The impact of cultivation techniques on producing branched apple tree seedlings

High yields in intensive gardens rely on high-quality planting material. A field experiment was conducted in the Almaty and Zhambyl regions to investigate the response of the Voskhod apple variety to various cultivation techniques, including mechanical pinching of the tops of annual seedlings, pinching with the removal of 3-4 upper leaves, and chemical treatments in the nursery. The aim was to develop a technology for growing annual apple seedlings using different agrotechnical methods. The study demonstrated the varying effects of mechanical methods and chemical treatments on the branching and growth of annual apple seedlings. Among all the techniques examined, the combination of pinching the top, removing the upper 3-4 leaf blades, and applying foliar treatments with Epin and Energen Aqua resulted in the highest number of lateral branches. Differences in the response of specific variety-rootstock combinations to the combined effect of mechanical techniques and foliar treatments were observed. For the Voskhod variety, in the Zhambyl region on the Zhetysu 5 rootstock and in the Almaty region on the MM106 rootstock, double foliar treatments with Epin and Energen Aqua, along with pinching and leaf removal, significantly increased the number of lateral shoots under optimal growing conditions. The yield of standard branched apple tree seedlings meeting the quality requirements was 93-95% for all variety-rootstock combinations, except for the MM106 rootstock in the Almaty region.