Apricot 'Amur'

Apricot Amur (Prunus armeniaca) – an apricot cultivar of the genus Prunus and the rose family (Rosaceae). The cultivar was bred by breeder G.T. Kazmin at DalNIISKh in 1949 from pollination of the cultivar Luchshiy Michurinsky with a mixture of pollen from the cultivars Krasnoshcheky, Aleksandr ranny, and Overensky skorospely.

It is a medium-vigor tree with a dense, rounded-elongated crown. Height reaches up to 4 m. Tends to form a half-standard. Trunk of medium size: 10 cm in thickness and 40 cm in height. Bark on the trunk smooth, brown, with large transverse lenticels. Branches of all orders depart at an almost right angle from the trunk. Perennial branches are grayish-brown with large lenticels. One-year shoots are of medium thickness, straight, reddish-brown on the sun-exposed side, greenish on the opposite side. Fruiting wood forms on two- to three-year-old branches as spurs and on one-year growths of various lengths. Buds are arranged in threes, less often singly, conical in shape, and projecting from the shoot.

The tree is very leafy. Leaves large, ovate with an acute tip. Leaf length 9.5 cm, width 8 cm, sometimes length does not exceed width. Leaf blade thin, smooth, matte. Leaf margins finely serrated, slightly tapered toward the tip, slightly curled. Upper surface densely green, underside whitish. Petiole 3 cm, of medium thickness, reddish-purple.

Flowers large, pink. Petal shape rounded, degree of closure slight. Calyx cup-shaped. The pistil stigma is above the anthers.

Begins fruiting in the 3rd-4th year. Fruits are borne clustered inside the crown and adhere firmly to the branches. Average fruit weight 26.2 g, maximum 32.4 g, height 38 mm, diameter 36 mm. Shape ovoid-oblong, with a beak-like tip. Ventral suture shallow, marked by an intensely colored stripe. Peduncle very short (0.3-0.5 cm), thick. Fruit color bright yellow, on the sun-exposed side covered with a vivid carmine blush accentuated by numerous darker carmine dots. Flesh tender, orange near the skin, firm, of medium juiciness, crisp, refreshing, with a pleasant sweet-tart flavor. Fruits contain 12.3% sugar, 2.2% malic acid, 15.4% dry matter. Fruits are suitable for fresh consumption and industrial processing. Transportability average. Taste score of fruits 3.5 points. Stone completely free (freestone), medium-sized, rounded, slightly elongated toward the apex, flattened on the sides, surface smooth. Kernel sweet. Yields annually. Commercial yield forms from 5 years of age. Fruit ripening August 10-15. In rainy periods fruits do not crack.

Hardiness zone: zone 5a-7b (-28.9°C).

Site: prefers sunny locations sheltered from cold winds. Undemanding to soils, requires moist soils.

Planting: seedlings should be planted at a distance of 7x5 m. Planting can be done in spring or autumn, preferably in the second half of April.

Pests and diseases: partial resistance to moniliosis.

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, with pruned shoots healing better. When terminal growths decrease to 30 cm, light rejuvenation pruning is performed, and when growths decrease to 10-15 cm, rejuvenation pruning is carried out back to five-year-old wood.

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

Use: Apricot fruits are used fresh, dried and canned.