Apple tree "Mantet": description of the variety, planting and care

Apples are not only tasty, but also very healthy fruits. For children and adults to use them as often as possible, the taste qualities of the product become important.Growing different varieties of apples gives you the opportunity to choose the most enjoyable options for a particular person. Apple tree "Mantet" has its own characteristics, which every gardener who has decided to plant such a tree should know about.

Apple tree "Mantet" is one of the most favorite gardeners and farmers for their properties. By itself, the variety was bred long ago, back in 1928 in Canada, from the Moscow Pearski through pollination. In our area, it feels most comfortable in the center and closer to the Middle Volga region. Despite a number of significant advantages, it is important to immediately say that the apple tree is not winter-hardy, and it will freeze during the winters with temperatures below -18 degrees. If there is a desire to grow such a variety in cold regions, then it is important to carry out all measures for warming trees.

Convenience in working with the grade are its low dimensions. Often, an adult tree does not exceed 4 meters, and the lack of a crown makes it easy to inspect it for problem areas, as well as to quickly harvest. If a tree is young, then its branches are flexible and easily broken with considerable weight, they acquire strength only in adulthood. The leaves of "Manteta" are large and dark green in color.

The apple tree begins to bloom in May; beautiful white and pink flowers with a violet tinge later transform into thyroid inflorescences. When planning planting trees on a plot, it is worth to be safe and plant a variety near “Manteta” that can pollinate it in case of bad weather conditions or prolonged rains. The most favorable neighbors will be: “Melba” and “Melba Red”, it grows well next to “White Bulk”.

The great advantage of this variety is its precociousness, since the first apples can be tasted as early as the third year of tree growth. The first serious harvests will consist of 20 - 30 kilograms from a tree, by the time of stable fruiting the quantity will increase to 65 kg, and an adult tree will be able to produce up to 70 kg per season.

The ripening period of apples in a warm climate is the time from the beginning to the middle of July, in cooler areas from the middle to the end of the month. Ripe fruits are yellow with an orange tinge. From the moment they were collected from the trees, during normal storage, their presentation will be stable for 2 weeks, after which they will begin to deteriorate. If the crop is provided with proper storage conditions, then it will be possible to preserve the original appearance and taste for more than three weeks.

One apple can weigh from 90 to 180 grams, it has the shape of a cone. A distinctive feature is a thin, but strong skin, as well as white or yellowish flesh. Together they create a tasty, juicy and uniform apple.

If we talk about the variety "Mantet", then there are both positive and negative sides in it.

Among the advantages can be identified:

• the small size of the tree, which makes it possible to plant at any place, even in a small area;
• the ability to create a lawn or small beds in the area of ​​the tree;
• rare need for pruning;
• the presence of a dense skin - thanks to her, “Mantet” is convenient to transport over long distances;
• the presence of a large amount of sugar makes it possible not to use additional products in the process of making jam or similar twists.

As for the shortcomings, they include:

• vertically growing branches, which makes harvesting quite difficult;
• trees older than ten years may have a problem with stable yields, which will be either more or less every two years;
• the process of pollination of a variety strongly depends on the weather and trees planted nearby;
• Apples are ripened for a long time, which delays harvesting until autumn;
• in the case of large harvests on a sapling, the branches can not withstand the weight and break off;
• if there are a lot of ovaries on a tree, then they are sown small, not growing completely;
• The top of the tree is not easy to trim, which can cause illness or other damage;
• "Mantet" is highly susceptible to pests and diseases;
• this tree grows well in warm climates, strong frosts provoke freezing;
• in the case of prolonged dampness on the street, there is a high percentage of wood scab damage.

In order for the “Mantet” variety to stably fruit and please with good and juicy fruits, it is important not only to know about the peculiarities of the tree, but also to plant it properly, and also to carry out all the care activities.

Since the apple variety does not differ in frost resistance, it is not worth planting it in winter, because the probability of the seedling's death is too high. The best time for this procedure is April. Selecting a place for an apple tree, it is worth choosing an open area, where there will be no through winds, and the sun at any time of the day will be able to light the plant. It is also worth taking care of the soil, because for good and fast rooting it is necessary to bring loose earth under the roots, which will easily absorb water and allow air to pass through.

Additionally, you need to check the availability of groundwater in the territory. In order for the apple tree to grow normally, they must go deeper than two and a half meters. If the moisture in the soil rises above this mark, you will have to artificially raise the area on which the tree will be planted. To prevent root flooding, a drainage layer should be arranged at the bottom of the wood pit.

In order for the tree to start to bear fruit as soon as possible, you need to buy two-year-old seedlings. It is important to be able to choose them correctly, assessing the stem, which should be clear, the number of branches, which the apple tree should have about five. Grow primary branches must be in different directions from the trunk. It is necessary to carefully examine the bark for any irregularities, the roots with shoots should be checked for flexibility - the healthy ones will bend, the sick will break. The root should consist of skeletal and lobe root, at least 30 centimeters in length.

The soil and place for the seedling is prepared in advance, the deadline is 2 weeks before planting. You need to dig a wide, but not too deep hole, with dimensions of 1 m by 80 cm. To make the land more fertile, you need to make fertilizer into it: humus, wood ash, sulfuric potassium and superphosphate. Properly mixing all the components, the fertilizer should be placed in a hole and watered well. By the time of planting, the soil will shrink, creating a hole for the seedling.

Any trees that are located near the apple tree should be three meters away from it. At the time of planting a young tree, you must first hammer in a wooden stake, which will be 80-90 cm above ground level. It is best to place it in the northern part of the pit. Young "Mantet" need to be set flat on the bottom of the pit and sprinkled with earth. It is important to ensure that the root neck is 5 cm above ground level.

When the apple tree has been planted, it is necessary to pour three buckets of water around the trunk, pour fresh earth on top and grind with sawdust, hay or humus. The support, which will be located near the tree, must be sufficiently strong, because it can be removed only after two years of growth of the sapling. If you follow all the recommendations, planting an apple tree, and responsibly approach the choice of a seedling, then after a year, maximum two, you can take the first crop.

The procedure for the care of the apple tree "Mantet" is carried out through watering, fertilizing, spraying and pruning. It is important to provide the tree with optimal conditions for growth, and plant suitable pollinating varieties for the fruiting process. Only by producing all the care activities can you achieve the growth of a healthy plant that will produce a large and tasty harvest.

Water should be brought under the barrel with a hose, buckets or using a drip irrigation system.It is important to achieve an optimal condition of the soil, so that it does not dry out, but also not be too wet. For one square meter of land where a tree grows, the required amount will be 60 liters of water, which doubles in the summer.

Watering the apple is as follows:

• before flowering, if there was no precipitation;
• in the middle of June, at the time of the fruit bore;
• the third time water is introduced at the moment when the apples are gaining their full size;
• the last watering is carried out in October to soak the earth before the cold.

When watering a tree, it is important to remove weeds every time and loosen the soil around the trunk, so as not to allow a crust to form. When loosening ends, the soil should be covered with a fresh mulch layer.

In the event that the sapling is weak or the weather is not happy with sunny days and the presence of precipitation, there is a need to help a young plant. This can be done with the help of a dry option, when fertilizers are scattered in a moist soil after watering / raining or diluting the fertilizers and depositing them in dry soil.

The first top dressing should be in May when two buckets of water are brought under the tree in which the following components are diluted: sulfuric potassium (100 g), superphosphate (0.5 kg), a liter infusion of bird droppings, a two-liter infusion of manure. For a young tree, it will be sufficient to use one bucket of such fertilizer, and an adult will need five buckets already.

After natural or artificial irrigation, it will be useful to scatter 500 g of urea around the trunk. At the moment of active fruiting, it is also worth helping an apple tree, so in July for one tree you need to prepare such a solution: 2 buckets of water, 500 g of nitrophoska, sodium humate in the amount of 5 grams.

The next stage of fertilization refers to September, when potassium sulphate and superphosphate are needed - 350 grams of each fertilizer.

To get rid of small rodents and create additional protection of the apple tree from insects, the trunk must be whitened with the help of lime, to which copper sulphate and clay have been added. It is equally important to care for the tree before the onset of cold weather. The necessary measure will be hiding the shtamba with burlap, or using the stems from corn and other plants. To protect the roots from freezing, you need to cover the ground with additional soil to a height of 30 cm.

In addition to the aforementioned activities, it is important to know the basics of wood trimming for care. If you properly remove the branches on an apple tree, this will make it possible to minimize the development of diseases and pests on it, not to mention the convenience of harvesting. The optimum amount of pruning a tree in a season consists of three stages: spring work, not later than March, summer pinching of branches and breaking out of extra growths, and autumn, carried out before frost.

A properly formed tree should have a three-tiered crown, for which there should be no more than five buds on the branches. The lower tier consists of three large branches, the second - of four, and the third - of two. During the season it is important to monitor the condition of the plant, conducting sanitary work, removing dry, curves and diseased areas on it. If the apple tree is actively growing side branches, they need to cut, forming a spherical shape of the tree.

Like any other garden culture, the apple tree "Mantet" is affected by diseases and is attacked by pests. To minimize harm and save the crop, you need to perform a set of activities. The most dangerous disease for the tree is considered scab, which must be dealt with immediately, while using a solution of fungicides (Horus, Bordeaux liquid and other means). If rot has begun to appear on the apples, the plant should be immediately treated with copper sulfate.

If deviations from the norm were observed on the bark of an apple tree, it should also be treated with copper sulphate or use the drug “Khom”.To prevent a number of diseases and prevent freezing of the bark, in the fall in the ground during the digging it is necessary to add potassium and phosphorus fertilizer.

As part of the fertilizer should be such a ratio of components:

• potassium - 25 grams;
• superphosphate - 50 grams.

This content must be diluted in one bucket of water.

For those cases when the apple tree survived the fungal attack, the tree needs time to recover, and at this moment it is vulnerable to a wide variety of pests. If aphids were noticed on the leaflets, sprinkle with soapy water. If “Mantet” attacks a tick, then an extract of onion peel is fighting with it. To protect the tree from various pests, it is necessary to throw boiling water over it in early spring, before it has moved away from winter. When the leaves began to curl on the apple tree, this is a clear sign of the moth that can be fought with the help of an infusion of bitter wormwood.

If in time to dig up the ground near the tree and remove the leaves that fell from the tree, you can protect it from a number of pests and diseases.

Since the "Mantet" apple tree is a rather old variety, gardeners have a definite opinion about it. Many note the neat structure of the tree, which fits perfectly on any site. The advantage of the variety is the early harvest, which can be harvested until autumn. Almost all appreciated the taste of apples, highlighting the juicy flesh, sweetness and a little sourness, which does not spoil the impression of the fruit.

Almost all gardeners are similar in that from the fruits of this variety, you can cook a lot of dishes, desserts, which will have a pleasant and sweet taste. The shelf life of the harvest is small, but often these fruits are not stale and are eaten by household members very quickly.

The undoubted advantage of this variety gardeners consider the period of fruit bearing and growth of the tree itself. Almost all of these trees are on sites of 50 years or more, while giving fruit. As for the less iridescent reviews, they can be attributed to the instability of yields in adult trees, as well as small apples in the case of congestion of the tree. Overloading is not worth it because the branches are too fragile and often break, which causes damage to the tree. The failure of this variety does not allow it to sell for a long time, but you can take out the crop for a long distance, and at the same time not lose the marketability of apples, due to the strength of their skins.

There are always a lot of reviews on this variety, someone will be completely satisfied with it, and someone will find remarks, but one thing is clear, the “Mantet” variety has very pleasant fruits, once you have tried it you can’t forget.

This video will help you choose the best varieties of apple trees for your summer cottage, as well as take practical advice on choosing and caring for them.