Cherry Turgenevka

Although the berries of this culture are a little and sour, they have a relatively low tasting score, but you are unlikely to find such healthy fruits. It is just a storehouse of vitamins and valuable microelements. In other words, if you want to be healthy, eat Turgenevka cherries.

The culture was obtained by a team of like-minded people of the All-Russian Research Institute of Selection of Fruit Crops, located in the Oryol region. The employees of the institute TS Zvyagina, AF Kolesnikova, GB Zhdanova successfully applied the pollination of the Zhukovskaya variety. In 1974 the culture was entered into the State Register, and in 1979 it was approved for use. By design, it is technical, with good marketability, and is recommended for cultivation in the Central, Central Black Earth Region, North Caucasus and Lower Volga regions.

The trees are medium-sized (up to 3 m), with crowns of medium thickening, reverse-pyramidal, slightly raised. Shoots of medium size, upright, brownish-brown shades. The leaves are narrow oval, dark green in color, with pointed tips. Boat-shaped leaf plates with a glossy surface.

The kidneys are slightly elongated, conical. The inflorescences include 4 whitish flowers, closely adjacent to each other. The size of the flowers is about 2.4 cm. The type of flowering and fruiting is on bouquet branches.

The pluses of culture include:

• high and stable level of productivity;
• large berries;
• reliable level of winter hardiness;
• excellent transportability of fruits.

Minuses:

• fruits somewhat sour in taste;
• dependence of the yield level on additional pollinating plants;
• not a very high rate of early maturity.

The fruits are large, in size - 20.9x19.8x17.9 mm, weighing up to 4.5 g, wide-heart-shaped configuration, rich dark burgundy shades. The consistency is dark red, slightly firm, juicy. Medium-sized cream pits, weighing 0.4 g, with a good degree of separability from the pulp. Semi-dry separation of berries.

By chemical composition, berries include: dry soluble substances -16.2%, sugar - 11.17%, acids - 1.51%.

After ripening, the berries do not fall off, remaining in a hanging state, but in the sun they wither and become more sugary.

Berries are perfect for preservation; juices, compotes, preserves, tinctures, syrups and fruit drinks are prepared from them. Due to their slightly sour taste, they are not often consumed fresh.

The beneficial properties of the fruits of the culture are striking:

• richness and variety of vitamins, valuable microelements, pectins;
• the use of berries helps to reduce negative thrombotic effects and strengthens the heart muscle;
• berries have pronounced antimicrobial and bactericidal qualities, prevent the onset of dysentery, and are able to reduce the level of blood pressure.

The berries are sour in taste.Tasting assessment of ripe fruits in points - 3.7.

Fruiting of Turgenevka starts from 4-5 years of growth. The average life of trees is about 20 years, then they must be replaced.

Flowering dates start from May 12-15. The ripening period is average - July 5-15.

The culture is high-yielding. Young trees bring up to 10-12 kg of berries. The yield of mature trees is around 20-25 kg.

The culture is partly self-fertile, it can yield a crop without additional pollinating plants. To increase the amount of berries picked, cherries or other types of cherries with a similar flowering time are planted next to it.

The best pollinating plants are cherries Lyubskaya, Molodezhnaya, Griot Moskovsky. If they are available, the volume of harvests increases several times.

Planting activities are carried out in the fall, in September or in October, after the termination of leaf fall. When planting in spring, the activities are carried out after warming up the soil, but before the buds open. The best time here will be the 2nd decade of April.

The choice of a planting site is based on standard criteria for this type of plant. We do not recommend placing the tree in areas with a high location of groundwater, as well as in low-lying places where moisture can accumulate.

The culture successfully develops in drained soils - on loam or sandy loam. Acidic places are not good. Reduce the degree of acidity with lime or with the help of dolomite flour, which is dropped onto the bayonet of a shovel, and after 6-7 days compost is added to the soil.

Turgenevka trees get along well with a number of shrubs. So, near them, at a distance of 2 m, you can plant other types of cherries, grape bushes, mountain ash, hawthorn, honeysuckle. Except for raspberries, currants and sea buckthorn. You can plant an elderberry, which will scare away aphids with its smell.

It is more expedient to plant apple trees, pears, apricots and other fruit crops at a distance of 5-6 m from Turgenevka, since their crowns will shade the culture.

You should not plant solanaceous crops next to it, as well as birches, lindens, maples and oaks.

For planting, 2-year-old healthy seedlings are usually selected up to 60 cm in height, with a diameter of the trunk of about 2 cm, and a root length of at least 20 cm.

After purchasing the seedlings, their roots are soaked in water for at least 4 hours, adding growth stimulants there.

The algorithm for planting seedlings is standard - the main activities:

• the landing grooves are prepared 70x70 cm and 50 cm deep;
• 1 kg of ash, 20 g of potassium sulfate and 30 g of superphosphate compositions are added to the fertile part of the soil;
• the soil is tamped and irrigated abundantly.

Pruning procedures are performed before or after the growing season. After the first winter, the trees are subject to pruning, leaving 5 strong branches stretched out in different directions from the trunk.In the future, the crowns are adjusted to a certain configuration, eliminating unnecessarily elongated branches, and avoiding thickening of the crowns. Mature trees usually have 13–15 bearing branches.

With heavy rainfall, trees do not need watering. If at the time of flowering there is a dry season, then the soil is irrigated weekly.

Full dressing Turgenevka begins at the 3rd year of its growth. At the beginning of spring, they are spilled with mullein infusion. During and after the flower period, 50 g of superphosphate and potassium supplements are instilled into the ground.

The culture is characterized by an average level of resistance to disease and pest attacks. Symptoms of moniliosis and coccomycosis often appear on trees. In these cases, standard preventive spraying is dispensed with. During the period of bud opening, trees are sprinkled with Bordeaux liquid. You can purchase ready-made compositions or make them yourself.

Turgenevka is characterized by an average level of resistance to dry times. We recommend irrigating trees in hot weather, especially during flowering.

The culture is characterized by a high level of winter hardiness; it tolerates frosts down to -35 ° С. At the same time, flower buds have an average resistance to cold. The culture is susceptible to spring frosts and strong temperature fluctuations.

In order to prepare for wintering, the trees are abundantly irrigated in late autumn, and then the trunks are hilled. The soil in the near-stem space is mulched. From rodents, trees are covered with spruce branches.