How the Antonovka apple tree conquered gardeners

How did the variety type come about?

Antonovka is called the Central Russian variety of apples. It is believed that it appeared in the Kursk province in the 19th century as a spontaneous hybrid of a cultivated and wild apple tree. The variety was first described by N.I. Krasnoglazov. Antonovka began to be considered a variety type, since it combines several varieties that are related to each other.

On the basis of this apple tree, breeders have developed popular varieties: Antonovka sweet, Antonovka one and a half pounds and white. Also, breeders actively crossed it with other apple trees and received many varietal variations.

Video "Tips for caring for the Antonovka apple tree"

In this video, the expert will tell you how to care for the popular Antonovka apple variety.

Varieties

Ordinary

If we are talking about ordinary Antonovka, then many varieties can be included here: Kursk, simple, glassy, ​​waxy yellow, brass, red-eyed. The tree is tall and has a slightly elongated crown directed upwards. The flowers are white, rather large fruits, with a light and sweet pulp with a sour taste.

Gold

Antonovka Zolotaya is one of the new varieties that ripens in late summer. The tree is above average and has a spreading crown. The crop can be harvested at the end of August and until mid-September. The culture is winter-hardy, the fruits appear five years after planting. The apple tree is immune to scab.

The fruits do not last long and do not have a pronounced aroma. Straw yellow fruits are of medium size, although quite large ones are also found. The taste of the fruit is sweet with a slight sourness. Apples have a very juicy pulp.

Dessert

The dessert variety was created by S.I. Isaev by crossing Antonovka ordinary and Pepin saffron, he calls it midwinter. The height of the tree is average, the crown is spherical. On the branches there are slightly wrinkled leaves of a rich green color with denticles along the edges.

When the apple tree blooms, it is covered with large pale pink flowers. Fruits of light green color with a ruddy red barrel weigh about 200 g, have a sweet taste with a slight sourness, fragrant aroma. A minimum of 40 kg is harvested from one tree. With good care, the harvest can reach 120 kg.

Compared to the ordinary Antonovka, these apples are larger and sweeter. As for winter hardiness, this variety will be weaker. The tree begins to bear fruit within three years after planting. If you plan to plant several apple trees of this variety in your garden, then the distance between them should be about 6 m, since the tree loves space.

Main characteristics

Tree height and crown diameter

The fruit tree has a height of 6–10 m. Skeletal branches first rise upward, and then grow to the sides, forming an oval crown, which becomes spherical as it ages. It is during this period, when the shoots grow, that the tree begins to bear fruit. The bark of Antonovka is brown.

The leaves are bright green at the base, round, turning into oval. The edges of the leaves are decorated with denticles. The petioles are short, the stipules are rather large. The leaves are attached to the twigs at an angle of 90 °.In the spring, large, snow-white, sometimes with a pinkish tint, saucer-shaped flowers with petals tightly adjacent to each other appear on the branches.

Pollinators

Apple trees of other varieties can act as pollinators. If you plant in the garden together with Antonovka an ordinary apple-tree Anis, Welsey, Pepin saffron, then the yield of Antonovka will be much higher.

Fruiting and fruit size

As for the description of the fruits: apples are large, round, yellow-green in color, a golden hue appears during storage. The peel of apples is smooth. Fruits are ribbed in the lower part, the calyx is closed, the subasculum tube has the shape of an inverted cone. The apples taste sweet and sour, juicy, with a pronounced smell. Fruits, depending on the variety, can be medium-sized and large.

The variety is considered to be early winter and brings large yields. The fruits sit tightly on the branches and do not crumble. In the twentieth of September, they begin to harvest. Like all winter varieties, apples are 3-4 months old and every day they become more and more delicious. The fruits are very healthy. They contain pectin, ascorbic acid, tannins and other beneficial elements.

Excellent compotes, jams, juices are made from apples. And what delicious fruits are obtained if they are salted in a barrel, and even with cabbage - you just lick your fingers! And in winter, such pickles are a source of vitamin C.

Winter hardiness and disease resistance

Antonovka is a winter-hardy variety. But as for the young, then for the winter it needs to be mulched with horse humus. With good care, the fruit crop has a high immunity to disease.

Growing rules

Antonovka not only looks beautiful (as in the photo), it is still not difficult to grow it.

You can plant a tree in the garden in spring and autumn. In the first case, this must be done before budding on the tree, and in the second, a couple of months before the onset of cold weather. It is best to plant a fruit crop in the fall, but here you need to pay attention to the type of soil. If this is black soil, then the conditions will be optimal, if any other type, then it is better to postpone planting until the spring.

The place must be sunny, otherwise the fruits will be less sweet, and the yield will be lower. The soil should be moist, but there should be no stagnant water. In this case, the gardener should consider a drainage system. As for the groundwater level, it should be within 2–2.5 m from the surface. The soil should not have a high level of acidity and have a high aeration coefficient. Lime can be added to acidic soil. The best option for an apple tree is loamy and sandy loam soils.

Have you decided to plant a crop in the spring? Then the soil should be prepared in the fall. The site should be dug up and fertilized. In the fall, you need to prepare the landing pits. The size depends on the size of the roots and the composition of the soil. On impoverished lands, you will still need to add a substrate that will help the plant develop for the first few years. When digging a hole, lay the top layer to one side and the bottom to the other. Usually the upper one is more fertile, and it is this that must be used for planting Antonovka.

Seedlings should be carefully examined, check if they are frozen. To do this, you need to cut the seedling. If the tissue is brown or yellow, then the seedling is frozen, and it can be planted only after pruning the roots to tissues intact by frost. If you find that the root system is dry, then the seedling should be soaked in water for a couple of days. Special preparations to stimulate growth can accelerate root growth.

When preparing the holes, the distance between the trees should be 3-4 m, and the row spacing should be 5-6 m. Pour the substrate into the prepared hole and drive in the pegs. Loosen the nutrient mixture and pour it near the peg, and place fertile, unfertilized soil on top. Pour the same substrate under the roots during planting.

The seedling is placed in a hole so that the root collar rises 10 cm above the surface.Fill the roots, compact the earth with your foot, make a roller along the border of the hole and pour water into the hole in the amount of two buckets per one apple tree.

For the first 7 years, weed every time after watering. In spring and autumn, digging up the soil in the near-trunk circle, fertilizers should be applied and mulched with sawdust.

Fertilizers are applied 3 times a year:

• after the snow has melted;
• before flowering;
• before the appearance of fruits.

Chlorophos is used to protect against the moth. The first time, pruning is carried out in the second year, and then the procedure is repeated regularly. Saplings on a dwarf rootstock are undersized and easy to cut.

For the winter, the trees are spud and mulched, the trunk is tied with sacking. A net or spruce branches will protect from mice.