Pear
General information: the first mention of the pear is found 1000 BC before the ancient Greeks. From the Greeks and Romans, the pear culture moved to Western European countries. Here the greatest contribution to the improvement of varieties and the creation of their diversity was made by France and in the 18th century Belgium - the birthplace of melting oily pears with their unsurpassed palatability. In Russia, the pear is cultivated since the XI century. She lives for a long time, several dozen years.
Requirements: for the best growth of pear trees, the soil must be loose, water and breathable, while at the same time it can retain a sufficient supply of moisture in the root-habitable layer.
Likes when there is enough clay in the soil, and the fruits reveal all their merits, if the soil contains lime. Suitable for planting pears are slopes of all directions. However, preference should be given to the south-western, western and southern sloping slopes.
The place for the pear should be chosen solar, ventilated, so that the air near the tree does not stagnate. But at the same time, most varieties need protection from winds, sultry
dry spring winds often burn flowers, in the summer they knock down fruits. The pear feels bad in those places where the air is constantly saturated with water vapor.
Ingredients: carbohydrates with predominance of soluble sugars( glucose, fructose, sucrose), as well as organic acids, tannic, nitrogenous, coloring, aromatic and pectin substances, vitamins A, B, C, enzymes, a number of inorganic compounds are present in fruits.
Selection of pear rootstocks: pear is mainly planted on seedlings of wild species and cultivars of pears growing in each specific region.
Seedlings:
Pear wood and pear home is characterized by strong growth, average frost resistance and drought resistance, it is well compatible with most varieties.
Cultivated local forms and pear varieties, for example, Birch, Yellow, are distinguished by high frost resistance, drought resistance, good compatibility with all varieties, and a number of advantages over wild pear species, such as early maturity, crop stability.
Quince A, or quince Anzherskaya, is characterized by low growth, is used to obtain undersized and shpalernye forms of pears, is used in southern regions.
Quince Provanskaya is distinguished by good compatibility with cultivated pear varieties, poorly-grown, used for obtaining low and trellised pear forms, winter hardiness is below average.
Planting: timing and requirements are similar to apple tree planting.
Care: measures and methods of caring for fruit pear trees are similar to those used for apple trees, although there are some features. In particular, the pear is less frost-hardy, it requires mainly sunny open areas and abundant watering.
Pruning: on the structure of the crown, the nature of growth and the type of fruiting pear has much in common with the apple tree.
Thinning of the
ovaries 1. If the tree has formed many fruit ovaries, it is necessary to thin them, since the tree still does not have the strength and juices to form full fruits from all the ovaries. The fruits will be shallow, perhaps flaccid and not tasty.
2. When thinning, the secateur needs to cut off excess ovaries, leaving only the most well-formed and located in the most successful places of the fruit branch. As a result of thinning, half of the ovaries will remain, from which the qualitative fruits of
will develop. Post-planting pruning. The first pruning of the pear seedlings after planting is carried out in the same way as in the apple tree: the competing shoot of the central conductor is cut out, the central conductor is shortened, the long skeletal branches are cut by 1/3, the branches are placed close to the horizontal position.
Annual forming pruning. For a pear on a strong-growing rootstock, the sparse-tiered shape of the crown is most often chosen, which best corresponds to the natural shapes of the pear crown. The pear crown is well formed in a natural way, therefore, a small corrective pruning is enough to observe the subordination of skeletal branches to the central conductor, strengthen fruit branches, stimulate the formation of semi-skeletal branches.
Rejuvenating pruning of adult fruit-bearing pears
During cutting, aging, withering, fruiting branches are carved into the ring, as well as branches directed into the interior of the crown, spinning shoots and branches extending beyond the crowning zone. This trim improves the light and air modes inside the crown.
The pear crown is distinguished by a strong central conductor, the shoot-forming ability is characterized by medium to low. Pear is usually formed by a sparse-tiered system.
Strengthening of sprouting can be stimulated by shortening the shoots by 1/4 of their length, which after pruning give lateral branches. If necessary, to restore subordination of branches make more significant pruning. The pear is characterized by an average frost resistance and even with a slight frosting it forms a number of wolf shoots. Superfluous shoots are carved into a ring, and some are left to be formed by trimming and bending off semi-skeletal branches. When forming the crown, it is important to take into account such a moment as the formation of fouling branches located close to the base of the skeleton branches. This is important for obtaining a compact crown with placement of fruits close to the crown axes, as well as to protect against winter sunburn of boles and bases of first-order branches.
Rejuvenating pruning. Adult fruiting pear tree requires a systematic, once in 2-3 years, rejuvenating trimming, during which the shoots thickening the crown are removed, the mode of lighting and ventilation of the crown improves. For pears, as for apple trees, the methods of trimming are used, aimed at reducing the crown.
When forming a pear trellis or palmette, 8 to 12 skeletal branches are laid in one vertical plane along the row. The height of trees formed by the type of palmetta is within 2-4 m, the width of the crown is 3 m. The branches are usually placed in 3 tiers and with a distance between them not less than 50 cm and not more than 80 cm, depending on the growth force of the tree. Fouling branches are also located in a vertical plane and are formed without bending at an interval of 20-35 cm.
Pear trellis
In the form of trellises form pear trees on weakly and medium-sized rootstocks, pear trellises are highly decorative and bring a rich stable crop. When placed at the wall of the building, the trellised forms of trees are protected from the wind, as well as the additional heat that the wall accumulates during the day and gives it to the plants with an evening drop in temperature.
Harvesting: summer and early autumn pears need to be removed within a week and a half to normal maturity. Fold them when collected in baskets, canvas bags with detachable bottom or buckets in the soft skin. Fruits should be placed carefully so that the barrels do not get stuck. They should be stored in a cool place, then they will gain a taste and become oily. When drowned on a tree, they will be light and mealy. When harvesting late varieties, do not remove them from the tree if it is drizzling with rain or with fog. Not suitable for these works and early morning or evening, when the trees are dew. The best time is a sunny day. Collected fruits must first be folded into a well-ventilated room, where they will lose excess free water, which will enable them to keep them fresh longer.
Usage: The value of the pear lies in the possibility of consuming its fruits in fresh or processed form. Also good are dried fruits from pears, pastilles, marmalade, bekmes and drinks.
Pears are also used in folk medicine. They tend to predominantly fixing, diuretic, disinfectant, antipyretic and antitussive effect. These properties are fresh, dried fruits, as well as juice, decoctions and kissel. Pears are also useful for urolithiasis. Due to the rather high content of phenolic compounds, pears are strengthened by blood capillaries, have anti-sclerotic and anti-inflammatory effect.
In case of exacerbation of diseases of the digestive system, pears should not be eaten due to the presence of a significant amount of cellulose in them.