Growing Apricots at Home

7/27/2019 Growing Apricots at Home

1/9

Growing Apricots for Home Use 1977

--Weinberger, John

Western Region

Agricultural Research Service

Home and Garden Bulletin 204, USDA, 1973.8 pages

Slightly revised May 1977

Archive copy of publication, do not use for current recommendations.

The PDF file was provided courtesy of the National Agricultural Library.

Scroll down to view the publication.

Agricultural Network Information Center


2/9

GROWING APRICOTSFOR HOME USE

UNITED STATESD E P A H I M L N T O hAGR ICULTURE

HOME ANDGARDEN BULLET INNUMBER 204

PREPARED BYAGR ICU L TURA LRESEARCHSERV ICE


3/9

G R O W I N G APRICOTSF O R H O M E U SE

You can grow apricot trees inyour yard or garden. They areadapted to a wide range of soiltypes and are attractive, symmetri-cal lawn trees that require onlyroutine care. They produce fruit,however, only on sites that are rela-tively free of frosts during earlyspring. The fruit can be eaten fresh,preserved, or dried.

ADAPTATIONApricots produce fruit on favor-able sites in most parts of the coun-

try, except in very cold and verywarm areas. Blooms appear earlyand are easily damaged by springfrost. The blossoms and small fruitsare as cold tender as peaches andother stone fruits.

The frost hazard is primarily re-sponsible for the concentration ofcommercial production in Califor-nia (97 percent), Washington, andUtah. A few are produced in Colo-rado, Idaho, Michigan, and Oregon.

High winter temperatures alsolimit apricot production in the verywarm sections of the country. Apri-cot buds must be winter-chilled tobreak their rest period and startrapid growth. If minimum tempera-tures are high during winter, manyfruit buds drop before flowering.

PLANTING SITESApricot trees are adapted to a

variety of soils and climatic condi-2

tions, but the growing site must berelatively frost-free for the trees toproduce fruit. The most frost-freesites are near large lakes, on the topsor sides of hills, or near the base ofhigh hills or mountains. In valleys,there is little air movement and thecoldest air settles in the lowestplaces where damaging tempera-tures occur more frequently and forlonger periods than on sites withgood air drainage.

Apricot trees grow best in deep,fertile, well-drained soil but theygrow well in light, sandy soil whenadequately fertilized and watered.Avoid heavy, poorly drained soil.Also avoid sites where tomatoes,cotton, or brambles have grown;these crops harbor the verticilliumwilt fungus that causes "blackheart" of apricot.

Adequate soil moisture until har-vest is necessary to produce largefruit . Trees need water after harvestfor forming the next year's fruitbuds. Supplemental irrigation maybe required during long dry periods.

Temperatures of 102 F. or morejust prior to fruit maturity cause pitburn. Pit burn is darkening of theflesh around the pit. High humidityand heavy rainfall increase brownrot infection.

VARIETIESFruit characteristics of the com-mon varieties of apricots follow:Royal and Blenheim.These are


4/9

very similar and represent nearlytwo-thirds of the acreage in theUnited States. They have excellentflavor, small- to medium-size, andmedium firmness; they are subjectto pit burn when nearing maturity.Tilton.Tilton represents nearlyone-fourth of the acreage in the

United States. It is larger, lightercolored, and firmer fleshed thanKoyal but the flavor is not as desir-able. It is less subject to pit burnthan Royal, which makes it betteradapted to warm areas. It bearsheavy crops but has a tendency toproduce fruit only every other year.

Other varieties that may beavailable locally include Wenatchee(Moorpark). Modesto, Goldcot,Manchu, Sellable, and Superb.Varities that are self-unfruitful andrequire another variety for pollina-tion are Earliril, Moongold, Sun-gold, Riland, and Perfection.

P L A N T I N GA 1-year-old tree 4 to 6 feet talland one-half to three-fourths of aninch in diameter at the base is the

ideal size. This may be a June-budded or August-budded tree, butin either case, it will have producedonly one season's growth of the bud.Larger, or 2-year-old, trees may beused but they generally are moreex-pensive. Although smaller treesoften are satisfactory, they requireextra care during the first year.Nursery trees usually are straightwhips; however, they may bebranched.

When you receive trees from thenursery and cannot plant them im-mediately, bury the roots temporar-ily in well-drained, moist soil to

keep them from drying. Pack soilaround them to the same depth theywere in at the nursery.

Another way to keep the rootsmoist temporarily is to place moistpacking material such as sawdust,old straw, or peat moss aroundthem. Keep the trees in a cool,shaded place and keep the packingmaterial moist.

Plant apricot trees 24 to 30 feetfrom houses and other trees, if pos-sible. At these distances, trees aremore easily held to the desiredheight and shape by pruning.In cold climates, plant trees whilethey are dormant in late winter orearly spring. In moderate climates,you m ay plant them in late fall orwinter so that roots can becomeestablished before top growthstarts.

Thoroughly spade or plow theplanting site to loosen the soil andremove weeds. Loose soil encouragesroot growth. The soil must not betoo wet to cultivate at time of plant-ing, but it should be moist. Preparethe planting hole large enough tohold the roots without bendingthem.

Cut off broken or diseased rootsand shorten any unusually longones. Plant the tree at the samedepth it was at the nursery. Sift thesoil in around the roots and pack it.Fill the hole level with the groundsurface. Water the soil to settle itaround the roots.

Newly planted trees need nitro-gen fertilizer. Apply one-eighth toone-fourth pound of nitrogen fertil-izer evenly over a 3-foot circlearound the tree at planting. Kepeatthis two or three times in early sum-

3


5/9

mer if needed to maintain goodgrowth. Do not fertilize after mid-summer. This will allow normalhardening of the tree before winter.P R U N I N G

The purpose of pruning is toshape the tree, limit the crop, andmaintain the vigor. Young treesjust developing their fruit-bearingbranches should be pruned lightlybecause pruning dwarfs them anddelays bearing. Prune the top atplanting t ime by cutting back themain stem 18 to 30 inches from theground (fig. 1).Cut off all lateral branches thatare within 12 inches of the groundclose to the trunk. Large lateralbranches that are attached higheron the t runk, and are distributedaround the tree at different heights,

PN 2919Figure 1.Newly planted apricot treeheaded back at about 28 inch es (arrow).Union is at ground l ine.4

should be cut back to 4 to 6 inchesin length. You may use three orfour of these later as scaffoldbranches that will control the shapeof th e tree. Remove all other later-als, but leave short stubs to producenew buds.In the spring when new growthis 3 to 4 inches long, the three orfour scaffold branches may be se-lected by their position on thet runk . Pinch back th e tips of newshoots on all other growth. Removeonly the tip of each shoot; removalof the entire shoot will cause adrastic setback in growth. Addi-tional pinc hing back later w ill alsohelp in directing tree growth intoth e scaffold branches.After the first growing season,th e three or four branches selectedto form a uniformly shaped treeshould be headed back 2 or 3 feetfrom the t runk to form the primaryscaffolds ( f ig. 2 ) . Make the cut justabove an outside lateral branch oneach scaffold branch.Remove branches other than thescaffolds from th e t runk of the tree.Leave th e lateral branches on thescaffolds that do not cross eachother. Lightly pruned trees willbear earlier and heavier than heav-ily pruned ones.

In the second dormant-seasonpruning, leave the short spur-typebranches on the tree. Remove later-als forming on the scaffolds nearthe trunk. Select five to seven sec-ondary scaffolds from lateralsgrowing on the pr imary scaffolds.The secondary scaffolds should arise4 to 5 feet from th e ground. Nor-mally these grow where the mainscaffolds were headed th e previous


6/9

PN 2920Fi gu re 2 . One -y e a r -o ld apricot treewith wel l -p laced scaffold branches se-lected an d headed back.season. They should be well spacedaround the tree because they willform the main f ramework (fig. 3).Eemove other secondary branchesand keep the center of the tree open.Some heading back and balancingof scaffolds may be needed. The top-most scaffold should be the largestto prevent it from being crowdedout by lower branches.The dormant-season pruning isalso a shaping and thining process.Severe heading back is not neces-sary until the tree grows to the de-sired height.After the growing tree has beentrained and shaped the first 3 or 4years, the mature tree is pruned tocontrol height, maintain vigor, andrenew the short branches or spurs.Most apricot varieties bear prin-cipally on the spurs, which areshort-lived. A comm on practice is toreplace about one-third of the spurs

each year. You can encourage theirformation by spacing branches forexposure to sunlight, cutting backvigorous grow th to weaker laterals,and thinning out upper branches toprevent excessive shading (fig. 4).The tree sho uld produce from 15 to30 inches of new growth each year.T H I N N I N G T H E F R U I T

Apricot trees tend to producemore fruit than they should bear.Thinning the frui t reduces the load,produces larger fruit, encouragesregular bearing, and promotes ear-lier maturity. Thin the f rui t duringthe pit-hardening stage whengrowth of the f rui t has temporarilyslowed (6 to 8 weeks after bloom) .Kemove smaller fruits first andbreak up clusters. The amount ofth inning needed depends on thenumber of fruits set on the tree andthe ultimate size of fruit desired.

F E R T I L I Z I N GNitrogen is needed m ore than anyother fertilizer by most apricottrees. Nitrogen deficiency causesyellow foliage, lower production,and smaller, firmer fruit that m a-tures early. The proper amount ofnitrogen to apply is best determinedby trial or from previous experi-

ence. Usu ally one-fourth to 1 poundof ammonium nitrate per tree isadequate. You may apply nitrogenin fall or early spring.Apricots need additional potashwhen the soil is low in potassium.Land scraped in leveling or leachedby rain is most likely to be low inpotassium. Two to 4 pounds ofmuriate or sulf ate of potash per tree

5


7/9

applied in early spring is usuallyadequate.

C U L T I V A T I N G A N DH A R V E S T I N GApricot trees are generally culti-vated in late winter or early springto kill grass and other weeds, w hichshould not be permitted to competewith the trees during the period ofmost active growth. Later, you mayallow grass or weeds to grow. Aground cover of grass, weeds, ormulch at harvest helps prevent pitburn by keeping temperatureslower, but it also encourages brown

rot infection.Allow fru it harvested for canningto become firm-ripe on the tree butnot fully mature. Harvest fruit fordrying when it is fully mature.PEST C O N T R O LFungus and BacterialDiseases

The most serious fungus and bac-terial diseases that attack apricotsare brown rot, shot-hole, bacterialcanker, cytosporina, and crown gall.Brown rot.Brown rot attacksboth blossoms and fruits. Infectedblossoms w ither and die. The fungusthen moves into th e twigs at the baseof the blossoms and causes cankers.Masses of ash-gray powdery sporesappear and these may cause newinfection throughout the season and

the follow ing year.To control blossom infection, re-move infected twigs at pruning tim ebefore blossoms develop. Spraywith benomyl, captan, or bordeauxmixture between th e redbud stage

and full bloom. Do not use a sulfu r6

PN 3921F i gure 3.Ten-year-o ld apricot treew i t h s t r o n g fr a m e w o r k o f t h r e e scaffoldbranches an d strong secondary branch-ing.spray on apricots because it seri-ously injures them.Brown rot can be controlled onripening fruit by preharvest spraysof captan or benomyl. Destroy allmummies, or rotted fruits, on thetree or ground.

Shot-hole.Shot-hole funguscauses defoliation of trees andmalformation of fruit. In thespring, reddish spots appear on theleaves and fruits. Affected parts ofthe leaves fall out, causing holes.Infected buds die dur ing the winter.

To control the disease, spray w ithziram or captan at redbud stage,early bloom, and full bloom, andspray with bordeaux mixture,ziram, or ferbam just after leaf fall.Bacterial canker.Young apri-co t trees are highly susceptible tobacterial canker, which usuallyaffects buds and spurs. However,th e disease m ay produce large dead


8/9

PN 2922orchardigure 4 .Tw elve- year- o lda f t e r p run i n g.

areas or cankers on large limbs andthe trunk. Infected branches or thewhole tree may die.There is no satisfactory controlfo r bacterial canker. A spray of10-10-100 bordeaux mixture just asleaves begin to fall and again whenmost of the leaves are off may be ofsome benefit, but is not alwayseffective.Cytosporina.Cytosporina is afungus disease that occurs almostentirely at pruning wounds andcauses dieback of small branches,large limbs, and even entire trees.The infection produces cankers, dis-colored wood,gum exudation as thedisease advances,and weak growth.Sanitation is the best control.Remove and burn all infected parts,cutting at least 6 inches below acanker. Seal large pruning woundswith grafting wax or an oil base

paint. Sterilize pruning tools withformalin after cutting through acanker.Crown gall.This bacterial dis-

ease infects large roots or crowns ofapricot trees. It produces irregulargall enlargements and growths thatmay girdle the tree.

Crown gall bacteria are widelydistributed in soils and enter treesthrough wounds. Care should betaken in planting trees and duringcultivation to avoid injuring thet runks and large roots. You can con-trol the infection by cleaning thesoil away from the diseased area andpainting the gall with meta-cresol.

Virus DiseasesMany virus diseases are capable

of infecting apricot trees but few doserious damage. Ring pox and ringspot are the most common.Ring pox.Ring pox causes theleaves of apricot trees to developirregular rings and angular spots,or yellowed areas. Fruits developsurface bu mp s and may drop. In-fected trees should be destroyed.Ring spot.Ring spot symptoms

are rare on most apricot varieties.Rings and yellowed patterns onleaves may develop in the initialacute stage of the disease but dis-appear later. The disease reducesgrowth. No control has beendeveloped.

InsectsMany species of insects attack

apricot trees. Some of the morecommon, ones and the insecticidesfor their control follow:

7


9/9

PestAphidsBorersJapanese beetlesMitesOriental fruitmothPlum curculioScales

Insecticidemalathionendosulfancarbaryl or

malathiondicofolcarbarylmalathion or

methoxychlormalathion

Follow all directions and heedall precautions on the insecticidepackage labels. For further infor-mation on insect control, see yourcounty agricultural agent or Stateextension service.

USE OF PESTICIDESThis publicationis intended for nation-wide distribution. Pesticides are regis-tered by the Environmental ProtectionAgency ( E P A ) for countrywide use un-less otherwise indicated on the label.The use of pesticides is governed by theprovisions of the Federal Insecticide,Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, asamended. This act is administered byEPA. According to the provisions of theact, "It shall be unlawful for any personto use any registered pesticide in amanner inconsistent with it s labeling."(Section 12(a) ( 2 ) ( G ) )EPA has interpreted this Section of the

Act to require that the intended use ofthe pesticide must be on the label of thepesticide being used or covered by a Pesti-

cide Enforcement Policy Statement(PEPS) issued by EPA.The optimum use of pesticides, both asto rate and frequency, m ay vary in 'dif-ferent sections of the country. Users ofthis publication m ay also wish to con-sult their Cooperative Extension Service,State agricultural experiment stations,or county extension agents for informa-tion applicable to their localities.

The pesticides mentioned in this pub-lication are available in several differentformulations that contain varyingamounts of active ingredient. Because ofthis difference, the rates given in thispublication refer to the amount of activeingredient, unless otherwise indicated.Users are reminded to convert the rate inthe publication to the strength of *hepesticide actually being used. For ex-ample, 1 pound of active ingredientequals 2 pounds of a 50 percentformulation.The user is cautioned to read and fol-low all directions and precautions givenon the label of the pesticide formulationbeing used.

Federal and State regulations requireregistration numbers. Use only pesticidesthat carry one of these registrationnumbers.USDA publications that contain sug-gestions for the use of pesticides arenormally revised at 2-year intervals. Ifyour copy is more than 2 years old, con-tact your Cooperative Extension Serviceto determine the latest pesticide recom-mendations.The pesticides mentioned in this pub-lication were federally registered for theuse indicated as of the issue of this pub-lication. The user is cautioned to deter-mine the directions on the label or label-ing prior to use of the pesticide.

Department publications contain public information.They are not copyrighted andcan be reproduced in whole or in part with or without credit.

Washington, D.C. Issued July 1973Slightly revised May 1977For sale by the Superintendent of Documents,U.S. Government PrintingOffice, Washington, D.C.20402

Stock No. 001-000-03672-6U . S. G O V E R N M E N T P R I N T I N G OFFICE : 1977 O - 23 2- 3 4 7