Pear Duchess. Cultivation and care. Variety description

Pear, the value of which lies in delicious aromatic fruits and almost always high yields, is an ornament of any garden. From this fruit you get delicious jams and compotes, light house wine, sweet marmalade. Its exquisite aroma and mild taste are invaluable when consumed in fresh form.

Advantages of Duchess

One of the standards of dessert varieties is the pear Dushes - delicious and, most importantly, a healthy product, which contains a large number of trace elements required for the organism.

A native of England, she gained great popularity outside her country among consumers and gardeners due to such qualities as:

• Bright, rich taste,
• Attractive, appetizing view,
• Undemanding in growing and grooming,
• Possibility of processing,
• Long shelf life.

It can be grown both on small garden sites, and with an industrial scale. Variety of pears Duchesus in the distant 1796 brought a breeder Wheeler. Popularity has acquired thanks to a certain Williams, who appropriated this grade with the current name.

Pear Duchess: description

There are two types of pears in this variety: Duchess winter and Duchesse summer. There is no fundamental difference, apart from the timing of the harvest, between these varieties. Pear Dyshes summer ripens in August, the first harvest will please in 5-6 years from the time of planting. The crone of the pear is of a wide, pyramidal shape, with a large number of leaves. A small tree; Shiny and smooth leaves are large, oval in shape, tapering towards the end.

In the inflorescence usually 5-7 flowers of medium size; They quite well tolerate changes in weather conditions. Variety of pears Dushes has such a feature, as later and a long flowering.

High yield of Duchess variety

The yield of one tree is usually up to 250 kg of pears of excellent quality. Fruits large or medium (small does not happen), keep on the tree firmly, until fully ripe, have a pear-shaped oblong form and a somewhat bumpy surface. The average weight of one pear is about 170 grams; 200 grams - if the tree is young. Peel thin, shiny and fragrant; By the beginning of the collection, the pear has a light green color and yellow in the black dot - a fully ripe fruit. The yellowish-white pulp, juicy, having a light muscat flavor, just melts in the mouth. According to the 5-point system, the tasters assess its taste by 4.8 points. Fruit collection begins in the second half of August; Pears, taken in due time, stored for two weeks, in the refrigerator storage period increases to 45 days.

The soil of the pear Dyushes loves a fertile and well saturated with moisture. The disadvantage of this variety is its average resistance to frost and drought, as well as a tendency to defeat aphids, a medina.

Duchess of winter - native of Belgium; The tree is quite tall, grows long, the crown is wide, pyramidal. The leaves are medium in size and have the shape of an ellipse. The advantage of this grade is cold resistance. Land under the planting should have a light fertile soil and be protected from the wind. Excellent results show grade, grafted on a dwarfish rootstock. In a cold, wet summer, there is a risk of damage to the fruit by scab, which will cause loss of their taste qualities.

Features of growing Duchesse winter

The Duchess winter variety begins to bear fruit for the 6th to 7th year of planting. Ripens in October, has the property of ripening, which lasts until December; While all the taste characteristics are preserved. Under the right conditions of saving, fruits can lie until the very spring (April-May), remaining fresh. The size of the pears is usually large (350-400 grams), some specimens can exceed half a kilogram. A beautiful blush, yellow tint and smooth skin make them attractive to anyone, even the most capricious consumer. And an unusual aroma combined with a sweet taste, diluted with a slight note of sourness, will delight any gourmet.

Loss of taste and useful properties of the crop can provoke its premature collection. One plant is able to give about 100 kg of high-quality aromatic pears. Fruits can hang on the tree for a long time, but under unfavorable weather conditions they can fall off due to their heavy weight.

Successfully used the pear Duches in medicine, being an important component in the production of anti-cold medications.

Pollination

Both varieties of the Duchess group are self-fruitful. Therefore, they need a pollinator. The most optimal pear Duchess summer perceives pollination by such fellows as Lesnaya Bela, Bere Ardapon, Lyubimitsa Klappa, Pass Krassan, Olivier de Serre, Bere Bosk. Winter prefers pollination from Olivier de Serre, Bere Ardanton and Williams.

The trees of the Duchess group normally tolerate a lack of moisture in the soil, but they still need to be watered. Watering is carried out in the volume of 2-3 buckets for each year of life of the fruit tree before and after flowering. If necessary, you can pour again - in the autumn period.

Planting the pear Duchess

The most favorable time for planting seedlings of pears is the second half of April, and it is important to have time before bud blossoming. Deepening of the plant is unacceptable, because it can cause its death. When landing in a pit, the depth of which should normally be about 1 meter, and the diameter - 60-70 cm, you can not fill up fresh manure, since it can cause burns on the roots. When the soil is poor in the planting holes, fertile soil should be poured, and this must be done in advance, in the autumn. Improve the soil better with a mixture of fertile land, peat and compost (2-3 buckets per pit). From this mixture it is required to form a cone on which to distribute the roots of the seedling. Another future tree will require a winding support, so you need to drive deep into the ground and tie a tree trunk to it. To avoid damage to the trunk, the garter should be made in the form of a figure-eight.

An important factor in caring for the plant is mulching, which determines the protection of the soil from temperature changes. For pears, mulch is preferable to use manure, humus, grass and weeds. This operation is recommended to be carried out in the autumn period, before the beginning of the decrease in temperatures, from which the Duches pear may die.

Description of the features of caring for a tree

To save the plant from frosts and winter piercing winds it is required to hide for the winter. To do this, the bottom of the trunk should be wrapped with newsprint or cotton cloth. The best natural protection of the plant's root system from cold is snow; It is required to heat around the seedling as much as possible. Adult trees need protection from hares; For this, around each pear it is required to make small fences or completely to protect a site with trees.

Pruning plants in the spring. In the first year of planting, it is required to shorten lateral branches over the kidneys, one quarter to the central part of the trunk, this will cause the tree to grow not only upwards, but also in the sides.

In the second year, the central part is shortened by 20-25 cm, and a truncated cone is formed from the lateral branches, which need to be cut 5-8 cm, the lower branches being longer than the upper ones.

The rules of plant nutrition

Pear, like any plant, needs fertilizing. In the first year it can not be produced, since the landing pit has been improved.

The main part of the fertilizer is required to be introduced in the fall period, organic fertilizers every 3 years (5-8 kg per 1 m ² ), mineral fertilizers every year (20-30 g potassium chloride, 20-25 g of saltpeter, 20-25 g superphosphate). Top dressing is introduced into the circular pits dug around the plant to a depth of 15-20 cm.

Pest Control

To protect against scab that affects the leaves and fruits, trees are required during bud blossoming and at the end of flowering process 1% Bordeaux liquid or 0.5% solution of copper chloride. Old leaves are recommended to burn (as they are a direct source of spread of scab), and ground along the circumference of the tree to process 0.3% solution of "Nitrafen".

The struggle with the medina, which hibernates in fruit buds and fallen leaves and lays eggs there, consists in the treatment of the tree (before budding) with such preparations as "Carbophos" (10 liters of water - 90 g) or "Oleokuprit". From the larvae of the medina can be eliminated with the help of organophosphate insecticides.

Pear Duchesse, reviews of amateur gardeners about which are exceptionally positive, it is recommended to plant in any corner of the garden; Unpretentiousness in cultivation, high taste qualities, good transportability and long storage periods make this fruit in demand among a wide range of consumers.