Description of the Canadian Macintosh apple variety

Description of the variety

Here "Macintosh" is considered an autumn variety. Its fruits ripen in the second half of September. It is zoned for the North Caucasus and the Lower Volga region, known under the names "Khoroshevka autumn", "Autumn excellent" and "Autumn red-sided".

Trees of medium height with a wide spreading crown, skeletal branches widely diverge to the sides, so the crown is not too thick. Light green with yellow leaves in the descriptions are called medium pubescent, they are of medium size, wide, slightly elongated with an even surface.

The fruits grow up to 150 or 180 grams. They are round, slightly flattened (descriptions in the special literature call them slightly conical). The main whitish-yellow color with maturation is covered with a dark purple blush, which spreads over the apple in uneven blurred spots. The skin is thin, but quite strong, elastic, it is covered with a gray waxy bloom, easily separates from the pulp, yellow dots shine through it. The juicy, fine-grained flesh is white, but red streaks often appear through it. The whole world knows the sweet taste of these apples with a noticeable sourness, their candy spice and delicate aroma.

Apple trees "Macintosh" begin to bear fruit at the age of 6 or 7, and at first it is desirable to regulate the number of fruits so as not to deplete the young trees. Well, of course, where should they hurry, they have a lot of time - the progenitor of the variety grew and gave fruits for over 100 years. Columnar apple trees begin to bear fruit earlier. The yield is average, but there is a known case when 390 kg of apples were harvested from one apple tree. It is very important for the fruiting of "Macintosh" that apple trees of other varieties grow nearby, and the time of their flowering must coincide.

All descriptions point out the main advantage of the variety - the high taste of the fruit, their ability to be stored for a long time and easily tolerated during transportation. A disadvantage is considered to be weak frost resistance and susceptibility of leaves and fruits to such a common disease as scab.

It should be noted that "Macintosh" itself is rare in our country, much more often its clone - "Macintosh red" is grown. It is so named because the purple-red integumentary color extends to the entire apple.

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Storage and transportation

Apples "Macintosh" are known far beyond the limits of their growth, all due to the excellent keeping quality of the fruit. The main harvest time for apples of this variety is the second half of September, but they ripen very unevenly.In summer cottages and in private gardens, fruits begin to pluck from August - the month, and end, if the weather permits, from the beginning of October. It is important to pick the fruits from the tree in time, because thin and weak stalks may not wait for this moment, then ripe apples will hit the ground and will no longer be suitable for storage. In large orchards where apples are grown commercially, the harvest time is always mid-September.

Without special conditions, apples can be stored until December, and their consumer ripeness occurs 2 weeks after harvest. This means that you can pick apples, put them in the apartment and feast on them almost until the new year. But if you want to save them until spring, you need to create conditions under which the ripening process of plucked fruits will slow down, that is, you need to store apples at a low temperature.

The optimal storage conditions are considered to be a room in which a constant temperature of +2 or +3 degrees is maintained, and the humidity does not fall below 60%, it is best to keep it at a level of 75-80 percent.

Stack apples "Macintosh" (from a regular or columnar apple tree) in wooden or plywood boxes with layers of stalks upward, well sprinkle with sand or sawdust so that the fruits are not visible. You can store them without sand, but then you need to wrap each apple in a sheet of paper.

For short distances, they are transported in boxes without sawdust, but this is dangerous - when moving, apples can be damaged, which means they can rot. It is best to deliver the fruit to the place of consumption, processing or sale in boxes filled with sawdust. By the way, sawdust does not need to be taken from coniferous wood, their strong smell will overpower the delicate aroma of apples.

Cooking use

The greatest recognition and distribution of apples of this variety were received in North America - they are mandatory for the menu of children's institutions. Of course, this is due to their amazing usefulness - 10% sugars, 10% pectins, 196 mg for every 100 g of weight of P-active substances that remove toxins and carcinogens from the body, high content of potassium, calcium, iron, ascorbic acid.

Yes, these apples are not only delicious, but also surprisingly healthy. They are used to prepare juices, preserves, jellies, jams, marmalades, wine and sauces. Adults and children love pastries using apples of this variety. At home, all mothers and grandmothers make pancakes or charlotte with apples. They are dried, baked with and without filling, caramelized apples and chocolate wedges are made.

Growing features

Apple trees "Macintosh", both traditional and columnar, are planted on the site in spring before bud break or in autumn so that they have time to take root before frost. They prefer well-drained light but nutritious soils. Ordinary apple trees are planted at a distance of at least 3 m from each other, and columnar - after 30-40 centimeters.

Before planting, the soil is fertilized throughout the entire plot or humus and peat are placed in each hole, mixing with the removed soil. The seedlings are lowered into the pits so that the roots are spread out and not crumpled under the weight of the filled earth. The root collar should be 3 or 4 centimeters above ground level. Seedlings are usually tied to pegs for stability, watered with 3-4 buckets of water. After re-watering (most often after a week), the soil at the trunk is mulched.

The description of caring for apple trees usually boils down to watering, feeding, pruning, pest and disease control. So, trees are watered as needed, preparing them for wintering, so much water is poured into the trunk circle so that the earth gets wet to a depth of a meter. Top dressing must be done every two years. In the spring, nitrogen (young trees) and phosphorus are introduced, then during the formation of ovaries - potassium and phosphorus.Trees respond well to compost and humus, you can add highly diluted (tenfold) slurry or bird droppings (fifteen times diluted). Any top dressing is stopped in the middle of summer.

Pruning is done annually, starting from the second year of the tree's life, the vertical shoot is shortened to stimulate the formation of lateral ones. Obligatory annual sanitary pruning - cleaning of dry, damaged branches.

Unfortunately, Macintosh shows very little scab resistance. It is enough for a rainy summer, daily temperature changes or overfeeding the trees with nitrogen - characteristic spots will appear on young leaves, shoots, ovaries, at first light, and then - everyone knows what they will turn into. To reduce the likelihood of such a scenario, it is necessary not to leave leaves and fallen fruits under the trees, it is better to dig up the ground. In the spring, it is advised to treat trees with Bordeaux liquid for preventive purposes. If you need to take urgent measures, then use special drugs: "Skor", "Hom", "Polyhom". It is important to read the instructions and pay attention to the timing when each drug can be used.

Apple trees can be attacked by pests - aphids, moths, sawflies, apple sucker. Usually gardeners treat trees with soapy water, infusion of tobacco, if this does not help, resort to nitrofen, karbofos.

Trees should be prepared for winter. The soil in the near-trunk circles is mulched with humus, compost, peat, or at least just earth. Trunks and skeletal branches are covered with chalk whitewash with lime.

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