Apple "Melba": description of the variety, variety and cultivation

“Melba” is the most famous and beloved apple variety of many gardeners. It is valued for the exceptional taste and beautiful appearance of the trees. Anyone who decides to plant this variety in his plot should know that behind all this there are months of hard work and care for the plant. For a competent approach, there are some basic norms and rules for the care and cultivation of this garden crop.

The famous apple tree "Melba" appeared in 1898. The variety was bred by Canadian breeders from Ottawa by breeding apple varieties Macintosh. Delicious juicy fruits received a rather high tasting rating and got their name in honor of the opera star of that time Nellie Melba. Late ripening apple migrated from the continent and rapidly spread throughout the latitudes of Europe and Asia. In the XX century, the variety was brought to the State Register under the name “Melba” and apples were grown in gardens and plantations of Russia.

The official name did not take root among the people and the apple tree retained its name “Melba”. She fell in love with many gardeners due to its taste, large fruits and unpretentiousness. However, the low frost resistance did not allow growing this variety in the northern regions of the Central Belt and the Urals. In other regions of the country, apple seedlings have perfectly taken root without the risk of freezing. Soon, frost-resistant varieties of this species under the names Melba Red and Daughter Melba were bred in a special way.

Young saplings of "Melba" of medium length, with a straight, smooth and even trunk, covered with reddish wood, with large oblong leaves of emerald green color. Slightly pubescent stem can bend from a large number of beautiful fruits.

With age, the tree becomes enlarged, the bark of the trunk darkens and thickens, and the skeletal branches of the tree. Spreading crown grows and takes a rounded shape. Slightly pubescent branches and crenate light leaves are replaced with strong branches with dark, as if poured, foliage over time. The crown can reach seven meters in diameter. Apple tree belongs to varieties of medium height. The height of adult trees can reach three meters and above.

"Melba" blooms early, flowering is accompanied by the blooming of the uniquely beautiful soft pink flowers with a pleasant smell and purple tint. Fruit buds of the plant are distributed on kolchatka, ripen for 3-4 years of life, and regular abundant fruiting occurs only from 8 years. Melba fructifies steadily for 12 years, then its yield gradually begins to decline. In the description of the variety indicates the cyclical fruiting, which, after 10-year yield is gradually lost.

The apples of this variety are rather large, conical in shape, uneven, slightly elongated, compacted, yellow-green in color, with reddish veins, covered with juicy delicate skin. Inside - white flesh with a characteristic sour. Beautiful carmine fruits with a wax sheen are attached to the branches with the help of a short stalk. Fruit ripening period begins in August. The fruit weighs an average of 150 grams, but there are also large specimens - 300 grams.

Taste pulp candy, sweet, with moderate sourness and characteristic aroma of vanilla caramel. Fruits are dessert and contain a lot of essential elements and vitamins. A beautiful crown of delicate green color with ruddy patches of ripe apples will decorate any part.

Among the advantages and positive properties of the variety “Melba” has a relatively small gap between planting and fruiting, rather abundant yields, good varietal qualities of the fruit. Especially beautifully covered trees with apple color in the spring. Each tree has its own shade - from sky-pink to purple, and a unique aroma that can not be confused with anything. Fruits grow large and strong, with a small stalk, they are easy and convenient to transport and process. They have an appetizing appearance and look good on the shelves.

The features of this variety include a fairly low frost resistance. Because of this, “Melba” is not grown in the North-West region and in the Urals, but it successfully grows and bears fruit in the Kuban, in the conditions of the Middle Belt, in the Caucasus and the Volga region.

Apple trees are prone to scab. With low self-fertility, "Melba" tends to decrease in yield over time. The critical stage begins after 10 years of life. It is preceded by a rather long, turbulent phase of development, growth and fruiting.

"Melba" has soric varieties, including the subspecies "Melba's Daughter". The frost-resistant plant is an analogue of a heat-loving variety, it was bred by selection in the Leningrad experimental laboratory.

Variety "Daughter of Melby" - from late summer, grows well in the non-Black Earth and middle belt of the country. This hybrid is resistant to frost, scab disease, but, like its progenitor, has low self-fertility and needs additional pollination. To this end, in the gardens next to the "Daughter of Melby" grow "Apple saved", "White filling", "Summer striped", "Simirenko" and "Wonderful gift."

The fruits of the hybrid are stored no more than a month from the date of collection, have consumer ripeness of 10 days. The peculiarity of the variety is the irregular fruiting of mature trees. This is a characteristic feature of all varieties of "Melby". An adult tree gives an average of 30 kilograms of apples per season. The fruits of the subspecies "Melby" greenish, with pink stripes and spots, sweet, juicy, are used in their natural form. Crop harvested once in August.

Another subspecies of the famous "Melba" - "Melba Red". Differs characteristic blush, large fruits with a moderately sweet taste. This subspecies is characterized by the presence of small inclusions like freckles under the skin. The variety is considered particularly fruitful - about 80 kilograms are harvested from one tree. Apples are devoid of the caramel flavor of the precursor, not so juicy and suitable for the production of varietal wines and juices.

The semi-dwarf "Melba" was obtained through the stock of low-growing species of apple trees. Due to this, the grade received the property of frost resistance. It can be easily grown in the conditions of Siberia and the Far East. This subspecies of "Melba" is capable of fruiting in the second year of life. Thanks to endurance, the tree can be planted in a permanent place in spring and autumn. And to collect the fruits from low trees is not difficult even for a child. The yield from one tree is about 20 kilograms per year with a weight of one fruit of 120 grams.

There is a so-called colony "Melba." This subspecies is not registered anywhere, although young apple trees with a crown, having similarities with the column, are so called in everyday life.

From the apple tree “Melby”, by breeding, such species as “Covenant”, obtained by multistage crossing with “Papirovka”, “Purple ranet” and “Pepin saffron”, were created; “Earlier aloe” and “Red early”, obtained by breeding from “Spring” and “Papirovka”. The famous "Caravel", bred by Canadian breeders from "Crimson Beauty" and the American "Prima", is resistant to temperature changes and also has immunity to various diseases, which allows them to be grown in the North-West region of the country.

To plant an apple tree, you need to hold a series of preliminary activities. Plant "Melbu" in the fall, after the cessation of fruiting and harvesting. Before planting the hole must be prepared. Apple tree prefers mainly loamy drained soil. They mix organic matter: peat with sand, rotted manure and humus in equal parts and lay in a hole with a diameter of a meter and a depth of 70 centimeters.

If the soil is excessively acidified, you can optionally add dolomite or lime powder. Before planting, the soil cushion of fertilizers should settle and completely perepret, so as not to burn the weak roots of plants. therefore It is advisable to prepare the soil for planting ahead of time, in the fall.

Young trees are also prepared for planting. To do this, they are pre-soaked for about a week in water so that the seedlings are soaked with moisture. Just before planting, the trunk is completely free from foliage, so that the plant does not lose the necessary supply of moisture, cutting off or tying the leaves. For support, saplings are strengthened with an additional skeleton - a stake to which a tree is tied.

Put them under the scheme of 8x3 or square rows of 7 meters. Deepening seedlings into the soil, carefully straighten the roots, leave the basal neck on the surface, while not tamping, and lightly sprinkling the tree trunk. Then pour the hole to the roots straightened out well.

It is not recommended to plant "Melbu" near groundwater. If there are any, and there is no other place for planting, then it is necessary to build a drainage channel, drainage or elevation in order to preserve the root system of the plant. With proper fertilization, it is necessary to feed the tree only one year after planting. We should not forget that the apple tree does not tolerate the lack of water and needs moderate watering.

An excess of moisture is also harmful to young trees. "Melbu" should be planted in open spaces with good lighting, as it is particularly sensitive to the lack of sunlight. Their deficiency adversely affects the fruiting, apples lose their sugar content, are deformed and shrink.

It is easy to care for “Melba”, you just need to adhere to the basic rules and maintain the varietal characteristics of the species.

With the onset of spring warming, the Melby complex pruning is carried out. A timely and well-performed procedure contributes to the rejuvenation of the crown and the laying of a good harvest. Here it is important to guess in order not to get into the phases of sap flow and disclosure of sleeping buds. At the very beginning a formative bookmark is made for the growth and development of the crown, capable of annual fruiting. In order to limit the main growth and branching of the side bearing branches, the main trunk is cut by a third. This is done in order to increase fruit growth and preserve the variety.

In addition to the formative and rejuvenating, sanitary cleaning from the basal, dried and broken branches is also necessary. This is due to the fact that over time, the Melby fruit trees transfer the focus of fruiting to a hard-to-reach upper spruce area, which leads to a decrease in yield. Therefore, it is necessary to trim the bearing branches. The tree feels relieved and places emphasis on the formation of fetal rudiments.

There are several main types of crown trimming:

• longline sparse, suitable for the formation of tall fruit trees;
• bowl-shaped pruning - for medium grown apple trees;
• Stalan - provides frost resistance, is used in the northern regions.

When implementing any kind of pruning, you should know that only three branches of a tree are removed per year, be sure to process fresh sections with garden pitch or special paint. Healing composition can be prepared by yourself. Known good proven cooking recipe. The basis of taking vegetable oil or any animal fat, which is allowed to simmer, adding 50 grams of rosin and the same amount of wax, all mixed until smooth.

The finished patch is cooled and closed for storage in jars. Such a composition can be stored for up to 10 years, retaining all of its therapeutic properties.

To improve the quality of the fruit and save space on the site, gardeners inoculate trees. This allows you to refine the existing variety and make some necessary corrections to it. The rootstocks are held all year round, but it is desirable to inoculate with cuttings in the spring, with the start of warming. Okkulirovka - inoculation "eye", carried out before flowering. During the period of summer sap flow, a sleeping eye is inoculated with a kidney.

In the autumn, before the onset of cold weather, fruit trees can be grafted in the cleft, behind the bark. For grafting young apple trees, the copulation method is used, when the graft and stock are approximately the same size. This method is suitable for year-round inoculation "Melby".

Before flowering, the first fertilizing of wood is carried out, for which nitrogen-containing mineral fertilizers are used with the addition of superphosphate and potassium chloride. You can use a composition of 200 grams of wood ash, the same amount of superphosphate and one third of potassium chloride. If the winter laying of organic matter was not carried out, it is introduced in early spring in the amount of five kilograms of manure with sand per tree. In this case, the composition must be well rotted, otherwise it is possible to burn the roots of the plant, which may result in the death of the plant. The following dressing is made in the summer.

Throughout the warm period, the apple tree is fed with nutrient mixtures with nitrogen, aqueous solutions of chicken manure with manure. Manure must be preliminarily diluted with water at the rate of 1 x 10. Additionally, the plant is irrigated with herbal infusions of nettle, horsetail and other herbs, to which also solutions with cereals are added. Infusions are prepared simply: pour a bucket of water and insist for several days.

During the fruiting period, apple trees no longer feed with nitrogen and prepare for wintering, give the plant a rest from stimulation and enhanced development, allowing itself to form fruit buds and growth zones. The internal mechanisms of the benign regime are enabled, allowing the tree to gradually reduce tone and slow down the life cycle.

By the fall, the main organic tab is produced: rotted manure with compost and peat composition in equal proportions. An additional top dressing is wood ash, with an aqueous solution that irrigates apple plantations before fruiting. 50 grams of potassium chloride are also introduced into the ground. The number and composition of fertilizers are calculated from the characteristics of fruit trees, climate and weather conditions, soil characteristics and growing areas.

To protect the trees from freezing, they should be covered in the fall, on the eve of the coming frosts, with dense breathing material. This cover will also protect the planting from rodents and insects. If you treat the cover and root zone with fungicides, you can not fear the penetration of strains of pathogenic bacteria into the plant. It is very dangerous for Apple to melt snow in the spring. To protect the tree from washing out of the ground cover, and with it the nutrients necessary for the beginning of the growing season and growth, the soil must be mulched.You can also create additional drainage for better outflow of external water.

Apple "Melba" equally badly tolerates both the abundance of moisture and its deficiency, so watering should be dosed, as needed, depending on the characteristics of the soil. On average, this is a bucket of water a week for one tree. You can activate watering before the fruit ripening phase, in the period from July to August.

In this important cycle, you should stop all sorts of top dressing and switch to water procedures, because at this time there is an active bookmark of fruit buds - the basis of the future harvest. If the apple tree receives less moisture, then the branches dry out and the fruit self-drops. As a result, under the trees you can see the fallen unripe apples.

Reinforced watering is carried out until the end of the harvest - until mid-August. Next, you need to switch to irrigation mode of the pristvolny zones as needed. During this period, it is undesirable to produce enhanced watering, as this may have a bad effect on young shoots. To compensate for the loss of moisture, you can resort to mulching as an additional method of preserving soil aeration in the tree trunks.

Apple "Melba", like all fruit trees, is subject to various diseases and attacks of insect pests. The main damage to the bark of trees is caused by the bark beetle, scab, and mite, which feed and live exclusively in the tree cover. Caterpillars, aphids, beetles, and moths destroy the crop and devour the green parts of the plants. For the destruction of pests resorted to urgent and effective measures, for which in the growing season, before flowering, apple irrigated with insecticides.

You can use a solution of copper oxide, for which an aqueous solution is prepared by adding 10 grams of the drug to a bucket of water. The resulting composition is thoroughly irrigated apple trees. This amount is enough to process at least three trees.

For the prevention and additional protection, whitewashing of the trunk and disinfection of the soil with chemicals against bacteria and insects are carried out. Such a composition for whitewashing is effective: 3 kilograms of lime are diluted in 10 liters of water, half a liter of copper sulfate and a small bottle of wood glue are added to the composition. At the very beginning, before processing, the surface is prepared by cleaning out the growths in the form of lichens and moss with a special metal brush.

The procedure is carried out in dry calm weather, when precipitation is not expected in the near future. After stripping, the bark is treated with garden bark to hide the cracks and smooth the surface before painting. Paint with a brush or spray gun, evenly distributing whitewash on the main trunk and skeletal forks of trees, paying particular attention to damaged parts. Young apple trees do not need whitewashing, as it clogs the pores of the still unripe bark. A tree can lose its immunity and get sick. Saplings process the bottom of the trunk and branches with insecticides, applying them with a thick brush in several layers.

In order to protect against rodents, pests the trunk of an apple tree for the winter is covered with a tarpaulin, nylon or other durable material. Mulch huts from flexible twigs of willow, raspberry and cherry are used, as well as roofing material and roofing felt. The wire netting is also used for fixation, but first it is covered with lime and chalk, and when using synthetic materials, the bark of the tree is pre-closed with matting or sacking.

The most common disease among the trees in this Melba variety is scab. To many other diseases, it is more or less stable.Therefore, for prophylactic purposes, constant pruning, feeding and harvesting should be carried out around the trees, removing dead leaves, branches and other unnecessary elements that can become sources of infection.

In addition to prevention, carry out chemical treatment of plants, consisting of three-phase care. The first treatment is carried out before the buds are opened, for which 10% ammonium nitrate is introduced into the root zone, and the crown, branches and trunk are irrigated with 2% Bordeaux mixture. The second phase of processing is performed at the time of flowering and consists of repeating the previous one. Subsequent and final is produced during the fruiting period using the same preparations in the same quantitative composition. After harvesting, fruit trees are treated with a highly concentrated solution of ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate and potassium salt.

A scaby tree is sprayed with an aqueous solution of “Gamair” or any other bactericidal composition at the rate of one tablet of the drug per liter of water. Such treatments will need at least three per season. Plants are also treated with a biological type of immunomodulator "Fitolavin", for which 20 milliliters of the therapeutic composition is diluted in a bucket of water. Water the trees at least 4 times.

Effectively handle trees with a solution of the drug "Strobe" in the proportions of 10 milliliters per 10 liters of water. The compound is treated with the trunk, the affected parts and the circumferential circle three times per season.

Fungicide "Horus" also copes well with scab. It is not washed off by rainwater and therefore is a drug of prolonged action. For use, dilute 3 ml in 10 liters of water, trees are abundantly sprayed with this solution twice: before the flowering phase and after.

Melba apples have a long ripening period. As a rule, it stretches from one and a half to two months. During this time, you can remove the ripe fruit from the trees. In a good year, you can collect from one tree up to 150 kilograms of apples, 150 grams each. Fallen fruits are immediately processed, and manually shot can be stored for about a month.

With proper storage - a small positive temperature and low humidity, the shelf life can last up to three months. But this is only if the apples are placed in wooden boxes filled with sawdust and observe a temperature regime not exceeding +3 degrees Celsius.

Some gardeners wrap each fruit in wax paper and place it in a cellar for long-term storage. Of course, this method contributes to the preservation of the harvest, but it is better to use fresh apples. It is categorically impossible to store the fruits of the variety “Melba” in cellophane or polyethylene, otherwise they will simply rot or spray. When storing in the refrigerator, you need to place the fruit in compartments designed specifically for this purpose.

The fruits of "Melby" literally fed on a large number of vitamins and minerals. Possessing a low calorie content, they contain the necessary composition of amino acids, ascorbic acid, sucrose, fructose and pectin. The daily consumption rate is 2.5 kg, it provides the body with iron, magnesium, potassium and zinc. The fruits of "Melby" are used for baby food, for example, for the manufacture of mashed potatoes, a variety of cereals and juice-containing drinks.Delicious apples with pleasure are consumed by children in fresh form, as well as in the form of compotes and desserts, for example, baked apples with sugar and cottage cheese.

Apple "Melba" has recently become widespread. The subtypes derived by breeding acquired frost resistance and scab resistance. As a result, Melbu and its varieties are successfully grown in many regions of the country. Often you can see "Melby's Daughter" next to the "mother". Horticulture specialists know that this is how plants are successfully pollinated.

Whole apple plantations are planted, production for the collection and processing of fruits and whole systems are organized, ranging from planting cuttings to the stage of wood utilization. Processing products are used in the construction industry. Wood is also used for the production of charcoal, packaging material and as a fuel.

Reviews on the quality of fruit products are very diverse. Consumers note the high taste characteristics of Melba variety apples. Many compare its flowering with sakura. The color of Chinese cherry is also surprisingly beautiful and is pleasing to the eye. In the spring over the gardens spreads a wonderful fragrance, and in the morning amber mists float on the slopes.

The inhabitants of the southern regions, growing "Melbu", noted the early period of fruiting, around the end of July, as well as high yields. Some gardeners try to stimulate self-pollination by locating hives with bees on the plot of land or cottages. Undoubtedly, bright flowers attract pollinating insects, but this does not obviate the need to plant other varieties.

In some estates you can see fancy compositions based on "Melba", resembling dwarf bonsai with small ruddy apples. This is the fruit of a long and painstaking work of landscape design specialists. Such ornamental trees do not grow on their own, but undergo complex processing, starting with direction finding of roots and crown formation, and ending with the introduction of special compounds that prevent the tree from growing. The crown and trunk cover with beeswax, additionally performing a protective function against pests and adverse environmental conditions.

Description characteristics of apple varieties "Melba", see the following video.