Plum trees grow in almost every garden or summer cottage. Juicy, fragrant, tasty and very he althy fruits are second only to apples in popularity. Today, there are many old, well-established plum varieties that differ in fruit size, shape, skin and pulp color, and taste. However, breeders do not stop working on breeding more advanced varieties with increased frost resistance, fruit ripening speed and excellent taste.
The firefly plum is a somewhat unusual variety with an uncharacteristic yellow fruit color, a pleasant delicate aroma and a sweet taste that attracts gardeners. "Firefly" belongs to the group of varieties of medium ripening. It was obtained at the Research Institute of Genetics and Breeding. I. V. Michurina during the crossing of two well-known varieties: "Volga Beauty" and "Eurasia 21". The authors of this development were L. E. Kursakova, G. G. Nikiforov, R. E. Bogdanov and G. A. Kursakov. The variety has been undergoing state tests since 2004. In 2012, it was approved for cultivation inCentral Black Earth region of our country - Belgorod, Oryol, Voronezh, Lipetsk, Tambov and Kursk regions.
Firefly plum: variety description
A powerful tree with a spreading crown reaches a height of five meters. The oval-shaped crown is moderately thickened. Shoots are brown-brown, straight and thin, slightly pubescent. Medium-sized elliptical leaves are painted in rich green. They are finely serrated along the edges. The concave leaf blade has a smooth and matte surface. Petioles are pigmented. The plant blooms with small white flowers.
Fruits
When describing the firefly plum, one should dwell in detail on large (up to 40 grams) round-shaped fruits. They are covered with a thin, smooth yellow skin with a slight wax coating, which is easily separated from the fruit. On it you can see a few, poorly visible gray subcutaneous dots. Stems of medium length and thickness are easily separated from the branches.
Yellow flesh is juicy and dense, with a pleasant sweet taste with sourness. The stone is small, perfectly separated from the pulp. The biochemical composition of fruits includes:
- sugar - 13%;
- dry matter - 14.05%;
- acids - 1%;
- ascorbic acid - 6 mg per 100 grams of product.
Fruits are characterized by an average level of transportability. The description and photo of the firefly plum today can often be found in special publications for gardeners, since interest inthis variety is growing every year.
Professional tasters highly appreciated the taste of firefly fruits, giving them 4.5 points. Today it is one of the best table varieties in our country. The fruits are suitable for fresh consumption, and they can also be used for winter preparations in the form of juices, compotes, jams. Many housewives make marmalade and jelly from these plums of a very beautiful golden color.
Plum "firefly", the photo of which we posted in this article, bred specifically for the Black Earth region, perfectly withstands harsh winters when the air temperature drops to -20 ° C, and is also not afraid of return spring frosts. This variety is also resistant to dry summer periods. It has an average resistance to most diseases characteristic of stone fruits.
Blossom trees start quite early, in mid-May. The fruits ripen in the last decade of July or early August. Plum "firefly" begins to bear fruit already in the third or fourth year. On average, the yield is at least 112 centners per hectare.
Cultivar Pollinators
Most varieties of plums obtained from Eurasia 21 are poorly pollinated. To improve this indicator, the creators of the variety recommend planting nearby trees that, in terms of flowering, coincide with the Eurasia 21 variety. These include: "beacon", "kolkhoz renklod", "fruitful renklod".
Rules for planting plums
In order for the "firefly" plum to give good yields, it is necessary to correctly carry out a number of agrotechnicalevents and follow simple rules for plant care.
Trees of this variety are planted in well-lit areas where groundwater occurs at a depth of at least two meters. The trees are placed at a distance of three to four meters from each other. In planting pits with a depth of at least 0.5 meters, potash fertilizers, a layer of manure, as well as some wood ash and superphosphate are laid before planting.
Placing the seedling in the center of the hole, sprinkle the roots evenly, compact the soil so that no voids remain. It is not recommended to deepen the root neck. After compaction of the soil, abundant watering is carried out. It is necessary to mulch the trunk circle with peat or humus.
Care after landing
Proper care of the firefly plum comes down to regular watering, loosening the soil, weeding, fertilizing and pruning, and protection from pests. Before fruiting, before flowering and during the formation of the ovary, watering is carried out in the amount of 4-5 buckets under one tree once or twice a month. If there is a lot of rain, watering can be canceled.
Feeding and pruning
The plant is fed with mineral fertilizers during autumn digging, organic matter is applied no more than once every three years. To form a crown in a young tree after planting in the spring, the first pruning is carried out. Then plum "firefly" should be pruned annually. Fresh cuts must be treated with garden pitch.
Many gardeners note that as the tree grows oldercracking is observed. This should not be ignored. Such damage must be carefully cleaned to he althy areas of the bark, and then treated with a solution of iron sulfate. The treated surface is lubricated with garden pitch. If lichen or moss appears on the bark, it should be removed and then the trunk whitewashed.
Winter care
With the onset of winter, tree care does not end. Loose snow is a good helper for rodents in building passages leading to food, namely to young bark. Therefore, immediately after a snowfall, snow should be trampled around the tree. Mice are not so dangerous to an adult tree.
Firefly Plum: reviews of gardeners
Serious flaws in this variety have not been identified to date. Despite this, reviews of the "firefly" are mixed. Some gardeners note low yields, although the tree is actively blooming. According to experts, this problem is related to pollinators. As a rule, in gardens where a large number of plums of various varieties grow, this does not happen. Typically, a tree produces an average of four buckets of fruit annually.
However, most flower growers have no complaints about the firefly plum, but believe that special attention should be paid to it. Unusual color, excellent characteristics (yielding, weather resistance, great taste) provide this variety with a good future.
