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Ripe pears are so sweet and fragrant. It is impossible to refuse them, because even the sight of these fruits stimulates the appetite. Imported pears can be bought at the store, but their quality is often questioned. At the same time, there is no more useful fruit than the one that is grown with your own hands in your garden. Therefore, every year the owners of household plots purchase seedlings and carefully look after them in anticipation of the first harvest. So that he does not disappoint, you need to choose the right variety with the desired characteristics and, when growing a fruit tree, follow the basic rules for its cultivation. Today, the object of attention of our article will be the Honey pear, because it is this variety that is famous for the taste and external characteristics of the fruit, due to which it finds many admirers among gardeners.
Detailed description of the variety
The pear of the Medovaya variety was bred by scientists at the Crimean breeding station back in 1962 by pollinating the French variety Boret Bosque. The authors of the novelty were three scientists at once, who, after many tests, presented their offspring for wide viewing after only 30 years from the moment of creation. It is worth noting that the Honey pear is still the object of attention of breeders who regularly study this variety.
Based on the results of long-term testing, breeders entered the variety into the state register of Our Country and zoned it for the North Caucasus region. The pear received the official name “Crimean Honey”.
Characteristics of a fruit tree
The columnar “Honey” pear rarely exceeds 2 m in height. Its crown is ordinary, not very dense, throughout the growing season it retains the shape of a pyramid. Such a medium-sized fruit tree requires periodic formation, with the removal of diseased, dry branches.
The plant is resistant to low temperatures and other features of various climatic regions. Pear successfully withstands winter temperatures down to -250C. The only exceptions are young seedlings, which can be affected by frost without adequate shelter.
The fruiting of the “Honey” pear is regular. Every year, starting from the age of 4-5 years, she gives a large number of ripe fruits of high quality. Weather conditions in the region in spring can only slightly affect the yield of the fruit tree.
Flowering “Honey” pear is observed in May. It is always abundant and long lasting. Pear flowers are simple, collected in inflorescences of 2-5 pcs. Mature fruits hold well on short stalks and require manual picking. The yield of an adult tree of the “Honey” variety is 20-30 kg. In some cases, this figure can reach 40 kg.
Characteristics of fruits
No wonder the proposed variety of pears got its name, because its taste really contains notes of honey. The most delicate pulp of fruits, cream-colored, is poured with sweet, fragrant juice. When you bite into it, it literally melts in your mouth.
Pears “Honey” are quite large. They weigh about 400 g, and some specimens of fruits reach a mass of 500 g. Their surface is matte, the skin is thin. To the touch, you can determine some roughness of the fruit. The shape of the pears is classic, the base is thickened. The color of “Honey” fruits is yellow-green, in some cases a brown or pink blush is observed. On visual inspection, you can notice small gray or green subcutaneous dots on the surface of the pear.
Microelement composition of pears
The taste of “Honey” pears is largely determined by their microelement composition. So, the special sweetness of fruits is provided by a large amount of sugar, which exceeds 10%, while pears of other varieties contain only 6-7% of this substance.
In addition to sugar, the fruit contains 6% vitamin C, a certain amount of organic acids and a huge variety of minerals. The fiber content of fruit is not high.
Appointment of fruits
“Honey” pears are so tasty that they are usually eaten quickly, without waiting for processing. However, if necessary, they can be used to make juice or jam. Sweet fruits are also suitable for preparing baby food.
An important advantage of the variety is the possibility of long-term storage of pears. So, for 3 months, fresh fruits can be successfully stored at a temperature of 0- + 50C.
Subspecies of the proposed variety
Research on the Medovaya pear variety has been going on for many, many years. And during this time, 5 subspecies of this variety were obtained. All of them are distinguished by early maturity and some features in taste, shape, color of fruits:
- G-1 is the latest (winter) subspecies of all “Honey” pears. Its fruits ripen with the advent of frost. They have a bright yellow color, weight up to 250 g and some surface roughness.
- Pears of subspecies G-2 ripen in mid-autumn. Their mass rarely exceeds 200 g. A brown blush can be seen on the surface of such fruits. The taste of the fruit has a special aroma and sweetness.
- Subspecies G-3 symbolizes a classic, bright yellow pear, weighing up to 400 g. Such fruits ripen with the advent of the first autumn days.
- G-4 is an autumn variety that bears fruits of medium size (weight of pears up to 300 g).
- G-5 is the earliest maturing subspecies. Its fruits ripen in summer. Their mass is small (only 250 g), but the taste is excellent, sweet, fragrant. On the surface of such pears, a brown tint is clearly visible.
Thus, under the name of one variety, 5 different subspecies are hidden at once, each of which has its own characteristics, which means that when acquiring a seedling, it would be useful to clarify which marking this or that fruit tree belongs to.
Variety resistance to diseases
Variety “Honey” demonstrates high resistance to only two common diseases: moniliosis and clasterosporiasis. Resistance to other diseases is not observed, therefore, when growing a variety, it is recommended to carry out preventive treatment of plants:
- Scab covers the leaves of the fruit tree with dark spots that grow over time. Velvety olive-colored spots appear on the fruits. You can prevent the disease by spraying plants in the spring before bud break with Bordeaux liquid. Affected areas of the tree should be removed and burned.
- Rust is orange or red spots on the surface of the leaves. As a prophylaxis of the disease, you can use the drug “Skor”. Also, antifungal drugs introduced into the soil along the trunk circle during the digging of the soil demonstrate high efficiency.
- Fruit rot is represented by characteristic spots on the surface of fruits. For the treatment of the disease, it is necessary to use the drug “Dnok”.
In addition to diseases, various pests also pose a threat to the “Honey” tree. The most common of these are aphids and mites. Information on insect control methods can be found on the video:
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Having thoroughly studied the description of the Medovaya pear variety, photos and reviews about it, one can objectively talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the culture. So, gardeners note the following positive aspects characteristic of the proposed variety:
- Fruits differ in special juiciness, sweetness and aroma.
- The fruits keep well for a long period of time.
- Sweet pears can be used to make baby food.
- Fruit trees have good winter hardiness.
- The yield of the variety is consistently high.
- Good trade dress and excellent transportability.
- High immunity to some common diseases.
- Fruit resistance to shedding.
- Decorative fruit tree.
- No need to regularly form a crown.
- Regular, annual fruiting.
No serious shortcomings were found in the cultivation of the “Honey” variety, so it is worth highlighting only some of the features of these fruit trees:
- Ripening fruits are heterogeneous in mass. Large and small pears can ripen on one tree.
- For some diseases, it is necessary to carry out preventive treatment.
- Unusually high fruit yield reduces the frost resistance of the fruit tree.
The listed advantages and disadvantages must be taken into account when choosing a variety and growing a crop. So, after harvesting a particularly rich crop, you need to take care of processing the stem of the plant with whitewash, applying appropriate fertilizers to the soil and mulching it. All other intricacies of cultivating the “Honey” variety can be found further in the section.
Peculiarities of growing
Honey pear should be planted in autumn on the sunny side of the site. At a distance of 3 m from the seedling, it is recommended to place seedlings-pollinators, varieties “Tavricheskaya” or “Wonderful”. The soil on the site should be dominated by sandy, neutral or alkaline acidity.
After planting and in the future, throughout the cultivation, the pear of the “Honey” variety should be watered abundantly with a regularity of 1 time in 7 days. During the period of flowering and fruiting, the tree is watered less often, but more abundantly, based on the calculation of 20 liters. water per 1 m2 trunk circle. After watering, the soil in the near-trunk circle must be loosened and mulched with organic matter or straw.
On fertile soil, seedlings of the Medovaya variety do not need to be fertilized for 2 years. In the future, it is recommended to fertilize 4 times per season:
- nitrogen should be used during flowering;
- after flowering, it is necessary to apply nitroammofoska;
- add superphosphate in the middle of autumn;
- with the arrival of stable cold weather after harvesting, wood ash should be added to the soil.
Young seedlings in harsh climatic conditions should be prepared for frost as follows:
- Water the plants regularly and plentifully.
- Whitewash the trunk and wrap it with burlap.
- If possible, wrap the crown of a young pear with breathable material.
These rules will help grow a healthy, abundantly fruiting pear and protect it from even the most severe frosts.
Conclusion
“Honey” pears are a wonderful, healthy treat for adults and children. They are so tasty that it is impossible to refuse them. And no matter how many fruits grow in a season, there will always be few of them. Therefore, giving preference to this variety, you need to plant 2-3 seedlings at once. Perhaps in this case it will be possible to eat plenty of fruit and put some of them in storage.