The most popular “folk” fruits are pear, apple and apricot. Pear fruit was in great demand even in ancient Greece. A lot of time has passed since then, but people of all ages still love her. Pear is a fruit tree of the Rosaceae family. This plant has a large number of subspecies, which are conditionally divided into varieties of early, middle and late ripening. The most famous is Bergamot.
Many, of course, love to drink tea with the taste of bergamot, but not everyone knows what bergamot is - a pear or a citrus plant.
History
Bergamot belongs to the root family. The origin of this fruit has a long history. In nature, it does not grow, but is artificially bred by humans, by crossing a lemon and a bitter orange.
The name that bears the pear variety - "Bergamot" - has two versions of origin. According to the first, an exotic plant from Southeast Asia was named after the Italian city of Bergamo, in which its first plantations in Europe were located. According to the second version, the word "bergamot" in Turkish means "pear of the master", because the fruit in its appearance and form resembles a pear. More popular is the first version of the history of the name of citrus.
Pear "Bergamot": description
The name "bergamot" is often used in the name of various varieties of pears that are cultivated in Europe.
This variety is very widespread, it is grown throughout Europe. The plant is heat-loving, therefore, it bears fruit best in the conditions of subtropics in the open ground.
Most often, bergamot trees can be found in southern Italy, approximately 40% of pear varieties in Europe are in this country. Second place - 20% - in growing bergamot is Spain. Third place - France.
In Russia, many types of pear varieties that are resistant to the cold climate have been created and are grown, but the Bergamot variety is not popular. Back in Soviet times, the variety was distributed depending on the planting area: in the western regions the Polish Bergamot variety was most often grown, but it does not tolerate transportation, in the central regions it is Red, which is very tolerant to temperature changes, in the southern regions Autumn Bergamot.
"Bergamot" (pear) has common features for all varieties:
- tree height reaches 10 m;
- fruits have a rounded shape;
- branches are covered with long thorns;
- in spring the plant is shrouded in a cloud of flowers with a fragrant smell;
- fruiting from autumn to early winter;
- high productivity.
The variety is very whimsical: trees require frequent watering.
Features
"Bergamot" (pear) is a variety that includes trees with slightly flattened rounded fruits that contain a large amount of a useful substance - arbutin, which has the ability to stop inflammatory processes and prevent the development of many serious diseases.
and
This type of pear is useful for people suffering from diseases of the genitourinary system. Glorogenic acid, which leads to the composition of the fruit, fruitfully affects the functioning of the liver and gall bladder, provokes the outflow of bile and toxins from the body.
The fruit has a sour-bitter taste, not as sour as a lemon, but more bitter than a grapefruit. Because of its taste, it is not eaten.
Varieties
"Bergamot" (pear) has been grown for a long time, and breeders have bred a large number of varieties that correspond to the climatic conditions of a particular area. Only a small part of them is grown in Russia:
- Nutmeg;
- Autumn;
- Summer red;
- Volzhsky.
Variety "Autumn Bergamot" was formed as a result of selection and the most popular. Most often, this species is found in the middle lane. The tree is very tall, has a rare pyramidal crown, branches are located at an acute angle to the trunk, leaves are elongated, with pointed edges.
The fruits of the Autumn variety are of medium size, slightly flat, rounded in shape. Trees bear fruit for 7 years. Productivity is low. The pulp is white in color, has a wine-sweet taste with a faint aroma. This variety is common in the Baltic States and Russia.
The disadvantages of the species include: low taste qualities of fruits, trees are afraid of low temperatures and often get sick.
Trees of the Muscat Bergamot variety are distinguished by dense foliage, up to 8 m high, spherical in shape with thick branches. The variety is characterized by high productivity: during the season you can harvest from one tree up to 300 kg. The pulp of the fruit is juicy and has a pleasant taste.
Pear "Bergamot of Moscow"
The variety was bred at the Moscow State Academy. K. Timiryazev. A tree of this species has a small crown.
Fruiting occurs at 4 years. Fruits are yellow-green in color, rather large. The pulp is juicy and dense, with a sweet and sour taste. Ripening occurs in September. From one tree you can collect up to 20 kg of the crop.
The variety is different:
- high resistance to frost;
- long flowering period;
- compact tree crowns,
- large-sized fruits - the weight of one reaches 150 g;
- resistant to scab and fruit rot.
The main disadvantage of this variety: in dry years or with insufficient watering, the fruits become tart and acidic.