Cherry plum variety Mara

Belarusian breeders presented a new yellow-fruited variety Mara to the court of gardeners. It was obtained in the RNPD unitary enterprise "Institute of Fruit Growing" and is a seedling F2 from free pollination of cherry plum and Chinese plum. The authorship belongs to V.A. Matveev, M.P. Malyukevich, Z.A. Kozlovskoy, M.G. Maksimenko. In 1987, an application was filed for registration of a new variety in the State Register of Plants of the Russian Federation, where the crop was introduced in 2002 and officially allowed to grow on the territory of the country. Regions of admission - Northwest, Central and Volgo-Vyatka. Mara has been in the State Register of Belarus since 1999.

Description

Cherry plum initially has great vigor, especially at a young age. The tall tree is decorated with a sprawling, slightly raised, rounded crown. The thickening is average. Weakly curved shoots are covered with a brown-burgundy bark with small light lenticels. The bark of the trunk and main branches is darker. Elliptical leaves along the central vein are slightly curved towards the bottom. The color of the leaf plate is emerald green, the surface is slightly glossy, along the edge there is a fine-toothed crenellation. On the upper part of the leaf of the cherry plum, the veins are depressed, on the lower side - protruding. The petiole is of normal length, with traces of anthocyanin coloration. The flowers of the variety are white, small, with a diameter of 2 - 4 cm.

Mary's fruits are round or flat-round in shape, with an average weight of about 23 grams. The skin is colored bright yellow. There is no cover color. The pulp is yellow, friable, very juicy. The taste is sweet and sour, pleasant. Assessment of tasters from 4 to 4.2 points. 100 grams of pulp contains: dry matter 13.4 - 14, 83%, sugars 9.8 - 10.13%, titrated acids 1.4 - 1.53%. The stone is medium in size, fused with the pulp, which makes it difficult to separate.

Variety characteristics

• On a seed stock, cherry plum fruiting occurs 2 - 3 years after planting;
• flowers appear earlier, in May, before the foliage turns green. Flowering lasts about a week, sometimes a little more;
• the ripening period is medium-late, the State Register of Plants of the Russian Federation indicates the average period. Depending on weather conditions, harvesting can begin in late August - early September. In the Vladivostok area - in mid-September, subject to warm weather;
• the yield of the variety is good - with a planting scheme of 5 × 3 meters on a seed stock, it yields up to 35 t / ha, or about 40 kg per tree. The yield is growing every year and already at 6 - 7 years old it can reach the maximum level;
• Mary's winter hardiness is excellent, and in almost all components - roots, wood, buds;
• immunity is strong enough. The variety shows great resistance to clasterosporia and other diseases of a fungal nature;
• the shelf life of cherry plum is long - at normal temperature, the fruits may not deteriorate for several weeks;
• the purpose of the fruit is universal. Can be consumed fresh or put into processing or conservation.

Pollinators

The variety is self-fertile, therefore, a reliable pollinator is required nearby, which will help to establish a high-quality crop. For this purpose, Vitba is suitable, but also any other, even wild-growing cherry plum, will cope with the task. Mara itself is a good pollinator for other species.

Planting and leaving

Saplings can be planted at any time suitable for planting - in spring or autumn, but with due regard to the deadlines. The soil should be nutritious and loose, the place should be sunny. If the site contains heavy clay soil, then a large-volume planting pit will help to correct the situation, which is filled with suitable soil mixed with nutrients.The groundwater level should not approach the surface closer than 1.5 meters.

In other respects, the cultivation technique of the variety is no different from the care of the crop in general. With proper planting and timely pruning, the frequency of preventive spraying can be reduced, which will increase the environmental friendliness of the fruit.

Mara is an excellent tree with good early maturity, disease resistance, yield and fruit, versatile in use. Thanks to these qualities, the variety immediately fell in love with many cherry plum lovers in central Russia. The only drawback is self-infertility.