Features Of Growing Russian Plum In The North-West

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Russian plum - features of growing a new type of plum in the North-West

I first came across the name "Russian plum" when I read the book by Academician of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences G. V. Eremina "Plum and cherry plum", publishing house "FOLIO-AST", 2003 Perhaps this name was used before - I don't know, but in the book of the doctor of agricultural sciences, head of the Michurinsky garden of the Moscow Agricultural Academy. K. E. Timiryazeva V. I. Susov "New in the fruit growing of the Michurinsky garden of the TSKHA" (ANO "Publishing house of the Moscow Agricultural Academy", Moscow, 2001) some varieties included in the book by G. V. Eremina in the section "Russian plum", refer to the section "Cherry plum". So what is it - Russian plum?

Here is an excerpt from the above book by Academician G. V. Eremina: "Russian plum - synonyms: plum-cherry-plum hybrids, cherry-plum hybrid. Hybridization of the Chinese plum with cherry-plum led to the emergence of a new hybridogenic species - Russian plum. In addition to cherry-plum and Chinese plum, American plum; Maneon plum; Micro cherry low; Common apricot. In the seed offspring from the hybridization of varieties S. Russian, seedlings similar to the original species (cherry plum, Chinese plum, etc.) are split off. This indicates that S. Russian is a fairly stable species with specific morphological and biological features ".

I have cited this long quote in order to make it clear that Russian Plum as a species has been distinguished quite reasonably in recent times. Many varieties that were previously known to gardeners as varieties of cherry plum (hybrid cherry plum) should be attributed to this species, in which academician G. V. Eremin distinguishes (so far) five varieties, which is not surprising, since Russian plum has a complex hybrid origin, and the same culturogenic (that is, not found in nature) species as home plum is also subdivided into cultivar types (for example, Hungerki, Renklody).

Of the five varieties of Russian Plum, three are of interest to us, northerners. These are the varieties: Kuban comet, Traveler, Columnar. The varieties Abundant and Lykhny are not winter-hardy.

Cultivar type Columnar is a medium or weakly growing tree with a characteristic compressed (columnar) crown shape. Fruits are medium to large, of good taste, with a separating stone. Varieties Columnidnaya and Kolonovidnaya - 2.

The variety has been growing on my site for 5 years. There was no freezing. In the last severe winter (2005-06), flower buds froze (there were single flowers), and the shoots did not suffer at all. The fruits are large, very tasty, with cartilaginous pulp. Ripens later (second half of September). It is difficult to judge the yield from one young tree. In 2005 (the second year of fruiting) I collected 2.8 kg of plums from it. I can add that the area occupied by the tree is 0.5 m2.

The cultivars Kuban comet and Traveler differ from each other mainly in morphological characteristics (growth strength, crown shape, size and color of fruits), so it makes no sense to dwell on them in more detail. The main thing is that they are winter-hardy, fruitful and tasty.

A few years ago, at the word "cherry plum" many people had a soreness, and the imagination drew fine cream, suitable only for processing.

But now, thanks to the enormous selection work carried out at the Crimean OSS by a team of employees under the leadership of Academician of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences G. V. Eremina, varieties of dessert taste appeared, large in size, and most importantly - winter-hardy. A great contribution to the promotion of a new culture - Russian Plums - was made to the north by a Smolensk enthusiast, a farmer who created a testing ground for new varieties (and himself leading selection selection in his nursery) Yuri Mikhailovich Chuguev.

For many years Yu. M. Chuguev receives material from the Crimean OSS from G. V. Eremina, from other scientific institutions conducting breeding work with the Russian Plum, tests, propagates in her nursery and distributes in the northern regions of Russia. It is of great importance that varieties of southern origin are held in the nursery of Yu. M. Chugueva intermediate adaptation in its advance to the north. After all, the same varieties obtained from Yu. M. Chuguev, in our Leningrad region are more hardy than those obtained from the southern regions.

One of the first Petersburgers who began to prescribe varieties of Russian Plum obtained from Yu. M. Chuguev, there was Igor Barylnik. Unfortunately, early death did not allow him to continue the work he had begun. But he received from Yu. M. Chuguev cuttings took root in the gardens of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region. It should be noted that, in addition to varieties bred in various scientific institutions of the CIS, tested and adapted by Yu. M. Chuguev in the Smolensk region, we get from Yuri Mikhailovich and his own seedlings, bred in central Russia and more adapted to our harsh conditions than their southern parents.

It should be said that breeding work with cherry plum, Chinese plum, Russian Plum is being carried out in such scientific institutions of the Non-Black Earth Region as the Moscow Agricultural Academy named after Timiryazeva, the Belarusian Research Institute of Fruit Growing, the South Ural Research Institute of Fruit and Potato Growing, and the Research Institute of Horticulture of Siberia in the Gorno-Altai Region, but, unfortunately, very few varieties bred in these institutions are tested here.

For the first time I planted Plum Russian in my garden in 2000. These were the Kolonnovidnaya and Krymskaya early varieties. In the same year, I planted cuttings of varieties Peach, Aprikosovaya, Nektarinnaya, obtained from Yu. M. Chuguev, and Gift of St. Petersburg (from the gardener V. I. Sitnik) into the crown of the Eurasia-21 plum. In subsequent years, I received cuttings from the Michurinsky garden of the Moscow Agricultural Academy (varieties Tsarskaya, Seedling Rakety, etc.) and from Yu. M. Chuguev.

In 2002, I already tried the fruits of all varieties, grafted into the crown in 2000, and on the seedlings of the Kolonovidnaya and Krymskaya early, the first fruits ripened a year later. Over the years, none of the varieties I have freeze, only in the winter of 2005-06. flower buds of varieties Kolonnovidnaya, Tsarskaya, Aprikosovaya suffered to varying degrees. After it was discovered that the flower buds on the bouquet branches were completely frozen, two weeks later, flowers began to bloom on the annual shoots. But, alas, this weak and late flowering fell under the return frost, and as a result, 1-2 fruits were formed on a branch.

The agricultural technology of Russian Plum practically does not differ from the agricultural technology of homemade Plum, but still some peculiarities should be taken into account. The fact is that the varieties of the majority of the ancestors of Russian Plum (S. Ussuriiskaya, Cherry plum, S. American) suffer in our region from podoprevaniya bark in the area of the root collar. I haven’t noticed this yet in my garden on Sliva Russian, but the fact is that I plant them on small mounds or in the center of ridges with a slight slope from the middle to the edges. In addition, I make sure that a lot of snow does not accumulate at the root collar.

Yu. M. Chuguev, in his recommendations for planting and agricultural technology of Russian Plum, attaches great importance to the high planting (on the hills) and drainage grooves around the landing sites.

In addition, in no case should you get carried away with nitrogen fertilizers. In overfed (fattening) specimens, winter hardiness sharply decreases and the quality of fruits deteriorates.

At my site, I use only ash and a kind of organic mulching technique - I put cardboard from old boxes on the surface of the soil around the trunk and during the summer I dump weeds on this cardboard. Since the weeds are laid in a thin layer each time, their roots quickly dry out in the sun.

By autumn, the cardboard rots, and the decomposition of weeds in the lower part of the mulch layer is somewhat accelerated. Weeds do not grow under such a cover, slowly decaying organic matter provides constant and well-balanced nutrition to plants and even in the driest time - enough moisture. I use this method under all tree and shrub species and many decorative perennials.

Of course, weeds alone are indispensable, so cut grass and any other organic waste (except for fresh manure and feces) are used. So that the top layer of this coating does not spoil the view of the site, it can be sprinkled on top with peat or sawdust. The total thickness of the mulch layer should be 8-12 cm. As it settles, fresh organic matter is added. Plants mulched in this way have never shown signs of either starvation or fattening, and the brightness of color and vigor of development speaks of their excellent condition.

Most of the Russian plum varieties are medium or low-growing plants, which greatly facilitates the care of the crown. Pruning trees is always worse than shaping, and thanks to techniques such as pinching, breaking young shoots and unbending branches without surgery, it is easy to make the crown well ventilated and illuminated, which is very important for any fruit and berry crops in order to prevent diseases.

Reproduction of the Russian plum is not difficult. Vaccinations take root perfectly on cherry plum seedlings, on seedlings and shoots of domestic plums, thorns and thorns. In a greenhouse, I got good results with green cuttings. According to G. V. Eremina and Yu. M. Chuguev, you can also cuttings in early spring with woody cuttings (annual shoots last year), but I have not used this method yet.

Among the varieties of Russian Plum, the following should be noted:

Evgeniya (Crimean OSS VNIIR) - ripens early, the fruits are large, up to 40 g, red with a white waxy bloom. The pulp is dense, good taste, the stone is separated. Winter hardiness is high.

July rose (Crimean OSS VNIIR), synonym - June rose, Early comet. Very early ripening, medium-sized fruits (25-30 g), burgundy. The pulp is yellow, juicy, very good taste. The stone is small, separates from the pulp. Winter hardiness of both wood and flower buds is high. The yield is very high.

Kuban comet (Crimean OSS VNIIR) - early ripening, large fruits (30-35 g), burgundy. The pulp is of medium density, juicy, with a very pleasant taste. The stone is small, does not separate from the pulp. Winter hardiness of wood and flower buds is high. The variety is very adaptive; it bears fruit from the Transcaucasus to the Leningrad Region. The yield is high and regular.

A gift to St. Petersburg - (jointly Pavlovskaya and Crimean OSS VNIIR) - ripening medium-late, fruits average 20-25 g, yellow with a slight waxy bloom. The pulp is of medium density, sweet and sour, very good for canning and other types of processing. Winter hardiness and productivity are very high (it grows and bears fruit in Pupyshevo).

Traveler (Crimean OSS VNIIR) - early ripening, medium-sized fruits (20-25 g), red. The pulp is orange, the bone is poorly separated from the pulp. Winter hardiness and productivity are high.

Shater (Crimean OSS VNIIR) - early ripening, large fruits, up to 40-50 g, dark red. The pulp is of medium density, juicy, sweet and sour, very good taste. The bone is not separated from the pulp. Winter hardiness and productivity are high.

Scarlet Sails (Crimean OSS VNIIR) - ripens in medium terms, fruits are medium, up to 25 g, with bright red, juicy pulp of pleasant taste. The bone does not come off. High winter hardiness, good productivity. The variety is highly decorative - the leaves are large, dark red in spring, greening from above towards the end of the growing season, shiny.

Lama (Bel. Research Institute of Fruit Growing) - ripens in medium terms, fruits are large, up to 40 g, dark crimson color from the moment of ovary. The pulp is dark red, juicy, aromatic. The bone is easily separated from the pulp. Winter hardiness and productivity are very high.