Description of the Kiev early peach variety, planting rules and care
The peach tree is originally a southern, heat-loving plant. The cultivation of delicate sweet fruits in the regions of Russia became possible thanks to Soviet breeders. Through the efforts of scientists, a variety of early Kiev peach has been developed, which tolerates cold winters well and quickly adapts to different climatic conditions.
Description and characteristics of the variety Kievsky early
The tree grows up to 5 meters high. By the third year, a rounded crown with spreading branches is formed. At the same time, the culture begins to bear fruit. The leaves are narrow, elongated with a finely toothed border. Peach bloom begins in April-May and lasts until foliage opens. When describing the variety of Kiev early peach, one cannot fail to mention its similarity with sakura in the beauty of pink inflorescences.
Rounded fruits weighing 80–100 g near the tree are yellow with a blush and velvety skin. Ripen by mid-summer. The pulp is white, sweet, juicy with sourness and delicate aroma. Unlike other varieties, it does not blush closer to the hard-to-separate pointed bone, mottled with grooves.
The peach pleases with delicious refreshing fruits in the early stages, despite the frosty winters, thanks to its ability to quickly recover.
Pros and cons of peach
The demand for an early Kiev peach is explained by the prevalence of the advantages of the variety over the disadvantages. To the pluses of culture, gardeners include:
- early ripening of fruits;
- yield - up to 60 kg per tree every year;
- recognized palatability of fruits;
- high resistance to diseases affecting peach trees;
- fast growth rates;
- adaptation to climatic conditions, frost resistance;
- the use of fruits in dietetics, cooking, cosmetology due to the vitamins and minerals they contain;
- fruits normalize blood pH;
- possibility of transportation.
Cons of culture:
- exactingness to moderate soil moisture;
- hard-to-remove bones;
- tendency to curl crown.
The fruits of this variety are among the most delicious. With adequate care, the tree bears fruit for up to 15 years.
The specifics of growing a plant
The choice of a place, a seedling, planting and other agrotechnical measures when growing an early Kiev peach have their own characteristics.
Where is the best place to plant?
Fruit trees love elevated areas without stagnant water, cold winds. For flowering, the formation of an ovary requires sufficient sunlight.Experienced gardeners exclude the cultivation of other plants closer than three meters from the early Kiev peach, do not allow shading by buildings, a fence.
The soil for the culture is prepared nutritious, slightly acidic with good drainage. Landing in swampy ground or near groundwater lying closer than 1.5 from the surface is unacceptable. Due to the risk of infection with verticillosis, areas where melons, tomatoes, and strawberries used to grow are not suitable for use.
The timing of planting a peach depends on the climate of a particular region. In the southern regions, the recommended time is autumn. Where winters are cold, the seedling takes time to root and adapt. In central Russia, the optimal time is spring, after the snow cover has melted and the land has dried.
The choice of planting material
Seedlings of Kiev early peach are purchased in specialized nurseries. The trees are preliminarily inspected for integrity, the absence of deformations and damage to the trunk, branches. Find out from the manufacturer how adapted the variety is to local conditions.
Pay attention to the development of the root system. The normal length of the roots of a two-year-old seedling is at least 30 cm. An even, straight stem should not have lateral branches.
By the color of a torn off piece of bark, a live or dried seedling is determined. The inside of the bark is green, which means the plant is suitable for growing. If the color is brown, the tree is dead.
How to plant a peach?
It is recommended to dig a pit for a culture with a depth and width of 60 cm in the fall to shrink the soil. Otherwise, the seedling will be pulled to a greater depth than it was planned to plant.
The fertile layer of the soil of the planting pit is separated from the infertile one, throwing it back in different places. A bucket of peat or humus, 200 g of ash or 200 g of complex mineral fertilizers are added to the topsoil. After laying on the bottom of the drainage, the fertilized soil is poured from above. Bad soil is scattered over the site or taken out of it.
Peach planting algorithm:
- A retaining stake is dug in the center of the recess for planting.
- A mound is formed in the pit, on which the roots of the seedling are spread.
- The tree is carefully covered with earth, periodically shaking it so that no voids appear between the roots. The root collar is allowed to deepen by no more than 5 cm. The inoculation site should be located above the ground.
- The retaining stake is tied to the peach trunk.
- The seedling is watered.
- When the soil subsides, more earth is added, a near-trunk circle is formed, mulched with sawdust, bark.
Pollinators
The variety is self-pollinated. To maximize the yield, other varieties are planted nearby, blooming at the same time as Kiev early - Redhaven, Velvety, Greensboro. The optimum distance between fruit trees is 3-4 m. If planted closer to each other, there will be a lack of light and minerals. With rare plantings, the intensity of pollination decreases.
Subtleties of crop care
The key to high yields, excellent taste of tender juicy fruits lies not only in choosing a healthy seedling and planting. Correct care of early Kiev peach affects the growth of the culture, reveals its varietal characteristics completely.
Watering
An adult tree needs 5 waterings per season. The first time the soil is moistened through the groove of the trunk circle 10 days before flowering. Then - as needed. The early Kiev peach especially feels the need for water during drought. You can water the culture abundantly no earlier than the bones in the fruits become hard. Otherwise, the risk of skin cracking increases.
The land under young trees is moistened in the summer in the absence of rain every 2 weeks, pouring a bucket of water under them.
Top dressing
In the spring, under the Kiev early peach, nitrogen-containing fertilizers are applied - nitroammofoska, urea.In the early days of summer, potash preparations are used to form the ovary, increase the sugar content of the fruits.
If the soil in the planting pit is fertilized according to the rules, then the peach is fed with liquid organic matter in the summer, starting from the third year. Stop application 2 weeks before harvest.
One of the best organic fertilizers for fruit trees is chicken manure. Organic matter is combined in equal parts with water, kept warm for 3 days. Before use, the infusion is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10. The optimal amount for feeding is 1 liter per 2 sq. m of land.
Complex mineral fertilizers are added to organic fertilizers in the first half of summer. In autumn, when digging the earth, humus, superphosphate, ash are introduced.
Pruning
Pruning of Kiev early peach is carried out for sanitary purposes, for crown formation and for rejuvenation, when old branches are replaced with young ones. Sanitary pruning of crops is carried out in spring and autumn. Sick deformed branches are removed.
Formative pruning is carried out exclusively in the spring, when the average daily air temperature reaches 5 ° C.
When forming the skeleton of a tree, in the first year, the conductor is shortened at a height of half a meter. One skeletal branch is left from the shoots of the lower tier. Higher by 5 buds on the opposite side - the second. They are cut to 20 cm. In the second year, two skeletal branches of the second tier are formed, located higher than last year's. The trunk is cut at the level of the fourth branch. The branches of the lower tier are cut by 1/3, and the second one is 10 cm less than the first.
In the third spring, branches of the second order are laid. At a distance of at least 50 cm from the trunk, several processes of the skeletal branches of the lower row are taken, shortened to 40 cm. In the fourth year, the same procedure is repeated, but with the second tier. An early Kiev peach annually needs to free the stem from overgrowth, to shorten the ends of skeletal branches.
Do I need to cook an early Kiev peach for wintering?
Preparing a culture for winter includes the following activities:
- abundant autumn watering;
- mulching of the near-stem circle with sawdust, peat, dry grass;
- whitewashing of the trunk, lower branches.
If the peach is formed in the form of a bush, the branches are tied up, bent to the ground, covered with dry leaves. A frame is built around the seedling, on which agrofibre, spunbond is fixed. In adult trees, the stem is tied with burlap, spruce branches or cardboard with a layer of dry grass.
Fighting disease
The main fungal diseases of the culture include:
- Curliness. All organs of the early Kiev peach are affected, but most of all the foliage. First, swellings appear on the leaf plates, the color changes from green to red and brown. Further, the leaves curl, fall off. For the treatment of the culture, Bordeaux liquid is used, 3 percent before bud break, 2 percent when blooming and 1 percent when growing shoots.
- Clasterosporium disease. Small red spots form on the leaves of the peach, which dry out to create holes. The disease spreads to the bark of the trunk, branches, forming ulcers. Over time, "warts" appear on the fruit. Before bud break, during budding and after flowering, the culture is treated with copper oxychloride (3.5 g per liter of water).
- Fruit rot. Affects fruits with mold. Sick specimens are removed so as not to infect neighboring ones. The tree is sprayed with safe fungicides - Fitolavin, Planriz, Gamair.
- Powdery mildew. On the leaves, branches, fruits, a gray fungal bloom forms, which reduces frost resistance and crop yield. Treatment consists in the application of Fundazole before flowering, Topas after it.
For the prevention of fungal diseases of Kiev early peach, sanitary pruning, cleaning of foliage, fruits and branches under trees from the ground are recommended.
Pest control
Of the common insect pests that attack the culture, there are:
- fruit moth;
- weevils;
- aphids;
- eastern moth.
Moth caterpillars, destroying shoots, are fought with the help of Nitrofen, Karbofos, Spark. To get rid of the weevil eating all parts of the Kiev early peach, double-sided tape is glued to the trunk. When a lot of insects gather on the fishing belt, the device is removed and disposed of. It helps to whitewash the trunk and branches, digging up the earth in the near-trunk circle, processing the culture with copper sulfate, Fitoverm, Metaphos.
Aphids that suck out juices and lead to drying out of leaves, buds, young branches do not like spraying with an infusion of garlic, onion husks and dandelions. Of the chemicals, Nitrofen, Dursban, Decis are used.
The pink caterpillars of the Eastern moth destroy peach shoots and fruits. A solution of Chlorophos (20 g per 10 L of water), Karbofos (60 g per 10 L of water) is suitable for the destruction of the pest.
Harvesting and marketing
When picking fruits, it is important not to miss the technical ripeness period, if the fruits are sold, culinary processing. For fresh consumption, peaches should not be overripe, since the taste and texture of the pulp are not changing for the better. Fruits lose their juiciness and become dry.
Fruits are used to make compotes, preserves, jam, mashed potatoes. Selected fruits without damage and crumpled sides, with a dense skin. Such specimens contain more vitamins, micro and macro elements.
Fresh peaches are stored for no more than a week in the refrigerator. The correct choice of a seedling, planting and further care of the Kiev early peach makes it possible for Russian gardeners to enjoy delicate fragrant fruits, starting from mid-July.
