INFLUENCE OF TECHNIQUES FOR STIMULATING THE APPLE SEEDLINGS GROWTH ON THE VARIETIES EARLY MATURITY IN A YOUNG GARDEN

Abstract

The research was carried out in VNIISPK plantings, in a nursery and young orchard, on gray forest soils. All studied apple cultivars were grafted on a semi-dwarf rootstock 54-118. The reaction of apple cultivars to various methods of stimulating the growth and development of seedlings in the nursery was revealed. The influence of various agrotechnical techniques on the formation of lateral branches in annual apple seedlings was established. A significant increase in the number of seedlings with lateral branches was obtained by using a mechanical technique of pinching the tops of the growing shoots and in combination with the removal of the top three leaves. The use of non-root treatments contributed to a slight increase in lateral branching in the cultivars Bogatyr, Veteran and Rozhdestvenskoye, as well as had a positive effect on the overall development of the seedling and on improving the elemental composition of the leaves. The use of Rastvorin, Urea and Epin drugs contributed to a significant increase in the content of phosphorus, potassium, and calcium in the leaves of seedlings of the studied cultivars. Five apple cultivars, which seedlings were treated in the nursery with various stimulating drugs and techniques, were planted in the orchard for further observations. It was found that mechanical action and chemical stimulation of seedlings had different effects on the yield in the first years of fruiting. A significant increase in the yield for the first 4 years of fruiting was revealed with non-root treatment in the nursery with Rastvorin (0.5%) in the Svezhest cultivar, Rastvorin (0,5%) against the background of pinching the top of the seedling - in Rozhdestvenskoye and Sinap Orlovsky, as well as in Veteran when treated with Rastvorin (0.5%) or Epin (0.002%) in the variant with pinching the top and removing the top 3 leaves.