Apple 'Konfetnoe'

Apple 'Konfetnoe' (Malus domestica) – a summer cultivar of the domestic apple (Malus domestica). The cultivar was developed by VNDIS named after Michurin, obtained by crossing the cultivars 'Korobovka' and 'Papirovka'.

It is a vigorous tree with a broadly rounded, fairly dense crown formed by powerful scaffold branches arising from the trunk at 45–80 degrees. The ability to form shoots is fairly high in youth. It fruits mainly on spurs (ringlets) and on the tips of one-year shoots.

Leaves large or medium, dark green. Blooms in mid-season, abundantly.

Fruits are small, weighing 100–150 g, round in shape, with a yellow ground color, but the entire surface is covered with a dark-orange or reddish blush. The skin is thin but firm. The flesh is very sweet, juicy, with a characteristic honey aroma. Ripening is uneven, beginning from late July and continuing until mid-August. They store in a refrigerator for 15–20 days. Begins to bear fruit in the 3rd–4th year after planting. Yield is average; from a 5-year-old tree up to 50 kg of apples can be harvested, by 8–10 years yield reaches 100 kg per tree. In youth it bears regularly; at older age it fruits periodically, while fruit quality is retained.

Hardiness zone: 4 (-28°C).

Location: prefers sunny, sheltered-from-wind sites. Does not tolerate waterlogging or very dry places. Groundwater should lie 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 1-15 months before frosts. The planting hole should be at least 80x80x100 cm; spacing between saplings should be calculated depending on the crown size of the tree at maturity (at least 5–6 m). The sapling is backfilled with a soil mixture consisting of leaf mould, 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: immune to powdery mildew, may be affected by scab.

Pests: боярышниковая кружковая моль, боярышница, бурый плодовый клещ, верхнесторонняя плодовая моль, яблонный цветоед, восточная плодожорка, грушевый пилильщик, грушевый трубковерт, дуболистный шелкопряд, заболонник, западный непарный короед, зеленая яблонная тля, зимняя пяденица, казарка, кольчатый шелкопряд, красногалловая яблонная тля, красный яблонный клещ, кровяная тля, минирующая моль, непарный шелкопряд, обыкновенная грушевая медяница, плодовая моль, плодовая и подкоровая листовертка, пяденица обдирало, рябинная моль, смородинная листовертка, совка-синеголовка, фруктовая полосатая моль, яблонная запятовидная щитовка, медяница, яблонная моль, яблонная моль и листовертка, яблонная плодожорка, яблонная стекляница, яблонно-подорожниковая тля, яблонный пилильщик.

Care: In the second year after planting it is necessary to apply a complete mineral fertilizer (phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium). In winter protection against freezing and rodents is required. Whitewashing of apple trees is applied in the 5th–6th year after planting the sapling. In the spring–summer period it is necessary to supply nitrogen fertilizer and moderate watering. Feedings are applied after flowering, then after fruitlet drop, and the last one at the end of August – beginning of September.

Pruning: it is recommended to prune the crown periodically to avoid over-thickening. Pruning is performed in two ways: thinning and shortening. For shortening, half of the upper parts of the shoots are removed, and for thinning the shoot or branch is removed entirely. The optimal period for pruning is early spring – March–May. Apple trees planted the previous autumn should be pruned before the onset of sap flow. Summer pruning – pinching – can also be applied.

Propagation: propagated by grafting onto rootstocks.

Use: the cultivar is valued for the high taste quality of its fruits and attractive appearance. Fruits are consumed fresh and used in cooking for compotes, kissels, jams, preserves, mousses, jellies, and for juice production. Transportability is average.