft twine.
Growing and care
Aprium, although unpretentious, can not see a good harvest without proper care. In order for a tree to meet the expectations of gardeners, it needs certain growing conditions.
Care features:
- Watering. The main problem for the hybrid is drought. He is very sensitive to lack of water. To form large and juicy fruits, the aprium needs regular moisture. You need to water once a week, 10 liters of water per tree.
If there is no artificial irrigation on the site, and droughts are frequent in the region, the hybrid will not produce good crops. The tree needs moderate hydration - moisture stagnation, as well as its lack, are equally harmful to the tree. - Loosening. After each watering, it is recommended to loosen the soil in near-stem circles as soon as it dries out a little.
- Mulching. To reduce the number of irrigation and loosening, and to slow down the growth of weeds, the soil in the trunk circles is mulched. Mulch, rotting, at the same time replenishes food supplies for the tree.
- Top dressing. In the spring, immediately after the snow melts, 30 g of saltpeter per 1 sq. M are added. m. The second time the tree is fed in September - 20 liters of humus are introduced under each tree.
- Pruning. In March, sanitary pruning is carried out. Remove dry, damaged, frozen branches, and also form a rounded crown.
In Russia, the fruits of apririum ripen in early August, they are eaten fresh and widely used in cooking, boiled jams, jams, compotes.
Breeding methods
Aprium is a hybrid, so gardeners do not propagate it by seeds - the resulting planting material does not retain varietal characteristics. This hybrid culture is propagated only vegetatively - by green or lignified cuttings.
Features of reproduction of aprium by cuttings:
- Green. This method is used in the summer. Part of the branch with leaves is separated from the middle part of the shoot. On the handle should be 3 sheets. Cutting is carried out in the morning, so that the branches are saturated with moisture.
Shoots are immersed in a growth stimulator and planted in a nutrient medium. When the cuttings are rooted, they are transplanted to a permanent place. - Lignified. Planting material is harvested during the dormant period. The length of the blanks is 30 cm. Cuttings cut in the fall are stored in the cellar until spring. In the spring, they are planted in boxes of peat or in open ground.
- Air layering. In the summer, they choose a branch on which there is an annual increase. On it make circular cuts - 2 pieces. In the area between them, the bark is removed. The place of damage is treated with a stimulant solution and wrapped in a plastic bag so that there is room for the soil.
In this way, an air layer is grown, which is cut off from a branch and transplanted into a nutrient soil.
A video review of the aprium hybrid can be seen here:
If apricots freeze out in your garden due to low temperatures, plant a cold-resistant variety, or even better, an apriium. It significantly surpasses apricot in frost resistance, therefore stable crops are guaranteed to you.
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Russia. City Novosibirsk
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