Apricot 'Ananasny'

Synonyms: Ananasny Tsyuryupinsky apricot, Shalakh apricot

Apricot 'Ananasny' (Prunus armeniaca) – a cultivar of the common apricot. Bred by the State Nikita Botanical Garden (K.F. Kostina) from seedlings of the Krasnoshcheky apricot in the 1950s in the Tsyurupynsk district of Kherson region.

It is a medium-sized tree with a broad pyramidal crown. Shoot-forming ability is satisfactory.

Leaves are broadly ovate, ovate or oval-heart-shaped, with a gradual transition to a short downward-bent apex tooth. Leaf margins have large serrations, bluntly toothed or double-serrated. Flowers in early to mid-season. The cultivar is self-fertile. Begins fruiting in the 4th–5th year after planting. Bears fruit mainly on fruiting spurs, leafy lateral shoots and one-year shoots.

Fruits are large, weighing 45–50 g, rounded-oval in shape, flattened on the sides, orange in color with a dark red blush; flesh bright orange, of medium firmness and juiciness, tender and not strongly fibrous, aromatic, of good flavor, with increased transportability when harvested at technical maturity. Stone small, kernel sweet. Yield high. Fruits ripen July 5–10.

Hardiness zone: 4 (-28°C).

Location: prefers sunny sites protected from cold winds. Undemanding to soils; requires moist soils.

Planting: Plant seedlings at a distance of 7x5 m. Planting can be carried out in spring or autumn, preferably in the second half of April.

Care: The most optimal crown forms for apricot are the reduced-leader and vase-shaped forms. After entering the fruiting period one-year shoots are shortened by half or by a quarter depending on their length. Summer pruning can be applied, during which wounds on pruned shoots heal better. When terminal annual growths decrease to 30 cm, a light rejuvenation pruning is carried out, and when growths decrease to 10–15 cm, rejuvenation pruning down to five-year wood is performed.

Propagation: Apricot is propagated mainly by grafting. Seedlings of apricot, cherry plum (alycha), plum, and sometimes almond or peach are used as rootstocks.

Diseases: The cultivar has increased resistance to clasterosporiosis and leaf curl.

Uses: Fruits are consumed fresh and used for making desserts, jams and preserves. A highly marketable and transportable cultivar that sells well on the market.