- Authors: Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, academician Jaroslav Tupi
- Taste: sweet and sour, with a characteristic light astringency
- Scent: pronounced, with a touch of spice
- Fruit weight, g: 120-160
- The beginning of fruiting varieties: for 2-3 years
- Ripening terms: late ripening
- Removable maturity: late September - early October
- Keeping quality: fruits are stored in the refrigerator for 6-7 months
- Duration of the consumer period: October - March
- Appointment: fresh, making stewed fruit, making jam
The apple tree is one of the most common fruit trees. Such crops grow both on city streets and in summer cottages. Winter apple varieties are especially popular among gardeners. In this article, we'll talk about a variety like Topaz.
Breeding history of the variety
Topaz was developed on the basis of the Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences. The scientist Yaroslav Tupi was engaged in breeding. The bred variety was named Topaz. For selection, we took two other varieties of apple trees: Wanda and Rubin.
Description of the variety
Topaz can be 3 to 5 meters high. The crown of the apple tree is quite dense, rounded, but it can also take the shape of an inverted pyramid. The branches are attached to the trunk at almost right angles. The shoots do not differ in thickness, they are presented in a light brown tint. The flowers are saucer-shaped, white and of medium size.
Features, pros and cons
The Topaz apple tree is still not widespread in the CIS countries, although its popularity is growing from year to year. However, the main pros and cons of this culture can be easily identified.
Pros:
fruits have amazing taste and aroma;
apples are stored for a long time, lie well, do not deteriorate during transportation;
due to the presence of a huge amount of vitamins, this variety is recommended for dietary nutrition;
the apple tree is not too whimsical to care for and is very frost-resistant.
Minuses:
if the fruits do not receive enough sunlight and heat, they will be sour;
it is necessary to constantly monitor the number of ovaries, otherwise there is a chance to get small fruits.
Ripening and fruiting
Apple Topaz is fast-growing. This means that for the first time it will bear fruit for 2 or 3 years. The apple tree belongs to the late ripening varieties. Flowering starts in May, often even in June. The fruits ripen by the end of September or the beginning of October.
Growing regions
Apple Topaz is grown in warm regions of the Czech Republic and Ukraine. This variety is also common in central Russia.
Yield
Young trees of the described variety bear fruit annually, old trees - in a year. Cyclicity can be avoided by taking proper care of apple trees. A rich harvest is usually harvested from one tree - about 12-15 kilograms of apples.
Fruits and their taste
The color of the fruits is represented by a greenish-yellow color. And also apples are covered with a reddish blurred blush. The shape of apples is flattened-rounded, and their weight is 120-160 grams. The skin is smooth and firm. Subcutaneous points are light, large, noticeable.
The taste is classic, sweet and sour, a slight astringency is clearly felt. The pulp is creamy-creamy in tone, and fine-grained in consistency. The aroma is pronounced, spices can be distinguished. The collected fruits are consumed fresh, compotes and jam are cooked from them. In a cool place, apples of the described variety can lie quietly for 6-7 months. Experts rated the taste at 4.5 points.
Growing features
Topaz prefers sunny and ventilated areas. It is better to take neutral soil. When planting between trees, keep a distance of 4 meters, between rows - 5 meters. Groundwater should be at least 2 meters from the surface of the earth.
As for watering, they should not be frequent, but correct. It is simple to calculate the amount of water: as many buckets are poured under each tree as the tree is old. The soil should be 70 centimeters wet. There should be three waterings in total:
at the very beginning of summer;
with the formation of ovaries;
at the end of October (moisture charging).
It is worth noting that Topaz has a rather dense crown. It must be thinned out. The first pruning is carried out for 2 years of the life of the apple tree, before the start of the growing season. You will need to cut off non-viable, growing inward and too low shoots.
Pollination
The Topaz variety is self-fertile, and therefore pollinators must grow next to it. You can choose from the following options:
Discovery;
Saturn;
Golden Delicious;
Raika;
Angold;
Rubinola.
Top dressing
They begin to feed apple trees only in the second year of life. Topaz is fertilized according to the following scheme:
in mid-April, 0.5 kg of urea or a couple of buckets of rotten manure is placed in the trunk circle;
as soon as flowering begins, a complex mineral fertilizer is applied, while first there is watering, then fertilization, and then watering again;
during the growth of apples, nitrophoska is used;
in the fall, the variety will require phosphorus and potassium.
Frost resistance
The variety has an average frost resistance (up to -40 degrees), so the trees need to be prepared for cold weather. Young trees should be whitewashed with chalk, adults with lime. The soil is mulched, and the trunks are wrapped in spunbond.
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.