Apple tree Veteran

The most popular fruit tree at the moment is the apple tree, as it is found in gardens and parks. Since childhood, we have been eating the fruits of the apple tree. Arriving at the dacha, most saw the apple tree blooming, and then small fruits appear, becoming more and more every day. It takes very little effort to grow this crop, since it does not require special care and practically develops on its own. But we must not forget about basic care, we need to worry about it, since it is very important. The taste and appearance of the apple tree depends on the basic care work. One of the common varieties is the Veteran apple tree.

Apple tree Veteran: photo

Apple-tree Veteran: history of variety creation

The Veteran apple variety was developed at the All-Russian Research Institute, the American culture of King and an artificial hybrid was crossed. As a result, a new variety was obtained, which was named Veteran. After the appearance of the variety, he had to go through all possible checks, and after passing them he was recorded in the State Register.

In general, the Veteran apple variety was created in order to grow in the Central Black Earth Region, but it spread and got along in other regions.

What are the features of the Veteran apple tree?

The most important feature of the Veteran apple variety is that it is fast-growing, and this is very important for gardeners. It also has a high yield that looks great and has a pleasant taste and aroma.

Note: The Veteran apple variety has a low drought tolerance, so it must be watered. And do it regularly, especially on hot days, when moisture is necessary for all plants. If watering is not carried out on time, the leaves and fruits will begin to fall off too early. That is, the apples may not ripen, but at the same time they already fall off.

Apple tree Veteran: photo

Apple-tree Veteran: variety description and characteristics

The Veteran apple tree belongs to the species of medium height, and also has an average growth rate. Branches and leaves are located at a distance, so the crown does not have a strong density. The tree with branches resembles a ball. Apple tree shoots are usually brown-burgundy in color, foliage is very dull and small in size. The leaf is slightly elongated and looks like an ellipse, since it has a sharpness on one side, and wrinkles on both sides of the leaves.

Fruit

The Veteran apple is of the correct shape, round and medium in size. The shell of the apple is very thick and firm, so the flesh is well protected. There is a small layer of wax on the fruits of the Veteran apple variety, which gives the apple shine and smoothness.

Basically, the apple is yellow, but has small lines and small specks, which can be of different colors: orange, red, green.

Inside, the Veteran apple is also pale yellow in color, the pulp is very soft and juicy, it has a pleasant sweet taste with a slight sourness. Experts estimate the taste of the Veteran apple variety as 8.7-9 out of 10 points, which is quite high.

Harvest amount

The Veteran apple tree belongs to varieties with a high yield, but at the same time, the apple tree yield increases every year. A tree, becoming an adult at the age of 10 years, yields a harvest of 50-70 kilograms, but at the same time, when the plant turns 15 years old, the yield will increase and will be in the range of 80-90 kilograms.

Apples Veteran: photo of the variety

Resistant to frost and disease

The Veteran apple tree is resistant to many diseases, but the scab can infect an apple tree. She appears on it in the summer, when the period of heavy rains comes. The scab begins to infect foliage, branches and shoots, spreading to the entire tree.

The cultivar has a high resistance to frost and severe frosts, but it is still necessary to grow it on a frost-resistant rootstock during cold winters.

Note: Although the Veteran apple variety is frost-resistant, it cannot be planted in a place where cold air stagnates. This will have a bad effect on the apple tree and its fruits.

Usually a tree of this variety can be grown on the site for up to 50 years, but usually it is 30 years. In order for the plant to grow longer on your site, you need to take care of it and insulate it.

Apple tree Veteran: planting varieties

Apple tree Veteran: photo

An apple tree is planted in the spring season before bud break, or in the autumn season 2-3 months before the cold snap sets in for the successful rooting of a young apple tree. Most gardeners love to plant trees in the fall. They believe that in this way the survival rate will be good and fast.

It is recommended to buy Veteran apple seedlings with open roots so that you can inspect the roots from all sides.

It is preferable to purchase planting material that is grown in a climate similar to yours.

A young tree, which was brought from the south, will not withstand replanting and changing climatic conditions.

In addition, it can take years for the apple tree to adapt to colder climates, and the tree will begin to bear fruit much later.

When choosing a planting material, pay attention to its root system. It should be developed, because thanks to this, the tree adapts faster.

The site for planting is selected open and illuminated by the sun, without accumulations of liquid after showers. It is highly discouraged to place an apple tree where underground waters lie close.

Otherwise, it will have a negative impact on the development of the seedling and on its future harvest. It is advisable to choose the soil filled with nutrients, it is good if it is sandy loam or loam.

• Planting progress.

• A pit for planting is being prepared in advance from the autumn season. If planted in the fall, then the hole is prepared thirty days before planting. The size of the hole - width, height and depth are about eighty cm each. The walls of the hole should be vertical. If there is more than one apple tree, then the interval between plants should be about four meters.
• Next, the well is filled with a nutrient substrate. It contains: surface soil layer, compost fertilizer, old rotted manure, humus, half a liter of ash.
• If the soil is clayey, coarse sand is added to it in a one to one ratio. One hundred fifty or two hundred grams of fertilizers (potassium and superphosphate) are added to the composition.
• It is forbidden to add nitrogen and lime, because the roots can get burned.
• The hole is filled with layers of twenty cm. Each layer is well compacted. A hole with a slide is filled.
• Thirty days after the soil subsides, an apple tree is planted. A hole is made in the soil according to the size of the root system of the seedling. A peg made of wood is driven into the middle to tie up the trunk.
• The bottom of the peg is fired in advance to avoid rotting. It should rise seventy cm above the surface of the ground.
• A hill is formed at the bottom of the pit, a seedling is installed on it, the roots are straightened.
• The hole is covered with soil, the seedling is slightly shaken so that the earth fills all the empty spaces that have formed between the roots.
• The soil around the apple tree is compacted, but not too much, otherwise the roots may break.
• The seedling is tied to the peg with a loop in the shape of the number 8.
• The pit is spilled with 2-3 buckets of water, the surface is mulched around the circumference of the trunk with loose earth or humus. Fourteen days later, watering is repeated.

When planting an apple tree of the Veteran variety, make sure that the root collar is five cm above the surface soil layer, not less. The root collar is determined by the transition of the greenish color of the bark to brown.

For the rapid development of the tree, for its health, for further rich harvests, it is necessary to take care of it very well.

Apple tree Veteran: variety care

Apple fruits Veteran: photo

Watering. With proper watering, the yield increases by twenty-five percent, and maybe forty percent. In drought, seedlings and young apple trees are watered with two buckets of water every ten days.

Watering of adult apple trees of the Veteran variety is carried out four times per season. Water for the first time before the leaves begin to bloom. The second watering is done 14 days after the tree finishes blooming. The third watering is carried out 14 days before harvesting the fruits, the last one - on October days.

Dosage of water per apple tree: up to 1 year - about three buckets, at three to five years - five to eight buckets, at six to ten years - twelve to fifteen buckets. Irrigation methods: surface, drip, sprinkling.

Loosening the soil. Due to loosening, air enters the root system, moisture is retained, and the procedure is also an assistant for getting rid of weeds. Loosening of the trunk circle is carried out after each watering, then it is mulched.

Pruning apple tree veteran. It is another component of successful apple cultivation. If you cut the tree correctly in the spring, then thanks to this, the tree can bear fruit earlier.

For the first time, the Veteran apple tree is pruned immediately after planting it in the soil. Young buds should be left at the bottom of the seedling, and the top of the main trunk is cut off.

For plants 2 years old and older, when pruning, leave 2/3 of the length of the branches. And you need to leave the last buds from the outer part of the branches. This is an important nuance to form the correct crown.

In apple trees of the Veteran variety, which bear fruit, part of the branches is cut so that the crown is seventy-five percent smaller in volume. Due to the fact that the crown is thinned out, the way is cleared for the sun's rays to illuminate the apples.

All dried branches are cut off at the same time. Places of cuts should be treated with garden varnish. In young apple trees, this treatment is carried out only twenty-four hours later. The lower branches are not trimmed.

Top dressing. If fertilizer mixtures were introduced into the soil during planting, then in the first 3 years it is optimal to add organic matter early in the spring (rotted manure or compost fertilizer).

If the tree has little green mass in spring, you can re-feed the apple tree in the first summer days. The trees that bear fruit are fertilized with phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen every year in the fall season.

The dose is usually indicated on the packet. If the soil is depleted in nutrients, then after the apple tree has faded, it is recommended to add organic matter.

For this purpose, slurry or poultry manure (solution) is used, which is dissolved in water in a ratio of one to ten. Top dressing is combined with watering and is applied through the ditches that are dug around the trunk circle.

How to prepare a plant for the winter season. Before the first cold snaps, the trunk circle is hilled and mulched with peat, sawdust, humus or compost fertilizer.

To protect the trunk from rodents and hares, it should be tied with spruce branches. For this purpose, reed or parchment is also used (several layers).

In addition, the trunk of a young apple tree is whitewashed with a solution of chalk. Mature trees are whitewashed with lime.

Diseases and harmful insects

Apple tree Veteran: photo

The Veteran apple tree is immune to scab, but the tree can be attacked by a large number of harmful insects.

Pests: goldtail, moth, aphid, honeydew, apple blossom beetle, bark beetle, hawthorn, miner moth, silkworm and others.

Harmful insects significantly harm both the apple tree and the fruits, reducing resistance to frost, immunity to diseases, productivity and quality composition of apples.

To fight your enemies, you need to start with prevention. Cultivate between rows, whitewash the trunks. In the spring, cut off branches, heal wounds, collect carrion, peel old bark. In the spring, spray the near-stem zone and apple trees with specialized preparations (Bordeaux mixture, 3% Nitrafen) in order to destroy harmful insects, their larvae and pathogens.

If pests have attacked, it is necessary to treat the trees with special means. But processing is required in strict accordance with the instructions so as not to harm future fruits.

It is required to process the apple tree with various means no later than thirty days before harvesting the fruits.

The most popular fungal apple infections.

Powdery mildew. All fragments of the tree are covered with a powdery coating of a whitish color.

How to treat: in the spring season, treat the tree with Topaz or Skor, after the tree has faded - with copper-containing agents, after harvesting the fruits - with a solution of Bordeaux mixture.

Cytosporosis. Brown-red ulcers appear on the bark, after which the bark, along with the branches, dies, the death of the apple tree may occur.

How to treat: treat with "Hom" in the spring season, when the buds swell and after the flowering period. Before flowering, it is recommended to process the tree with copper sulfate.

Fruit rot. The apples develop brown spots.

How to treat: collect and destroy the affected apples, treat with "Hom" when the foliage is blooming and after the flowering period.

If the climate of your territory allows, plant a Veteran apple tree on your garden plot. If you care for and pay attention to the apple tree, then it is guaranteed to bring a generous harvest of delicious apples with amazing juiciness.

Apples of the Veteran variety: photo

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would like to say that the Veteran apple variety will grow well in the Central zone of the Russian Federation, as it is suitable for such a climate.

The Veteran apple tree has a very pleasant taste, appearance and long shelf life. The high level of yield and undemanding care prompts the choice of this particular variety.

Apple-tree Veteran: video about the variety