Cherry plum variety Gold of the Scythians
The gold of the Scythians is a variety of Alycha hybrid, or Russian Plum (Prunus rossica), of an ultra-early ripening period of the selection of the Moscow Agricultural Academy. K.A. Timiryazev. Obtained from a seedling from free pollination of the Kuban comet variety using mutagens. Authors: A.V. Isachkin, N.V. Agafonov, V.I. Susov and B.N. Vorobiev. In 2005, it was entered into the State Register of the Russian Federation for the Central Region (Bryansk, Vladimir, Ivanovsk, Kaluga, Moscow, Ryazan, Smolensk and Tula regions).
The trees are medium-sized (just over 2 meters), with a sprawling, sparse, rounded crown. It is recommended to form them in the form of a bush. Shoots are thick, geniculate, with a yellowish tinge. The leaves are large in size, elongated, with a pointed tip, painted in a light green color, along the edge of the leaves there is a small-town serration. Abundant flowering. The flowers are medium in size, white in color.
The fruits of the cherry plum Zlato of the Scythians are large in size (weighing 32 - 36 grams), one-dimensional, aligned, rounded-oval, with a flat top. The abdominal suture is weak. The skin is dense, of medium thickness, amber-yellow in color, with a slight waxy bloom. Peduncles are of medium length and thickness. The funnel is narrow, of medium depth. The seeds are medium in size, semi-detached from the pulp.
The pulp is yellow, dense structure, fibrous consistency, very juicy, melting, taste - very good, sweet and sour (with a predominance of sweetness). Tasting score - 5 points. The biochemical composition of the fruits is as follows: dry matter - 9.4%, the amount of sugars - 6.3%, acids - 1.9%. A universal variety: fruits are used, first of all, fresh, but also desserts, preserves, compotes, sauces, marmalade, etc. are prepared from them.
The early maturity of this cherry plum is good: the trees begin to bear fruit in the 4th year. Fruit ripening takes place at a very early date: the first ripe fruits are harvested in late June - early July. Average yield (20 - 30 kg / der.), Trees bear fruit annually. Average winter hardiness. Disease resistance is relative.
The variety is self-fertile. Among its best pollinators, the following varieties are distinguished: Rubinovaya, Pavlovskaya yellow, Gift to St. Petersburg. Pollination with varieties of Chinese Plum (Prunus salicina) is also possible.
The main advantages of the Scythian cherry plum are: beautiful tasty fruits, very early ripening (at this time, imported expensive cherry plums and plums are just beginning to appear on the market), high winter hardiness.
Among the main disadvantages are: self-infertility, only relative resistance to diseases, insufficient winter hardiness, low level of fruit transportability.
The Russian plum "Gold of the Scythians" really opens the plum season in central Russia. Some of its fruits can be slightly larger than 40 grams, but this is only in years with a small harvest. Usually, her harvest is large and the branches require support. As I also noticed, the variety is capable of producing a crop with self-pollination, although when pollination with other varieties of fruits, much more fruit is tied. Among the disadvantages: in severe winters, freezing occurs.