Apricot 'Luizet'

Synonyms: Luizet

Apricot Luizet – an old Hungarian cultivar. Widely cultivated in Europe. It is one of the main cultivars grown in Portugal.

It is a vigorous tree with a thick trunk. The bark on the trunk is fissured, light gray. The crown depends on the age of the plant. In youth it has a rather narrow crown with upright branches; later it expands and becomes inverted-pyramidal, after some time rounded, and after 18-20 years of fruiting rounded-flat. Scaffold branches are long, with an angle of up to 50°, which contributes to rapid exposure (aging) of the branch bases. It fruits on spur shoots and on long shoots that form at the crown edges, corresponding to the second and third growth waves. Fruit buds are broad at the base, large, arranged 3-4 or 5-6 around a single vegetative bud.

Leaves cordate in shape, large, green with a yellowish tint, smooth, thin. The petiole is thin and long, so the leaves are always trembling, even in a light breeze.

Blooms in April. Flowers small, white, with pink sepals at the beginning of flowering that later become white-pink, which is a characteristic of the cultivar. Petals oblong, large. Stamens 37-40, which are higher than the pistil.

Begins fruiting early, fruits regularly. Yield is high, on average reaching 5-6 thousand tonnes per hectare. Fruits large and very large, 67-85 (100) g, ovoid, flattened on the sides. Color ranges from light yellow to orange-yellow. Skin is covered with numerous red dots or spots on the sunny side. Flesh yellow-orange, juicy, firm, sweet, with a slight acidity, very aromatic, which is a characteristic trait of the cultivar. Stone flat, large, pointed at the apex, light chestnut, separates well from the flesh. Kernel sweet. Fruits ripen in late July – early August, simultaneously with Hungarian Superior (Vengersky prevoskhodny), but the ripening period is short – 6-7 days.

Frost hardiness: 5b (-25°C). Buds are fairly frost-resistant, especially on precocious shoots.

Location: prefers sunny sites sheltered from cold winds. Undemanding to soils, but prefers moist ones.

Planting and care: same as for apricot.

Pruning: the cultivar is highly productive, therefore it requires special attention when forming the crown. Later pruning is mainly aimed at shifting fruiting to the periphery of the crown and lengthening the period of branch exposure.

Diseases and pests: due to insufficient winter hardiness, frost cracks may appear on scaffold branches and trunks, often with large amounts of gum exudation. Susceptible to clasterosporiosis.

Propagation: grows well when grafted onto seedlings of cultivated plum varieties. It does not have sufficient affinity with myrobalan (Prunus cerasifera).

Use: fruits are consumed fresh. When harvested a few days before full ripeness they have good transportability. When fully ripe they soften considerably.