Apricot Aquarius

Aquarius is a variety of apricot, loved by summer residents of the central regions of Russia due to the good characteristics of the culture. To get high yields, you need to follow simple rules both when planting and during a fairly simple care.

Apricot Aquarius is one of the works of the famous breeder Larisa Andreevna Kramarenko. She is a candidate of biological sciences, as well as a researcher at the Main Botanical Garden. N.V. Tsitsina. The culture was obtained by the method of free pollination of a seedling of the Lel variety, which was also bred by Larisa Andreevna in co-authorship with Professor A.K. Skvortsov. Aquarius was allocated as a separate variety in 1996. After state tests, it was included in the State Register in 2004 and approved for use in the Central Region.

Apricot Aquarius is distinguished by its strength and growth rate, so it can quickly reach a height of 5-6 meters, becoming a tall and powerful tree on the site. The crown of the plant is paniculate, spreading, slightly raised, not very dense. Shoots 1 year old branch weakly, but they are rather thick, grow straight, without pubescence, smooth, interesting dark red color.

The leaves on the tree are of a dark green tone, rather large, rounded in shape, short-pointed, with shine, crenate edges.

The flowers are relatively small, 2.5-2.8 cm in size, white. Five-petal, sit tightly on twigs. Apricot bears fruit on all types of shoots.

Apricots of the Aquarius variety are colored with a basic yellow color and an orange integument. Rounded in shape, rather light pubescence, well pronounced suture. The average weight of the fruit is from 25 to 30 grams. Aquarius fruits are less shiny compared to the original Lel apricot form. Among the disadvantages is the low keeping quality of ripe fruits.

The pulp is bright orange in color, not too firm, but very tender when eaten. The versatile fruits of apricots have a harmonious sweet and sour taste. According to tasters - 4.5 points. Apricots are good fresh, as well as in jam, compotes, which are excellent.

The ripened ready-to-eat product contains the following components:

• dry matter - 14.2%;
• sugar - 7.6%;
• titratable acids - 2.7%;
• potassium - 345 mg / 100 g.

It is a pity that the transport of the fruits is difficult, and they remain fresh rather poorly. But thanks to the great taste, gardeners forgive them everything, because, in addition to preparing blanks and using in cooking, they can also be frozen and dried.

Ripening of the Aquarius apricot crop occurs regularly in the middle period, which begins in mid-August. The plant begins to bear fruit from 3-4 years after placing the seedling in the ground.

According to the reviews of summer residents and gardeners of the Moscow region, if you take care of the tree well and correctly, it will retain its productivity for up to 20 years.

Aquarius is on the list of the highest-yielding apricot varieties, with an average yield of 133 kg / ha per season. A young 4-5 year old tree produces 10-15 kg, while an adult plant produces 25-30 kg of apricots.

This fruit crop is zoned for the Central Region, but in fact it is cultivated almost everywhere. Planting and subsequent cultivation of Aquarius in the Moscow region have proven themselves excellent.

Apricot Aquarius is a self-fertile tree, and it does not need the presence of pollinating varieties, it can grow and bear fruit alone. However, to increase the yield in the garden, it is still worth planting a couple of apricots (preferably 3-4). At the same time, one should not forget that their terms of fruiting and flowering must coincide.

In the gardens near Moscow, the planting of the variety in question is carried out in the spring, at the end of April. In this case, it is important to choose the right place. This should be an area in the garden that will be well lit and protected from cold winds. The soil is preferably light, well-drained, and the soil is neutral or slightly alkaline. It will also be better if the groundwater is located as far as possible from the surface of the earth.

The apricot tree of this variety prefers some elevations on the ground, and ideally a slope facing south or southwest.

Experts recommend purchasing 1-year-old seedlings, preferably at an autumn fair or in a nursery. At the same time, they must be vaccinated on winter-hardy rootstocks, for example, plum ones, which are resistant to under-heating.

The landing hole is harvested with a size of 70x80 centimeters. Do it in the fall. The bottom of the hole is first laid out with drainage, then the earth, peat with sand, well mixed with each other, are placed. So the hole is left before the spring planting, which is carried out in the traditional way.

After planting, the Aquarius seedling must be irrigated regularly until early August. The main thing is that the soil around the trunk should not dry out. Further, it is worth stopping watering so that the culture can adapt and prepare for the onset of cold weather.

In relation to the most common ailments and insect pests of stone fruit, Aquarius demonstrates quite satisfactory resistance. And also it is moderately resistant to such a disease as clasterosporium disease. As for pests, they are not very scary to Aquarius, for example, aphids do not stick to this variety at all.

The culture is marked by a fairly high degree of winter hardiness. She demonstrates the ability to tolerate severe frosts calmly, even dropping to -35 degrees. From the parent of the apricot Lel, the variety got confident drought resistance.