Harvesting winter varieties of apples is a laborious process that requires meeting deadlines, preparing containers and premises for storing fruits. Inexperienced gardeners perederzhivat fruits on the tree, because of which the apple tree is depleted and does not tolerate wintering.
Harvesting in time is half the battle, in order to preserve its taste qualities for a long time, it is necessary to properly prepare for storage.
Features of late ripening fruits
The fruits of winter apple varieties have a harmonious taste and lasting aroma. They ripen by the end of September or the beginning of October, when other fruits are already harvested. Varieties taken from branches in the fall (before frost), have a long shelf life.
They have larger fruits with a high content of minerals, especially potassium and iron. In apples there is pectin, vitamins B1 and B2, dietary fiber. Fruits have a strong peel, a dense consistence of pulp. They are suitable for long storage and transportation.
Information. In the industrial cultivation of fruit, winter apple varieties occupy a large area of orchards.
Most popular types
- Bogatyr - large heavy fruits of light green color. The flesh is sweet and sour. Ripeness comes by the end of December. To cut the apples you need in October, when the fruits are already able to get juice before the first frost.
- Aport - red large apples with a glossy peel have crumbly flesh. The taste is sweet and sour, consumed fresh or go for juices, marmalade, jam. The crop is removed at the end of September, it ripens in a month.
- Antonovka - early winter variety, especially popular. Apples have a green-yellow color, the flesh is juicy, sweet and sour. Take off the fruit in September. Without processing stored for three months.
- Jonathan - round-conical fruits of bright red color with a glossy sheen. The flesh is sweet, with high juiciness and pleasant aroma. Collection is recommended at the end of September. In cold conditions, they are stored until April - May, in warm storages - until February.
What time is it taken for storage?
Winter apples are removed in the middle of autumn, it is important to have time to finish the work before the steady cold comes. Unlike other types of apples, full ripening of fruits intended for long storage is not allowed. They reach consumer maturity not in the branches of the tree, but in the boxes. The harvest begins when the end of September comes.
The apples are still hard and sour, they contain a large amount of starch. After 2-3 months in the process of ripening, the fruits acquire a color characteristic of the variety, a pronounced aroma appears. Starch undergoes hydrolysis, turning into sucrose and glucose. Apples become more sweet and juicy.
The timing of the crop is affected by weather conditions. In hot summer, the fruits ripen earlier, in the cold season, maturity is postponed for several weeks. In addition to the calendar Experts determine the time when you need to collect apples for storage, according to several criteria:
- the size of the fruit;
- age is the time from flowering, taking into account the temperature;
- cover color;
- the amount of starch;
- pulp density.
It is enough for gardeners to know the basic rules when to remove apples for storage, so as not to miss optimal collection time:
- apples are easily separated from the branch along with the stem;
- seeds have a dark brown color;
- fruits are hard and sour, but large.
How to find out exactly the timing of the collection of apples for storage:
How to pick fruit?
Fruit harvesting has its own rules, ranging from the choice of weather and time of day to the method of picking apples. For winter varieties that are placed on long-term storage, especially It is important to follow the rules of collection:
- Do not water the tree before harvesting.
- Choose to work dry weather. It’s better to start for dinner when the dew dries. Fruits must be dry, moisture contributes to the spread of disease.
- First of all, the apples are cut from the lower branches, gradually moving to the crown.
- Fruits cannot be pulled, branches are damaged. They are taken in hand and cranked, lifting. With this technology, the stem is gently separated from the branch. Her presence is a good guarantee for long storage.
- Fruits are removed and placed in a container carefully, trying not to damage the peel and wax coating on it.
- First, they remove apples from the south side of the tree, where they ripen earlier.
Attention. You can not shake a tree to get fruits on high branches.
In the case when the fruit was damaged during the fall, they can not be removed for storage. These apples quickly rot themselves and spoil the next fruits.
Apples from the high branches are torn using stepladders or special devices - plodars. This is a purchased or homemade plastic construction with cutouts at the edges. It is attached to a long stick and allows you to carefully remove the fruit. Wormy, damaged fruit and carrion are immediately rejected for processing.
How to pick apples for storage:
Preparing for the tab for the winter
Before being placed on long-term storage, apples must be trained. The first stage is sorting. Fruits are selected according to several parameters:
- size - small, medium, large;
- quality - the whole peel, the absence of wormholes and other damage, the presence of the stem;
- variety - depending on the variety, apples differ in shelf life.
Apples should not be left in the air after harvesting for a long time, it is advisable to immediately send them to the store.
How to store and stack?
Long-term storage of apples is possible only when the temperature is low enough - 2-5 ° C. Moisture in a room matters, it should be in the range of 85-90%. In a dry microclimate, fruits quickly wilt and shrink.
Containers with wet sand will help to avoid this. If a basement is used for storage, it must be prepared. Do the cleaning, whiten the walls with a solution of lime and copper sulfate. Disinfection will get rid of bacteria and fungi that threaten the condition of apples.
Apples can be laid in several ways:
each fruit is wrapped in paper and stacked up on the stem, can be placed in several layers;- apples sprinkled with sand or clean sawdust, they should not touch each other, put in a box of 3-4 layers;
- in hermetically sealed plastic bags, apples are poured in 5-7 kg, stored in the basement or in a hole on the street, covered with earth.
each fruit is wrapped in paper and stacked up on the stem, can be placed in several layers;Places in which apples can be placed for storage can be the following: a store room, a balcony, a cellar, a refrigerator.
Important! Apples should not be stored next to other fruits and vegetables. They produce ethylene, which is harmful for products.
During winter, fruits are regularly inspected., rotten apples are removed.
How to save apples in winter:
Tree care after harvest
Competent autumn care contributes to safe wintering and a bountiful harvest for the next year. It includes several activities.
- Moisture charging watering - before wintering the ground must be well moistened. This will allow the roots to grow and accumulate nutrients. Careful hydration to a depth of at least a meter will prevent winter draining. The amount of water depends on the age of the apple tree: the young tree will need 50 liters, the old 100-150 liters.
- Top dressing - The tree needs to enrich the soil with potash fertilizers and superphosphates. They are introduced simultaneously with irrigation, dissolved in water. Dosage: 50 g of potassium chloride and 100 g of phosphate per 10 liters of water.
- Stripping bark - lichens and moss are removed from the surface of the trunk. The old bark is removed along with the pests hiding behind it.
Pest control - spraying urea solution is used to rid the apple tree of scab. Bordeaux liquid helps to get rid of fungi (3%).- Whitewash - The procedure is performed at the end of November. The composition is prepared from lime (2.5 kg), copper sulphate (0.5 kg), wood glue (0.2 kg) per 10 liters of water.
- Mulching - after collecting the foliage and digging the soil around the apple tree, pour mulch - compost, humus or peat.
Pest control - spraying urea solution is used to rid the apple tree of scab. Bordeaux liquid helps to get rid of fungi (3%).Some gardeners cover the trunk with sacking from frost and rodents, but this is not necessary.
Apples - one of the most delicious and healthy fruits. Winter varieties are distinguished by a large amount of vitamins and retain their qualities for many months. Fruits with sweet-sour pulp and dense skin provide gardeners with useful substances until the next spring. Apples can be consumed fresh or processed into compotes, jams, dried fruits.
