- Taste: balanced sweet and sour
- Scent: weak
- Fruit weight, g: 140-150
- Fruit size: medium and large
- Yield: Average - 120 kg from one tree, maximum - 150 kg from one apple tree
- Frequency of fruiting: in a year
- The beginning of fruiting varieties: for the 2nd year
- Ripening terms: early
- Removable maturity: at the beginning of August
- Keeping quality: 1 month
Every time breeders want to develop a more progressive and versatile apple variety that can withstand low temperatures, they will have an increased tolerance to many diseases, and most importantly, a rich harvest. Apple Dream belongs to just such a species. In this article, we will consider the characteristics of the variety, the taste of apples, yield, ripening time, frost resistance, agrotechnical aspects.
Breeding history of the variety
The variety was bred at the Michurin I.V. Research Institute of Horticulture. For the parental pair, the apple varieties Papirovka and Pepin saffron were taken.
Description of the variety
The tree is medium-sized, it grows up to 4 m in height. The trunk of the tree is upright, rigid. The color of the bark is gray-brown, young shoots are dark brown.
The crown is round, spreading. She is inherent in a large workload and thickening. This, in turn, affects the harvest. Young trees have a pyramidal crown, but over the years it begins to expand and fall. Skeletal branches are thick, growing from the trunk at right angles. Due to the heavy load of fruits under their weight, they can lean to the ground.
The leaves are large, matte, green in shade. Rounded in shape, elongated towards the end of the leaf, the tip is pointed. The edge is wavy, there is a characteristic section in the middle. The upper plate is smooth, the lower plate is slightly pubescent.
The flowers are medium-sized, snow-white in color, densely showered on the branch. The root system is well developed, actively growing deeper in search of water.
Features, pros and cons
The main positive aspects of this variety are:
- frost resistance - the variety is not afraid of a sharp temperature drop;
- plentiful and stable harvest;
- scab tolerance;
- good ripening of apples;
- convenient harvesting (compactness of the crown);
- universal purpose of fruits;
- high rates of transportability.
The disadvantages include:
- the need to comply with the watering regime, otherwise the apples will begin to shrink and their juiciness will be lost;
- the shelf life is not long enough;
- the need for timely cutting of the thickened crown.
Ripening and fruiting
In the southern regions, flowering begins in mid-April, the tree blooms for almost a month. In northern latitudes, flowering begins in mid-May. Full ripening of the fruits occurs in August - September. Much depends on the amount of heat and the length of daylight hours.
In the first year after planting the seedlings, it is necessary to remove all the first peduncles. This is done so that all the nutrients accumulate in the root system, and the apple tree takes root well in the ground.
Fruiting on dwarf rootstocks begins from the second year of planting seedlings, on seed - from the fourth.
Yield
Yield of the Dream apple tree is stable. Up to 120 kg can be removed from one adult and large tree. With good agrotechnical work, the yield can increase up to 150 kg.
From plantations, the yield is as follows - 15.5 tons per hectare for the entire growing season.
Fruits and their taste
The apples are large, weighing 140-150 g.The shape is round, conical, slightly beveled. Mostly a yellow tint predominates, but there is a pink blush on the side that has been in the sun longer. No ribbing.
The rind is dense, smooth and glossy, with a slight bloom. The pulp is juicy, white, dense and grainy. May seem a little loose at first. The fruits are sweet-sour to taste, they belong to the dessert variety. Apples have a light sweet aroma.
After harvest, they can be stored in the basement for up to 1 month.
Growing features
In order for the harvest to be plentiful, it is necessary to choose the right place for planting seedlings. The place should be well lit and slightly windy. The soil should be slightly acidic or neutral. Sandy or loamy in composition. There should not be a large amount of clay or black soil in the selected area. It will be difficult for the roots to thrive in such an environment.
Also, the site must be dry, without accumulation of groundwater. At the genetic level, the variety has an independent search for water, and if the moisture ultimately turns out to be too much, then the roots will begin to rot or the crop will shrink.
An adult tree needs to be watered only once a week.
It is worth observing the crown trimming mode. The crown of the dream apple tree is very dense, it quickly overgrows with new branches, so you need to row it constantly. Basically, only skeletal branches are left on the tree, which bear fruit. The rest are removed, since they take on some of the substances that are necessary for the harvest. In the fall, the main branches are slightly shortened, maintaining the selected crown shape.
Pollination
The dream apple tree has sterile peduncles, so the variety needs additional pollinators. For this, varieties with the same flowering period are suitable - it can be the Melba apple tree or the Cinnamon striped.
For pollination to occur, it is necessary to plant apple trees at a distance of 0.8-1 m from each other.
Also, some gardeners specifically set up a mobile apiary with bees for the flowering period so that the pollination happens well.
Top dressing
Top dressing should be carried out in several stages. The spring subcortex often contains a large amount of nitrogen, it can be urea or nitroammophoska. During flowering and fruiting, the apple tree is fed with minerals containing potassium. In the fall, nitrogen is completely excluded. To prepare for winter, you can fertilize the apple tree with phosphorus. Well-rotted manure is suitable - it, like mulch, will protect the ground around the tree from severe freezing.
Frost resistance
This hybrid has a high level of frost resistance up to -37 degrees. This makes it possible to grow a crop in the western regions. A sharp temperature drop is not terrible for the bark, so you should not additionally shelter the tree trunk from frost. For the winter, they usually whitewash the tree and cover it with agrofibre so that pests do not penetrate there.
Gardeners note that it is still worth sheltering young seedlings for the first time in years, since the root system is not fully strengthened. To do this, you can use spruce branches and wrap the trunk using the hut method. You can cover the tree with roofing felt.
After the first snow falls, it should be thrown around the trunk and tamped a little. This will serve as another protective layer.
Diseases and pests
Gardeners note that the Dream apple tree has good tolerance to common fungal diseases. But since the culture needs pollinators, other varieties of apple trees are planted nearby, in which the immunity may not be so strong. Therefore, in order to avoid fungal diseases, it is necessary to take preventive measures and spray the trunk in a timely manner. Often, chemical preparations are chosen that carry only an external effect, without penetrating into the bark of the tree. Fungicides can be used. Spraying is carried out in the spring, as soon as the leaves begin to bloom, and a second time in the fall, during preparation for winter.
Gardeners note that pests have little interest in eating bark or fruit. But for support, preventive measures are still being taken.
The apple tree is a popular fruit crop among gardeners. It can be found in many summer cottages. But at the same time, such trees are often affected by various diseases. It is very important to recognize the disease in time and carry out the necessary procedures for a speedy recovery. Otherwise, the fruits will be spoiled, and the tree itself may die altogether.
