Planting of old apple tree varieties in the National Stud Farm "Topoľčianky" š.p.

Horse breeding in the National Stud Farm "Topoľčianky" š.p. is well known. In addition to horse breeding, one of the production activities was also a special plant production focused on fruit growing.

After the establishment of the Topoľčianky State Stud Farm in 1921, the construction of breeding facilities began. In parallel with the construction, the access roads were also renovated. During this period, alleys of apple trees and other fruit species were planted along the roads, which was still a common matter of course at the time, as the plantings of the alleys were often carried out in the period of Austro-Hungarian monarchy. And it was these alleys that were part of a special crop production - fruit growing. They were used to supply employees with fruit, the fruit was also sold and it was and still is a supplementary feed for horses. Fruit tree alleys provide shade, serve as windbreaks and are a landscaping element.

In the Topoľčianky stud farm, mostly single-species alleys and orchards were planted. Cherry orchard - Hostie, walnut and apple orchard - Košiar, plum orchard- Pond, cherry orchard - Žikava (Cudenice). Alleys of apple trees - Hostie, apple trees, plums and cherries - Krásny majer, Breziny were planted along the roads to the individual breeding facilities. The length of the plantings was approximately 6 km. At present, the alleys are considerably reduced. They have not been supplemented or renewed throughout their existence. Therefore, the idea arose to plant apple varieties of the original varieties on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the stud farm.

A section of the access road to the Hostie breeding facility was selected as the site for the restoration of the existing plantings. Originally, 279 apple trees were planted here, of which 152 have been preserved. Since the original varieties were to be used for planting, it was necessary to take samples of apples and identify them. Mrs. Ing. Eva Sidova, PhD. identified 14 varieties: Hvězdnatá reneta, Boskopské červená, Croncelské, Coulonova reneta, Borovinka - Charlamovski, Beforest, Nonetit- Matkino, Smiřické rarné, Naderská moravská, Strýmka, Oldenburgovo, Parkerovo, Malinové hornokrajské and Stayman Winesap. The planting material was supplied by the Fruit Nursery of the White Carpathians of Moravská Liesková. The planting was carried out on October 29, 2021 by self-employed stud farms in their spare time, and 127 apple trees from 9 original varieties were planted. Parts of the existing tree line were added, with the fact that old, perhaps even 100-year-old apple trees have been preserved as witnesses to the fruit growing history of the stud farm.

Today, the National Stud Farm "Topoľčianky" š.p. has not only a rare gene fond of horses, but also a smaller, although historically significant gene fond of apple trees.