12 secrets to apricot cultivation

July 15, 2022 89 Comments

One of the most favorite fruits that we enjoy first in the summer season are the delicious apricots. In most Greek home gardens, the apricot tree is perhaps the most popular fruit tree after the lemon tree.

Native to central Asia and northern China, the apricot tree is a deciduous tree that has similar growing cares to the peach tree and the plum tree that belong to the same family.

In the Greek area, apricot is cultivated mainly in mainland Greece, in Evia, Peloponnese, Thessaly and Macedonia, as apricots have a significant commercial value due to their early appearance on the market.

Apricots, in addition to being a tasty fruit, are a food with high nutritional value, as they are rich in vitamins, antioxidants and fiber while having relatively few calories. They are eaten fresh, dried, in compotes and in refreshing juices during the summer season.

Let’s see in detail which are the main varieties of apricot to plant, as well as useful tips for growing apricot so that we can enjoy a rich production of apricots full of flavor and aroma.

Advertising

1. What are the most popular apricot varieties to plant?

There are many remarkable varieties of apricot, local Greek and foreign, that have excellent characteristics to plant in our garden. The most popular apricot varieties grown in our country are the following:

• Bebekou apricot variety : Very good Greek apricot variety, with large fruit size, relatively round, suitable both for fresh consumption and for compote, with very cohesive and juicy flesh and excellent taste that ripens in mid-June. Bebeku apricots are susceptible to the flesh virus which causes significant problems in apricot cultivation.

• Diamantopoulos apricot variety : Another very good Greek apricot variety, with medium fruit size and relatively spherical shape, slightly flattened, relatively late as it ripens at the end of June. It has a light yellow color and soft fruit flesh, very sweet, aromatic and excellent taste. The Diamantopoulou variety is also suitable for drying fruits.

• Apricot variety Tiryns : Super early apricot variety that ripens at the end of May, it is considered of average quality, as it is not so good in taste and is susceptible to the flesh virus.

• Harcot Apricot variety : Variety originating from Canada, very productive, with large fruit size, orange color and sweet juicy taste. Excellent variety, resistant to the flesh virus that ripens in the second ten days of June.

• Apricot variety Aurora: Early apricot variety that ripens at the end of May, resistant to the flesh virus with a relatively large fruit size. Relatively tasty variety whose fruit softens quickly.

2. What conditions does apricot cultivation need to give us fruit?

Apricot thrives in sunny areas with relatively cold winters, as it is resistant to low temperatures.

In warm areas with mild winters, apricot flowering presents problems, as well as in areas where there is high humidity and rainfall in the spring season.

As for the soil, apricot cultivation needs deep, fertile soils with good drainage.

Apricots are not recommended for planting in dry sandy soils, as well as in coastal areas where the soil has high salinity.

Apricot tree flowers

3. At what time do we plant the apricots and at what distances?

The potted apricot trees we supply are planted in the ground in spring and autumn.

For bare-root seedlings, without a ball of soil, the appropriate planting time is the winter period.

Gymnosperms: what they are and how they are planted

Planting distances in apricot cultivation depend on the vigor of the variety and the fertility of the soil.

As an example, suitable planting distances for apricot trees are 5-7 meters between plants, when planted in a tarragon shape.

In linear formation systems, such as palmetta, we plant the apricots closer at distances of 3-4 meters.

Planting distances for fruit tree crops

When planting the apricot tree, we open pits of at least 45×45 cm and add digested manure and compost to improve the soil and better develop its root system.

4. When does the apricot crop need watering?

Apricot cultivation needs regular watering in water, especially when growing in relatively warm areas.

Watering the apricot tree must be abundant, especially during the summer, as it creates dense foliage and produces many fruits.

Watering the apricot tree must continue even after the fruit has been harvested, because otherwise the apricot tree shows exhaustion and becomes susceptible to fungal and bacterial diseases.

5. How often do we fertilize the apricot trees?

Apricot has important fertilization requirements to ensure satisfactory growth and fruiting.

We incorporate complete organic fertilizer, along with manure and compost in the February-March period. A top-up potassium fertilization can be done in early May to help increase fruit size and ripening.

Also, the apricot is sensitive to the lack of boron that appears with browning and corking inside the fruits. To address the deficiency, spray with foliar fertilizers containing liquid boron.

What are foliar fertilizers and how do we use them?

6. What diseases and insects affect apricot cultivation?

Apricot cultivation is affected by fungal diseases such as powdery mildew and downy mildew that cause problems in apricot foliage and fruits. For the biological treatment of diseases, we spray the apricots with wet sulfur.

Anarsia and fruit borer insects are a significant problem, as a result of which the affected apricot fruits are wormed and fall prematurely or deteriorate in quality and become unfit for eating. To deal with apricot worms, we spray with organic insecticides such as Thuringia bacillus and natural pyrethrin.

How to deal with the worm in apricots (anarsia)

We should also refer to the smallpox virus or plum pox virus that causes fruit deformation, uneven ripening and discoloration on the surface of the fruit, making them inedible and not marketable.

7. What season and how is the apricot tree pruned?

The apricot crop shows vigorous growth and must be pruned every year to keep it in good condition and give us tasty apricots.

Suitable pruning season for apricot trees is in the middle of winter, from December to February, depending on the variety of apricot and the area we grow.

Apricot pruning is divided into shaping pruning and fruiting pruning. The shaping pruning of the apricot concerns the shape we will give to the young tree, usually cup-shaped for amateur gardens.

Fruiting pruning is aimed at maintaining the shape of the tree, renewing the fruiting wood and forming new fruiting organs.

To help better ventilation and lighting of the tree, we remove older and dry branches, as well as cut branches that bend towards the ground and those that escape too high.

When and how to prune the apricot tree

8. Do apricot fruits need thinning?

The apricot tree usually produces a larger amount of fruit than it can support, resulting in often smaller or tasteless fruits.

In order to enjoy larger-sized apricots with a rich taste, in addition to additional fertilization, we thin the fruits, which also contributes to the early production.

Thinning in apricots is done when the core of the fruit starts to harden, about 1.5-2 months after flowering. We thin the apricots, removing the smaller fruits of the apricot so that the distance between the fruits is around 5 cm.

9. What season do we harvest apricots and how do we preserve them?

Apricots are carefully picked by hand to avoid damaging the fruit, from late spring to mid-summer, depending on the variety. The harvest is done when the fruits are ripe and relatively firm.

It is worth mentioning that after being cut from the tree, apricots do not continue to ripen, unlike other fruits such as pears.

Fresh apricots are preserved in the refrigerator at a temperature around 0°C and in conditions of high relative humidity, where they can be preserved for up to 2 weeks.

For a longer shelf life, apricots are dried or composted.

10. How is the apricot tree propagated?

To create new apricot plants, we plant apricot seed (kernel) and inoculate them with the desired apricot variety.

In professional nurseries, apricot varieties are grafted onto suitable rootstocks for grafting (grafting), namely apricot, peach and myrtle rootstocks.

Rootstocks of fruit trees and compatible varieties for grafting

Apricot grafting is done with T-type inoculation with a dormant bud in the period of August – September or with T-type inoculation with a sprouting bud of young seedlings in the spring period and in the period of June – July depending on the region and climatic conditions.

11. Can we grow apricots in pots?

Although it is not very common to plant the apricot in a pot, we can grow it with definitely more limited growth and small production.

It is good to choose varieties of apricot that have been shaped into a dwarf growth to be better planted in a pot.

It is important to place the apricot pot in a sunny, south-facing position on our balcony or patio that is also protected from strong winds.

We choose a pot with dimensions of at least 40×40 centimeters so that the root system of the apricot tree can develop.

To plant the apricot tree in a pot, we use enriched potting soil for general use or special potting soil for fruit trees and place a layer of gravel or pumice stone at the base of the pot for better drainage.

12. And one last secret for apricot cultivation

The planting of the apricot tree should be avoided in lands where we had previously grown vegetables such as tomatoes and potatoes, as the apricot tree is susceptible to the development of the adromycosis diseases that attack the root system of the trees.

Share the article with your friends: