Apple 'Bely Naliv'

Apple 'Bely Naliv' (Malus domestica) – an early-summer cultivar of the domesticated apple (Malus domestica). The cultivar was presumably developed by folk selection in the Baltic region.

It is a medium-sized tree with a pyramidal crown in southern regions or a rounded crown in northern regions. Fruits on spurs. Shoots are heavily pubescent, brown-olive in color, of medium thickness. Lenticels elongated, white, sparse. Vegetative buds are flat, small, grayish, flat.

Leaves are elliptic or ovate, not curved, almost matte, gray-green, heavily pubescent (especially underneath). Petioles are long or of medium length.

Blooms profusely and early; buds are not afraid of frost. Flowers large, saucer-shaped; petals white-pink, oblong, with raised edges, closing or overlapping; the stigma of the pistil is at the level of or slightly above the anthers.

Fruits are medium-sized, weighing 100–130 g, ripen in late July to early August, round-conical, light yellow, with a pleasant aroma. Flesh is sweet-sour, white, tender and juicy; when overripe it becomes mealy. Skin is thin, without overcolor; bruises or pressure marks are immediately noticeable. Fruits store for 2–3 weeks. Fruits of the 'Bely Naliv' apple can be eaten immediately after harvest.

Hardiness zone: 4a (-32°C).

Location: prefers sunny, wind-protected sites. Does not tolerate waterlogging or very dry places. Groundwater should be no closer than 2.5 m from the surface. Not demanding to soil, but prefers fertile, fresh soils.

Planting: It is preferable to plant the sapling in spring before bud break or in autumn 1–1.5 months before frosts. The planting hole should be at least 80×80×100 cm; spacing between saplings should be calculated depending on the crown size at maturity (at least 5–6 m). The sapling is filled with a soil mixture consisting of leaf soil, humus and sand in a ratio of 1:3:2; a little peat and granular double superphosphate (250–300 g per planting hole) can also be added.

Diseases: medium resistance to leaf and fruit scab.

Pests: hawthorn tortrix moth, hawthorn moth, brown fruit mite, upper-surface fruit moth, apple blossom weevil, oriental fruit moth, pear sawfly, pear tube moth, oak-leaf silkworm, cambium borer, western unpaired bark beetle, green apple aphid, winter moth, geometer moth, ringed silkworm, red-gall apple aphid, red apple mite, woolly apple aphid (literally "blood aphid"), leaf-mining moth, gypsy moth, common pear psylla, codling moth, fruit and subcortical leaf-roller, "striped" geometer, rowan moth, currant leaf-roller, cutworm, fruit striped moth, apple rimiform scale, psylla, apple moth, apple moth and leaf-roller, apple fruit borer, apple clearwing moth, apple-plantain aphid, apple sawfly.

Care: In the second year after planting it is necessary to apply a complete mineral fertilizer (phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium). In winter protection from frost damage and rodents is required. Whitewashing of apples is applied in the 5th–6th year after planting the sapling. In the spring-summer period provide nitrogen fertilization and moderate watering. Fertilize the apple after flowering, then after fruit drop, and the last time in late August to early September.

Pruning: done in two ways: thinning and shortening. For shortening, remove half of the upper parts of shoots; for thinning, remove the shoot or branch entirely. The optimal period for pruning is early spring – March to May. Apples planted the previous autumn should be pruned before the start of sap flow. Summer pruning (pinching) can also be used.

Propagation: propagated by sowing seeds (in autumn with freshly collected seeds; in spring after 1.5–2 months of stratification), by grafting and by layering.

Use: the cultivar is valued for its early ripening. It has high taste qualities. Transportability is low.