‘Knives’ Come Out at Sady Pridonya Nursery
Back in spring, the company planted half a million rootstocks in its own mother plantation.
On an area of 40 hectares, specialists must graft about half a million rootstocks in a short time, directly affecting the volume and quality of planting material.
The company strictly ensures saplings meet stringent criteria.
The focus is now on precision technology and the coordinated work of the budding team.
— Budding, essentially the «transplant» of a bud from a cultivated variety onto a rootstock, requires jeweler-like precision, — says Olga Kudryavtseva, chief agronomist and nursery specialist at Sady Pridonya. — For the operation, we use 15 «knife» teams (30 people total), each performing its own function. One person cuts a bud from a cutting and inserts it into an incision on the rootstock, the other tightly — but without constriction — secures the graft spot with special tape. In a day, one pair grafts up to 1,600 budded rootstocks, and the entire volume must be completed in a month and a half. Any mistake — overly tight tape or failure to meet deadlines — can disrupt the fusion of the cambial layers of scion and rootstock and reduce survival rate.
Preparation for budding begins long before July. Back in spring, the company planted half a million rootstocks in its own mother plantation, and in the mother cutting orchard, growth of the required quality was formed in advance. For this, the trees are heavily pruned to stimulate the growth of water sprouts — annual shoots from which cuttings are taken. Specialists (in agronomist slang, «cutting workers») cut the material daily and store it in a cool place for no more than a day, since bud freshness directly affects the result.
The company grows two types of rootstock — M9 (foreign selection) and 54‑118 (domestic selection). They differ not only in genetics but also in visual characteristics. M9 produces a bright green color and forms the basis for super-intensive dwarf orchards; apples from this orchard are mainly sold fresh. Rootstock 54‑118 is distinguished by anthocyanin (reddish) coloring and is a niche solution for intensive orchards where apples are grown for further use in juice and baby food production. Saplings on this rootstock begin to bear fruit as early as the third year.
Another feature of the company«s strategy is to grow apples of the highest commercial grades not only for the fresh market, but also for processing. Foreign consultants are often surprised by this model, since usually less liquid raw materials are used for juice. However, Sady Pridonya consistently adhere to a course of quality; saplings must meet strict criteria — trunk height of 80–85 cm (31–33 in, specifically for mechanized harvesting by combines), more than five skeletal branches, and impeccable phytosanitary condition. According to specialists, there are no analogues of similar quality on the market for saplings on rootstock 54‑118 in Russia.
Such a systematic approach — from rootstock selection to monitoring the timing and quality of each operation — allows Sady Pridonya not just to follow industry standards, but to form its own technological and economic solutions that change the perception of the possibilities of Russian nursery gardening.
