All about fruiting apple trees

Getting apples every year is every gardener's dream. But often apple trees bear fruit after a year, and sometimes they stop doing it altogether. The climate or the specificity of the variety can be considered the reason for this, but this is not entirely correct - there are other, much more weighty reasons for the lack of apples. By adjusting some aspects of caring for the apple tree, you can get a portion of the crop annually, even without much expense and great effort. All about how and when apple trees bear fruit, as well as how to influence it, will be discussed in the article.

Obviously, one cannot talk about the apple harvest, which is one year old. They try to give the first harvest by seedlings at the age of 3 years. But the apple tree begins to give something similar to a full harvest only after 5 years. In this context, the "Welsey" variety can be noted. This variety belongs to dwarf, begins to bear fruit early, and over time it brings more and more apples. In general, all dwarf breeds begin to bear fruit early.

In central Russia, wild apple trees usually live for about 150 years. At first, the trees bear fruit well, with age the fruits thin out. In the southern regions, the warm weather allows trees to live longer and bear more fruit.

Thus, a number of factors can be noted that affect the onset of fruiting in an apple tree.

1. First of all, the beginning of fruiting depends on the region in which the tree grows. The warmer the climate, the earlier fruiting occurs, and the longer the tree lives (and produces apples).

2. It can take a long time before the first apples are formed if the plant is attacked by pests.

3. Fruits will appear on a young apple tree only if the planting was carried out correctly, and simple conditions of care were followed. Need fertilizer and watering.

4. In the first fruiting season, the weather should be warm and dry. Otherwise, the young tree will postpone fruiting until next year.

5. The apple variety determines the start of fruiting, and it is almost impossible to influence this. You need to know the characteristics of the variety in advance.

All this applies to apple trees that are grown in the garden or on the site. Such specimens are not as persistent and tenacious, unlike their wild relatives. A wild apple tree can live 200 years, but it begins to bear fruit at 10, and this happens every year. Thus, it bears fruit about 190 times in a lifetime. This mark, unfortunately, is not available for most "domestic" apple trees.

It is a fairly well-known fact that the apple tree does not bear fruit every year, and this is especially true in cases where there was a particularly fertile year before. However, there are a number of other reasons for the lack of apples.

1. The specificity of the variety. Often these varieties (which will not bear fruit annually) can be identified by the abundance of flowers in the corresponding period.

2. Incorrect pruning of the tree. Most likely, the branches were cut off, on which the buds were formed. There will be no harvest for only one year, the next year everything will resume.

3. Improper care. There are often cases when apple trees of certain varieties require careful care. For example, they do not tolerate winds, sun and so on.

4. Bad light. Despite the fact that it happens quite rarely, this possibility cannot be ruled out. Due to the lack of sunlight, the tree may not form fruitful buds.

5. Often, various diseases can also be the cause. Fighting the disease takes a lot of energy from the tree, and the number of fruits in a particularly difficult year may be small, or even, at all, may not be there.

6. Cold weather conditions. On the domestic territory, sharp and sudden cold snaps are not uncommon. Usually, at such times, trees can go into hibernation and remain dormant longer than necessary.

7. The age of the tree. Trees become more and more prone to periodic fruiting with age. And usually this is characterized by the bearing of fruit not after a year, but even less often.

8. Parasites. A massive invasion can be fatal to the tree. In this case, there is practically no harvest.

9. Malformed crown. The tree must be of the correct shape and healthy appearance. The shape of the crown must be formed independently, it must be done regularly and carefully.

First of all, you need to cut flowers annually. The tree often produces many flowers (subsequent fruits) and is depleted by forming and growing them. To do this, you need to cut off the flowers, while leaving the central ones and those that are at the tops of the branches (usually they are the strongest). After several such events, the tree begins to control the number of flowers by itself, and does not form them in large quantities. But we must remember that this method does not work with all apple trees. This is especially true for old trees. With the help of cutting, you can slightly influence the number of fruits (slightly increase the number of fruits). But there will be no significant changes in old trees.

And also another planted apple tree will be the way out. It is important to choose a variety that will bear fruit annually. Such crops are "Aydared", "Dessertnoe Isaeva", "Simirenko", "Renet", "Diana" and others.

And it is also necessary to seriously and carefully approach the process of pruning an apple tree. The correct pruning rejuvenates the trees, and the wrong pruning robs it of the crop. Before pruning, you should carefully study the relevant literature or consult a professional.

You don't need to plant trees randomly, especially if they are apple trees. And also it is impossible to allow that low apple trees eventually become in the shade of taller trees. To do this, you must first know the subsequent height of the tree and the thickness of its crown. If there is a lack of area on the site, then it is necessary to plant lower specimens to the south, and higher ones to the north.

It is necessary to regularly treat the apple tree with insecticidal and fungicidal preparations. As a rule, this is done a couple of times a year - before flowering and after the leaves have completely fallen off. Whitewashing of trunks occurs at the end of April and the first days of May. These measures represent the minimum necessary for disease prevention and pest control.

It is necessary to follow the shape of the crown. It must be correct - for this it is necessary in a small amount, but regularly remove unnecessary branches. It is important not to cut off fruit branches on which a large number of apples grow. It is also necessary to ensure that the trunk does not split in two. This will take away the strength from the tree for the full formation of a good harvest. During the flowering period, it can be sprayed with special preparations that increase the degree of pollination. This should be done at the moment when three quarters of all flowers have already blossomed.