Content
Among apple varieties, there are those that are known to almost every gardener. One of them is the Kitayka Bellefleur apple tree. This is an old variety, which earlier could often be found in the gardens of the regions of the Middle Strip. It became popular due to its simple cultivation technique and good quality fruits.
Description of apple variety Kitayka Bellefleur with photo
The description and characteristics of the Bellefleur Chinese variety will help gardeners understand what an apple tree and its fruits look like, what they taste like. Information about this is necessary in order to decide whether to choose a tree for growing in your garden or not.
Breeding history
The author of Bellefleur-Chinese is the world-famous Russian breeder I. V. Michurin, the work on breeding was carried out in 1908-1921. The parental forms are the American variety Bellefleur yellow and Kitayka large-fruited. Included in the State Register in 1947, zoned for the North Caucasian region.
Fruit and tree appearance
Apple tree Bellefleur Chinese is tall, powerful. Dense rounded or broadly rounded crown. The bark is brown, with a reddish tint, the leaves have a dark green color with a grayish tint. The apple tree bears fruit on fruit twigs and last year's increments. In terms of size, the fruits are above average or large, the average weight is 190 g (maximum 500-600 g). The apples are round and oval-round, with a ribbed surface. Funnel without rusting. The skin of the fruit is light yellow, with a striped and speckled blush on one side.
The Bellefleur Chinese apple tree on a semi-dwarf rootstock has a height of about 3 m, which makes it easier to care for the tree and harvest. More plants can be placed per unit area, the total amount of the harvested crop will be higher. The fruits ripen 2 weeks earlier.
Ripe fruits of Bellefleur Kitayka look like an early Shtrifel
Life span
The maximum age of an apple tree as a species can reach 100 years, but in practice such specimens are rare. Basically, fruit trees live for 50-60 years, the fruiting time is 20-40 years.
Taste
Fruits of Bellefleur Kitayka are dessert purposes, their pulp is fine-grained, white, juicy. The taste is noted by the tasters as very good, sour-sweet, winey, with spicy notes, there is an aroma.
Yield
The yield of the Bellefleur Kitayka apple tree is good, the young tree bears fruit annually, with age there is a periodicity. It also depends on the growing region, more fruits are harvested in the south, less in the Middle Lane. In general, from 1 sq. m. the area occupied by the apple tree can be harvested 15-20 kg of fruit.
Frost resistant
Average winter hardiness. In the Middle Lane and the northern regions, the apple tree can freeze out in frosty winters, in damp winters it can be affected by a fungus.
Disease and pest resistance
The variety is not resistant to scab, leaf damage is medium, fruit is strong. Good rot resistance.
Flowering period
Apple-tree Bellefleur Chinese blooms in late April or May. Flowering, depending on the weather, lasts about 1-1.5 weeks.
When to pick apples of the Kitayka Bellefleur variety
Fruit ripening time is the second half of September. Abundant fruiting. After ripening, the fruits usually do not crumble, they stick well to the branches.It is recommended to keep them for 2-3 weeks before starting to use. During storage, the peel of Bellefleur Chinese apples turns white.
Pollinators
The variety is self-fertile, does not need pollinators. According to breeders, he himself can be a good pollinator.
Transportation and keeping quality
The transportability of the fruits is high, they can be transported for storage or for sale. Apples are stored for a short time - only 1-1.5 months.
Features of growing in the regions
Bellefleur Kitayka, when bred, was intended for cultivation in the Middle Lane and southern regions. In the Russian Federation, the variety is widespread in the Central Black Earth Region, the North Caucasus, and the Lower Volga Region. Apple trees are also grown in Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia. They are usually found in private gardens; they are used for industrial cultivation in the North Caucasus.
In the southern regions, the variety is considered late summer, its fruits ripen at the end of summer, in the Middle Lane - in autumn, since apples ripen at the end of September.
Advantages and disadvantages
Bellefleur Kitayka has both advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage is the commercial and consumer qualities of apples, the use of the variety for breeding new varieties of crops, and high drought resistance.
Disadvantages: tall, low early maturity (begins to bear fruit late, at 6-8 years of age), susceptibility to scab.
Ripe apples do not crumble from the branches, until they are harvested they remain intact, not damaged
Planting and leaving
Seedlings Bellefleur Kitayka are brought to the site in spring or autumn. The preparation of the plant and the sequence of work are standard: the dried tips of the roots are cut off from the apple tree, the roots are dipped into a solution of a root formation stimulator for 1 day.
For planting, you need to choose a warm spring or autumn day. First, it is important to prepare a planting hole of at least 0.5 by 0.5 m in size. If the root system of the seedling is larger, then the hole must be made wider and deeper. At the bottom, put a drainage layer of broken brick, slate, small stones. Pour a layer of fertile soil mixture on top, consisting of excavated soil and humus (50 to 50), add 1-2 kg of wood ash. To mix everything.
Planting sequence:
- Put a seedling in the middle of the hole.
- Spread the roots so that they spread freely in all directions.
- Cover with earth.
- Sprinkle with water when it is absorbed, then lay a layer of mulching material on top, for example, straw, old hay, sawdust.
- Put a peg next to it, tie the trunk to it. This is necessary so that the plant grows straight until it takes root.
Apple tree care includes watering, feeding, pruning and spraying against diseases and pests. The frequency of watering in the first month after planting is about 1 time per week, but it can be more or less, depending on the weather. Care must be taken to ensure that the soil always remains moist, not dry, but not damp either. When the Bellefleur Chinese tree takes root (after 1.5 months), it will be enough to water it several times per season, when the earth dries up.
The first feeding of the apple tree is carried out in the 2nd year after planting, in the spring after the snow melts. Humus is introduced into the trunk circle in the amount of 1.5 buckets per plant and 1-2 kg of ash. Adult fruiting apple trees need to be fertilized at least 2 more times per season - after flowering and in the middle of the period of fruit formation. You can use complex mineral fertilizers or organic matter.
The first pruning is done the following spring after planting. At the tree, the central and lateral shoots are shortened, this stimulates the growth of new branches. In the future, pruning is carried out once a year, in the fall after leaf fall or in the spring before the buds swell. Remove all dried, frozen and damaged branches, excess shoots that grow inward and thicken the crown.
The incidence of scab can be prevented by preventive treatments with Bordeaux mixture, fungicides, and mandatory pruning.If the disease has appeared, it must be treated. Of the pests on the Chinese Bellefleur apple tree, aphids, spider mites, flower beetles, moths, sawflies can attack. Control measures - spraying with insecticide solutions at the first signs of insects.
Collection and storage
Chinese Bellefleur apples are harvested in September. The fruits do not crumble, which allows them to be picked intact directly from the branches. Apples are stored in a cellar or basement at temperatures from 0 to 10 ˚С and humidity up to 70%. It is advisable to place them separately from vegetables and other fruits so that they do not lose their flavor. In the cold, apples are able to lie until December at the most.
It is advisable to store apples in shallow boxes, stacked in one layer.
Conclusion
Apple-tree Kitayka Bellefleur is an old variety that has not lost its attractiveness for modern gardeners. Despite its shortcomings, it is still popular due to the high quality of its fruit. In a private garden, you can plant an apple tree of this variety on a semi-dwarf rootstock, it has all the valuable characteristics inherent in the variety, but it does not grow so high.
Testimonials
