Apple variety Korobovka

Korobovka is a very old early summer variety of folk selection. It was first scientifically described in 1855. The name Korobovka supposedly arose because apples were sold not by weight or by the piece, but, due to their smallness, in boxes, like berries.

In Russia, it is excluded from zoning due to small fruits. Although it is valued by breeders for its ability to transmit hereditary traits to offspring, it is therefore used in the work as a mother form to create early frost-resistant varieties. In Poland it is included in the collection of the Warsaw Biological Reserve, in Estonia it is included in the list of ancient apple trees.

The tree is quite tall, reaches a height of 4 - 5 m, bears fruit for a very long time - more than 50 years.

The shape of the crown of a young tree is pyramidal. Later it becomes thick, wide and spreading. The strength of the annual growth is significant for the first 10 - 15 years, and then the growth begins to slow down. The maximum volume of the crown reaches 20 - 25 years, in subsequent years it grows very weakly. The crown requires correct shaping pruning - thinning branches and shortening annual growths.

Branches are firmly attached to the trunk, their breakage is a rare phenomenon.

Shoots of medium length, dark brown in color.

Leaves are medium or small, round-ovate, slightly curved, sometimes with slightly raised edges, dense, leathery, with pronounced venation, dark green, pubescent below, serrated at the edges. The petiole is thin, of medium length. Stipules are small and narrow, lanceolate in shape.

The Korobovka variety is self-fertile. The best pollinators are: White filling, Kitayka Saninskaya, Cinnamon striped, Folding, Suislepskoe... The apple tree has an average flowering time.

The tree enters fruiting late - at about 7 years of age. The yield increases gradually. During the period of maximum productivity, the yield is 60 - 70 kg per tree. At a young age, the tree bears fruit annually, after 20 years the yield acquires a pronounced periodicity, the fruits become even smaller.

Fruiting at the ends of the branches of the vegetative type and partly on the fruit twigs.

Very high frost resistance. The tree is drought-resistant. Scab resistance is average. It is affected by the moth. The variety is undemanding to the soil. The trunk, forks and skeletal branches are almost never damaged by sunburn.

The fruits of the Korobovka apple tree ripen at the end of July. After ripening, they stick well to the tree. Only apples affected by the moth are showered. The fruits can be eaten immediately after removal. They are poorly stored - only 20 - 30 days in a cool place. Long-term storage spoils the taste of apples. The fruits are highly transportable.

Apples are relatively one-dimensional, small, with an average diameter of 4 cm, weighing 30-50 grams. The fruits are round in shape, somewhat flattened, without ribbing. The color is greenish-yellow or yellow with characteristic short red stripes around the entire circumference of the fruit. The skin is dense, thin, smooth. The subcutaneous points are few in number, weakly expressed.

The peduncle is thin, short. The funnel is wide and deep, rusty at the edges. The calyx is disproportionately large and closed in relation to the size of the fetus. The saucer is small, but wide, with ribbed folds and swollen tubercles at the base of the sepals. The cup tube is funnel-shaped and wide. The heart is bulbous. Seed chambers are semi-open or closed. Seeds are medium and small, brown in color.

The apples are very sweet to taste, with a strong aroma. The pulp is yellowish, juicy, dense, fine-grained.

The fruit contains 10% or more sugars, the acidity is about 0.7%.

The fruits of the Korobovka apple tree are good to use fresh, they are suitable for cooking compotes, preserves and candied fruits, they are used in winemaking.