Pear, whose value lies in delicious fragrant fruits and almost always high yields, is an adornment of any garden. From this fruit, delicious jams and compotes, light homemade wine, sweet marmalade are obtained. Its exquisite aroma and mild flavor when consumed fresh are invaluable.
Duchesse Benefits
One of the standards of dessert varieties is the Duchess pear - a tasty and, most importantly, he althy product, which contains a large amount of microelements required for the body.
A native of England, she has gained great popularity outside of her country with consumers and gardeners due to qualities such as:
- bright, rich taste,
- attractive, appetizing look,
- undemanding in cultivation and care,
- recyclable,
- long shelf life.
It can be grown both in small garden plots and on an industrial scale. JulienneDuchess was bred by the breeder Wheeler back in 1796. Gained popularity thanks to a certain Williams, who gave this variety its current name.
Duchesse Pear: description
There are two types of pear of this variety: Winter Duchess and Summer Duchess. There is no fundamental difference, except for the timing of harvest, between these varieties. Pear Duchess summer ripens in August, the first harvest will please in 5-6 years from the moment of planting. The crown of a pear of a summer variety is wide, pyramidal in shape, with a large number of leaves. Small tree; shiny and smooth leaves are large, oval in shape, pointed towards the end.
In the inflorescence usually 5-7 flowers of medium size; they tolerate changes in weather conditions quite well. The Duchess pear variety has such a feature as late and long flowering.
High yield Duchess
The yield of one tree is usually up to 250 kg of excellent quality pears. The fruits are large or medium (there are no small ones), hold firmly on the tree until fully ripe, have a pear-shaped oblong shape and a somewhat bumpy surface. The average weight of one pear is about 170 grams; 200 grams - if the tree is young. The skin is thin, shiny and fragrant; by the beginning of the harvest, the pear has a light green color and yellow to a black dot - in a fully ripe fruit. Yellowish-white flesh, juicy, with a light nutmeg flavor, just melts in your mouth. According to a 5-point system, tasters rate its taste at 4.8 points. Fruit picking starts in the second half of August; pears,taken in due time are stored for two weeks, in the refrigerator the shelf life increases to 45 days.
Duchess pear loves soil that is 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 be affected by aphids, sucker.
Duchess winter - a native of Belgium; the tree is quite tall, grows for a long time, the crown is wide, pyramidal. The leaves are medium in size, elliptical in shape. The advantage of this variety is cold resistance. Land for planting should have light fertile soil and be protected from the wind. Excellent results are shown by a variety grafted on a dwarf rootstock. In cold, damp summers, there is a risk of scab damage to fruits, which will cause a loss of their taste.
Features of growing Duchess winter
Duchess winter variety begins to bear fruit in the 6-7th year of planting. Ripens in October, has the property of ripening, which lasts until December; while all taste characteristics are preserved. Under the right conditions for saving, the fruits can lie until the very spring (April-May), remaining fresh. The sizes of pears are 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 the unusual aroma, combined with a sweet taste, diluted with a slight hint of sourness, will delight any gourmet.
Losstaste and useful properties of the crop can provoke its premature harvest. One plant is able to produce about 100 kg of high quality fragrant pears. The fruits can hang on the tree for a long time, but under adverse weather conditions they tend to fall off due to their large weight.
Duchess pear is successfully used in medicine, being an important component in the production of cold medicines.
Pollination
Both varieties of the Duchess group are self-fertile. Therefore, they need a pollinator variety. The Duchess summer pear most optimally perceives pollination by such brothers as the Forest Beauty, Bere Ardapon, Clapp's Favorite, Pass Crassan, Olivier de Serre, Bere Bosque. Winter prefers pollination from Olivier de Serre, Bere Ardanpon and Williams.
Duchess group trees normally tolerate a lack of moisture in the soil, but they still need to be watered. Watering is carried out in the amount of 2-3 buckets for each year of the life of the fruit tree before and after flowering. If necessary, you can water again - in the autumn.
Planting Duchesse pear
The most favorable time for planting pear seedlings is the second half of April, and it is important to be in time before bud break. The deepening of the plant is unacceptable, because it can cause its death. When planting in a hole, which should normally be about 1 meter deep and 60-70 cm in diameter, do not fill in fresh manure, as it can cause burns on the roots.
When the soil is poor, fertile soil should be poured into the planting pits, andthis must be done in advance, in the fall. It is better to improve the soil with a mixture of fertile soil, 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. Even the future tree will need an anti-wind support, so you need to drive a stake deep into the ground and tie the plant stem to it. To avoid damage to the trunk, it is better to make a garter in the form of a figure-eight.
An important factor in plant care is mulching, which protects the soil from temperature changes. For pears, it is preferable to use manure, humus, grass and weeds as mulch. This operation is recommended to be carried out in the autumn, before the start of a decrease in temperatures, from which the Duchesse pear may die.
Description of tree care features
To save the plant from frost and piercing winter winds, it needs to be covered for the winter. To do this, the lower part of the trunk must be wrapped with newsprint or cotton cloth. The best natural protection of the plant's root system from the cold is snowfall; it needs to be heated around the seedling as much as possible. Mature trees need protection from hares; to do this, around each pear, you need to make small fences or completely enclose the area with trees.
Pruning the plant is done in the spring. In the first year of planting, it is required to shorten the side branches above the buds, by one quarter - the central part of the trunk, this will cause the tree to grow not only upwards, but also to the sides.
On the seconda year the central part is shortened by 20-25 cm, and from the side branches, which need to be pruned by 5-8 cm, a truncated cone is formed (the lower branches are longer than the upper ones).
Rules for plant nutrition
Pear, like any plant, needs to be fed. It may not be produced in the first year, as the landing pit has been improved.
The main part of fertilizers is required to be applied in the autumn period, and organic fertilizers - once every 3 years (5-8 kg per 1 m22), mineral fertilizers - annually (per 1 m 2 - 20-30 g of potassium chloride, 20-25 g of s altpeter, 20-25 g of superphosphate). Top dressing is applied to circular holes dug around the plant to a depth of 15-20 cm.
Pest control
To protect against scab that affects leaves and fruits, trees are required during bud break and after flowering, treat with 1% Bordeaux liquid or 0.5% copper oxychloride solution. Old leaves are recommended to be burned (since they are a direct source of scab spread), and the ground around the circumference of the tree should be treated with a 0.3% Nitrafen solution.
The fight against sucker, which hibernates in fruit buds and fallen leaves and lays eggs there, consists in treating the tree (before bud break) with drugs such as Karbofos (90 g per 10 liters of water) or Oleocuprit . You can get rid of the larvae of the sucker with organophosphorus insecticides.
Duchess pear, reviews of amateur gardeners about which are extremely positive, are recommended for planting in any corner of the garden; unpretentiousness incultivation, high palatability, good transportability and long shelf life make this fruit in demand among a wide range of consumers.
