Plum variety Volzhskaya beauty
Volzhskaya krasavka is an early ripening variety of Prunus domestica. Bred in 1939 at the Samara zonal experimental station for gardening "Zhigulevskie sady" through crossing Skorospelka red with Renclaude Bove. The authorship belongs to E.P. Finaev.
In 1955, the variety was sent for state testing. In 1965 he was included in the state register of breeding achievements of the Russian Federation in the Central (Tula region), Nizhnevolzhsky (Saratov region) and Middle Volga (Republic of Mordovia) regions.
The trees are vigorous, fast-growing, with a raised spherical crown of medium density. Bark on the trunk and main branches with a smooth surface, gray color. Shoots are thick, straight, not pubescent. Lentils are white, few in number. The leaves are large, wide, ovoid, with a rounded base, short-pointed, the edge is framed by a serrate-crenate serration. The leaf blade is light green, matte, wrinkled, flat in shape, with a sharp transition to a spout, the degree of pubescence is medium. Petioles are thick, of medium length, pigmented. Stipules are medium in size, weakly dissected, fall off early. Medium-sized glands, 2 in number, are colored on the petiole or at the base of the plate.
Inflorescences 2 - 3-flowered. The flowers themselves are large, white in color. Fruiting is concentrated on the bouquet branches.
Plum fruits Volzhskaya beauty of large size (average weight 34 g, maximum - 50 g), one-dimensional, oval-rounded, slightly narrowed towards the base; the top is rounded, slightly depressed; base - with a depression, a fossa of medium depth and width. The color of the fruit is solid, blurred, red-violet. The peel is of medium thickness, smooth, covered with a thick waxy bloom, easily separates from the pulp. Average number of subcutaneous points; they are well-defined and white. The abdominal suture is clearly visible and of medium depth. The stalks are thick, of medium length, they are well separated from the branches, they are not firmly attached to the bones. The bones are medium in size, oval in shape, the apex and base are pointed, the surface is pitted, the separability from the pulp is good.
The pulp is yellow-orange in color, fibrous, tender, juicy; taste - dessert, sour-sweet. The color of the cavity is one-color with pulp. The juice is colorless. Tasting taste assessment - 4.5 points. The external attractiveness of the fruits - 4.8 points. According to the biochemical composition, the fruits contain: dry matter (22%), the amount of sugars (10.35%), acids (1.95%), ascorbic acid (11.78 mg / 100 g).
Dessert variety. Also suitable for technical processing.
Flowering takes place from 10 to 20 May. The fruits ripen early. Plums reach ripeness from 10 to 25 August. The general consumer period lasts from August 10 to September 5. The level of fruit transportability is average. The early maturity is average: the trees enter the fruiting season in the 4th - 5th year. The yields are high, annual. From 6 - 8-year-old trees, an average of 8 - 10 kg of fruits are harvested, and at the age of 9 - 12 years, trees already bring 12 - 25 kg of harvest. The fruit attachment strength is good (higher than that of Red Skorospelka).
The level of winter hardiness of trees is above average and is not inferior to the Skorospelka red variety. Winter hardiness of flower buds is lower than that of Skorospelka red. In the conditions of the Middle Volga region, flower buds of the trees of the Volga beauty often died, which led to a decrease in yield. Accordingly, high yields are possible only in favorable years. The degree of freezing is average: in 5 - 8-year-old trees - 0.4 points, in 15 - 16-year-old trees - 1 point.
Drought tolerance is quite high (trees do not suffer in dry years). Pest resistance is average. Gum removal is rare. Damage to fruits by gray rot is also rarely observed, and mainly when they are damaged by a cherry elephant and a plum moth. From the latter, the susceptibility is weak (0.5 - 1%).
This plum is highly self-fertile. Among its best pollinators, the following varieties are distinguished: Zhiguli, Mirnaya, Skorospelka krasnaya, Ternoslivka Kuibyshevskaya.
The main way of reproduction of the Volga beauty is grafting on seedling stocks of October Hungarian, Skorospelka red, Ternosliva Kuibyshevskaya. It also reproduces well with green cuttings (up to 40%). The variety can be formed in a non-tiered or sparse tiered system, in a low- or semi-stem form. Trees tolerate pruning well. With timely watering and fertilization, the yield increases significantly and the quality of the fruits improves. Ideal landing sites are well-protected and well-lit level locations or light slopes. The most suitable soils: light or medium loamy chernozems, marly clay, moderately moist areas.
The main advantages of this plum include: large beautiful fruits with excellent dessert taste, high annual yield, good winter hardiness and early maturity.
Among the main disadvantages: the large size of the trees (it is inconvenient to harvest), the insufficiently high level of winter hardiness of flower buds, the tendency of the fruits to crack in wet years.
