- Fruit shape: round or heart-shaped
- Keeping quality: long
- Authors: Rossosh Zonal Experimental Station of Horticulture
- Growth type: low-growth, medium-sized
- Appointment: universal
- Yield: above average
- Tree height, m: until 3
- Crown: wide pyramidal
- Fruit size: large
- Fruit weight, g: 6-7
In terms of the taste properties of the fruits, this culture can be called a masterpiece, which is the main reason for such a high popularity of Rossoshansk gold. But this variety of sweet cherries is famous not only for this quality, it is unpretentious, frost-resistant (for southern latitudes), perfectly tolerates drought, has an increased keeping quality of fruits and reliable transportability.
Breeding history
This yellow-fruited sweet cherry is the result of long and hard work of the team of the Rossosh Zonal Experimental Gardening Station located in the Voronezh Region. Its excellent taste properties, a pronounced aversion to the occurrence of decay and cracking processes, as well as the presence of a number of other advantages, largely determined the prevalence of Rossosh gold in Russia.
The type of this cherry is subdivided into 3 subspecies - large, black and gold.
Description of the variety
Culture trees are medium-sized (up to 3 meters), with broad-pyramidal crowns of medium density. The leaves have a standard configuration and a rich green color. The trees bloom early - in the second decade of April. During flowering, large-sized lush flowers of white shades are formed, consisting of five petals, forming strong inflorescences of 10-15 pcs. Cuttings of a dense structure, ensuring the reduction of fruit falling off. The trees have a lifespan of about 25 years.
Of the advantages of culture, it should be noted:
gorgeous taste properties of berries, which determine the high level of popularity of the culture;
excellent transportability and keeping quality of fruits;
a high level of productivity while observing the rules of agricultural care;
the presence of a high level of resistance to major diseases;
the low-lying above-ground part of the trees provides the opportunity for convenient picking of berries;
stable process of fruiting.
Minuses:
the culture is unsuitable for growing in cold latitudes, since the flowers do not withstand early frosts in the spring;
trees do not really tolerate waterlogging and unsatisfactory lighting levels;
the need for pollinating neighbors.
Fruit characteristics
The culture has large berries (6-7 g) of a beautiful golden color, with a barely noticeable and appetizing blush. The shape of the fruit is round or heart-shaped, slightly flattened at the sides. The creamy yellow flesh is of medium density, which ensures good transportability of the fruit. The bones are slightly elongated, smooth, well separated from the pulp. The quality of berry tearing is dry.
These fleshy and sugary fruits are versatile in their use, with long shelf life. They are used fresh, they are good in canned form, in compotes, jams, wines, and also in freezing.
Taste qualities
In terms of taste, the berries are richly sweet, with a barely perceptible acidity and a gorgeous honey flavor. Tasting score in points - 5.
Ripening and fruiting
The starting crop appears on trees at 4-5 years of their growth. The ripening period is medium late. The period of fruiting is recorded from the end of June to the beginning of July.
Yield
The yield is above average.
Self-fertility and the need for pollinators
The culture is self-fertile, requiring pollinating neighbors. The best pollinating varieties here will be: Chudo-Cherry and Nochka ducks, as well as Ovstuzhenka cherry.
Growing and care
Planting sites should be well lit, with the least risk of excessive moisture, not windy. It is unpretentious to the degree of soil fertility, but the soil should be light and aerated. Near the seedlings, other trees should not be located closer than 6 meters. Otherwise, the level of fruiting will decrease.
The trees perfectly withstand low temperatures, and therefore it is more advisable to plant them for the winter. The most favorable time for disembarkation is the end of September or the beginning of October. Spring planting is also possible; for this, seedlings are chosen before the period of bud formation. Since the culture is quite unpretentious, it does not require special care. However, there are some aspects to consider.
We recommend choosing two-year-old seedlings with the greatest survival rate. The selection criteria are standard, but the length of the roots should be at least 30 cm. It is worth picking up trees without grafting, with strong branches.
The order and content of disembarkation is typical. The landing grooves are prepared 60 cm deep and 80 cm in diameter. Post-plant irrigation is up to 10 liters in volume. Trees do not develop well if apple and plum trees grow next to them.
The culture does not tolerate frequent watering. During the entire vegetative period, trees need 3-4 irrigations of about 60 liters each. The first irrigation is done during the budding period. The second - at the end of the flowering period, the third - during the ripening of the fruits, the fourth - at the end of the picking of berries. Before the irrigation process, the soil should be loosened in the near-stem space.
Pruning is carried out in the first year after planting the seedlings (the pruning procedure is carried out with a central conductor). This ensures the development of a lush crown and a decrease in the intensity of tree growth. After the emergence of new shoots, they are cut off again to form a 3-tiered crown. Mature trees are pruned annually, dried branches and thickened areas are removed.
In the spring, fertilizing with nitrogenous additives is carried out, around the middle of July, complex formulations are used, before winter, phosphorus and potassium additives are used. To increase the level of frost resistance, complexes with the inclusion of sodium are used.
Disease and pest resistance
The culture is distinguished by a high level of resistance to diseases and pest attacks of insects, and with proper preventive work, the trees practically do not get sick. The degree of resistance of trees increases significantly even when mineral fertilizers and organic matter are correctly applied.
In spring, aphids pose a certain danger to trees. Here they resort to the timely use of chemical compounds ("Aktofit", "Aktara", "Confidor" or use tobacco tinctures with soapy water).
Most often, trees fall ill with moniliosis, coccomycosis, fungal diseases, and are affected by black aphids, cherry fly, leafworm. In these cases, the fight against them is carried out with standard chemicals and folk remedies.
Requirements for soil and climatic conditions
The culture is sufficiently resistant to droughts, for this reason, waterlogging of the soil is contraindicated.
In relation to the southern latitudes, the level of its winter hardiness is considered high. Nevertheless, it is useful to insulate young trees for the winter with a covering material. Moreover, the property of their frost resistance is fully manifested only in the third year of growth. For mature trees, moss is placed around the trunks in preparation for wintering.