A pear, the value of which lies in delicious aromatic fruits and almost always high yields, is an adornment of any garden. This fruit makes delicious jams and compotes, light homemade wine, sweet marmalade. Its refined aroma and mild taste when consumed fresh are invaluable.
Benefits of Duchess
One of the standards of dessert varieties is considered Duchesse pear - a delicious and, most importantly, healthy product, which contains a large number of trace elements required for the body.
A native of England, she has gained great popularity outside her country among consumers and gardeners due to qualities such as:
- bright, rich taste,
- attractive, appealing look,
- undemanding in cultivation and care,
- the possibility of processing
- long shelf life.
It can be grown both in small garden areas and on an industrial scale. The pear variety Duchess back in 1796 was bred by Wheeler. It gained popularity thanks to a certain Williams, who gave this variety its current name.
Pear Duchess: Description
There are two types of pears of this variety: Duchess pear winter and Duchess pear summer. There is no fundamental difference, except for the harvesting time, between these varieties. Pear Duches summer ripens in August, the first harvest will delight 5-6 years after planting. Crohn's summer pear variety is wide, pyramidal in shape, with a large number of leaves. The tree is small in size; shiny and smooth leaves are large, oval in shape, pointed at the end.
In 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 of Duchess
The yield of one tree is usually up to 250 kg of pears of excellent quality. Fruits are large or medium (small does not happen), hold on to a tree firmly, until full ripening, have a pear-shaped oblong shape and a somewhat tuberous 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; at the beginning of the harvest, the pear has a light green color and yellow in a black dot - in a fully ripened fruit. The yellowish-white flesh, juicy, with a light muscat aroma, simply melts in the mouth. According to the 5-point system, tasters evaluate its taste at 4.8 points. Fruit picking begins in the second half of August; pears removed on time are stored for two weeks, in the refrigerator the shelf life is increased to 45 days.
The soil pear Duchess loves fertile and well-saturated moisture. The disadvantage of this variety is its average resistance to frost and drought, as well as its tendency to damage aphids, tinnitus.
Duchess winter is a native of Belgium; the tree is quite tall, grows long, the crown is wide, pyramidal. The leaves are medium sized, elliptical. The advantage of this grade is cold resistance. Landing areas should have light fertile soil and be protected from the wind. Excellent results are shown by the variety grafted on a dwarf rootstock. In cold damp summers, there is a risk of fruit scab damage, which will result in a loss of their taste.
Features of growing Duchess winter
Variety Duchess winter 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 of savings, the fruits can lie until the very spring (April-May), remaining fresh. Sizes of pears are usually large (350-400 grams), some specimens may exceed half a kilogram. Beautiful blush, yellow tint and smooth skin make them attractive to anyone, even the most moody consumer. And an unusual aroma in combination with a sweet taste, diluted with a small note of sourness, will delight any gourmet.
Loss of taste and useful properties of the crop can provoke its premature harvest. One plant can produce about 100 kg of high-quality flavorful pears. Fruits can hang on a tree for a long time, but under adverse weather conditions they tend to fall due to their high weight.
Successfully used Duchess pear in medicine, being an important component in the production of cold medicine.
Pollination
Both varieties of the Duchess group are self-fertile. Therefore, they need a pollinator variety. Most optimally, the Duchess pear summer perceives pollination by such brethren as Forest Beauty, Bere Ardapon, Lubimarca Clappa, Pass Crassan, Olivier de Serre, Bere Bosk. Winter prefers pollination from Olivier de Serres, Bere Ardanpon and Williams.
Duches group trees normally tolerate a lack of moisture in the soil, but you still need to water them. Watering is carried out in the amount of 2-3 buckets for each year of fruit tree life before and after flowering. If necessary, you can water again - in the autumn.
Planting a Duchess Pear
The second half of April is considered to be the most favorable time for planting pear seedlings, and it is important to catch up with buds. Deepening the plant is unacceptable, because it can cause its death. When planting in a pit, the depth of which should normally be about 1 meter, and a diameter of 60-70 cm, fresh manure cannot be filled in, as it can cause burns on the roots.
If the soil is poor, fertile soil should be poured into the planting pits, and this must be done first, in the fall. It is better to improve the soil 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 need an anti-wind support, so you need to drive a stake deep into the ground and tie a plant trunk to it. To avoid damage to the trunk, a garter is best done in the form of a figure eight.
An important factor in plant care is mulching, which protects the soil from temperature extremes. 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 lowering temperatures, from which the Duchess pear can die.
Description of tree care features
To save the plant from frost and piercing winter winds, it is necessary to shelter it 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 snow; it needs to be heated around the seedling as much as possible. Mature trees need protection from hares; for this, it is required to make small fences around each pear or completely enclose the area with trees.
Pruning plants in 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 up, but also to the sides.
In the second year, the central part is shortened by 20–25 cm, and a truncated cone is formed from the side branches, which need to be cut by 5–8 cm (the lower branches are longer than the upper ones).
Rules for plant nutrition
A pear, like any plant, needs to be fed. In the first year it can be omitted, as the landing pit has been improved.
The main part of fertilizers is required to be applied in the autumn period, and organic fertilizers - every 3 years (5-8 kg per 1 m 2 ), mineral fertilizers - annually (per 1 m 2 - 20-30 g of potassium chloride, 20-25 g of nitrate, 20-25 g of superphosphate). Top dressing is introduced into circular pits dug around the plant to a depth of 15-20 cm.
Pest control
To protect against scab affecting leaves and fruits, trees are required during budding and, after flowering, should be treated with 1% Bordeaux liquid or 0.5% copper chloride solution . It is recommended to burn old leaves (since they are a direct source of scab distribution), and treat the ground around the circumference of the tree with a 0.3% Nitrafen solution.
The fight against tinnitus, which hibernates in fruit buds and fallen leaves and lays eggs there, consists in treating the tree (before buds open) with drugs such as Karbofos (for 10 liters of water - 90 g) or Oleuprit. Larvae of larvae can be eliminated with the help of organophosphorus insecticides.
Pear Duches, reviews of amateur gardeners about which are extremely positive, is recommended for planting in any corner of the garden; unpretentiousness in cultivation, high palatability, good transportability and long shelf life make this fruit in demand among a wide range of consumers.