Plum Starter

Plum Startovaya is a high-yielding variety loved by many gardeners. The fruits of this plum are fragrant and sweet. Trees are almost not susceptible to diseases and pest attacks.

History of variety selection

The All-Russian Research Institute named after I.V. Michurin was involved in breeding the homemade Starting plum. Breeders G. A. Kursakov, R. E. Bogdanov, G. G. Nikiforova and T. A. Pisanova crossed the varieties Eurasia-21 and Volzhskaya Krasavitsa, as a result of which this variety appeared. The starting plum was entered into the State Register in 2006.

Description of the plum variety Startovaya

• The height of the Starting Plum tree is average.
• The crown is dense, oval.
• The shoots of Startovaya are red-brown, with a silvery coating. The buds are cone-shaped, silver-brown in color.
• The small, emerald, oval-shaped leaves have a wrinkled texture and a pointed tip.Along the edges of the Starter Plum leaf are small ribs. The stipules of the plant fall off early.
• The petioles are ordinary, slightly pigmented. The glands have an amber hue and are located one at a time on the petiole.
• The starter plum blooms with large white flowers that resemble a bell. Their anthers are located under the stigma of the pistil.
• The fruits of the Startovaya variety are large, have a dark purple color and a whitish tint. They are distinguished by high taste qualities (average tasting score - 4.7 points out of 5). The fruits are sweet and sour. The seed is large, oval, and easy to separate from the juicy yellow pulp. On average, the Starter plum fruit weighs 52 g.

The starting plum is grown in the Central Black Earth region of Russia, Ukraine, in the south - in Georgia and Moldova, in the north - in Estonia. Areas with loamy soil are ideal for cultivation.

Characteristics of plum Starting

Drought and frost resistance

The starter plum is frost-resistant; in mild winters there is no need to cover the tree for the winter.

Plum loves warmth and tolerates heat calmly, although it requires additional watering.

The most positive reviews about the Startovaya plum are in the Moscow region, where the climate is temperate, but the reviews about the Startovaya plum in Siberia are contradictory: only with careful care it is possible to preserve the seedlings and get a good harvest.

Plum pollinators Home page

The Starting plum is considered self-fertile, but produces very few ovaries. To get a good harvest, the Startovaya plum tree needs a pollinator. As pollinators, it is best to choose the parents of the variety: plum Eurasia-21 and Volga beauty.

Productivity and fruiting

The Startovaya plum variety ripens very early and bears fruit.Its yield is about 61 centners of fruit per hectare (up to 50 kg per tree).

Shelf life: approximately 3 weeks (no more than 25 days).

The plum bears fruit for the first time 4–5 years after planting the cutting or 6 years after planting the seed.

Area of ​​application of berries

The plum variety Startovaya is universal. It is grown by private gardeners for home use, by owners of large plots of land for fresh sale, and by farms for the production of various products: wines, candied fruits, jams, compotes, mousses.

Fruits of the Startovaya variety can be frozen without loss of taste.

Resistance to diseases and pests

The Startovaya variety is resistant to diseases and pests, and therefore does not require treatment with fungicides and insecticides.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Advantages:

• very early fruiting;
• high productivity;
• resistance to low and high temperatures;
• ease of transporting berries;
• high taste qualities;
• versatility of use;
• immunity to diseases and pests.

Flaws:

• conditional self-fertility of plum Starting.

Landing Features

Recommended timing

The starting plum should be planted in late March - early April (2nd-3rd decade) or from September to mid-October, before frost sets in. In autumn, seedlings do not respond to damage to the root system. At the same time, it is easier to buy high-quality planting material.

Planting material planted in spring has time to develop a root system and easily survives the winter.

Choosing a suitable location

• Startovaya grows best on loam.
• Ideally, soil acidity should be around 6.5–7 units.It can be easily checked using litmus paper; to do this, simply apply the meter to a handful of soil damp after rain.
• You should not plant Startovaya in a place where the groundwater level exceeds 2 meters: the plum tree is sensitive to excess ground moisture.
• It is best to plant it in a place where it will be constantly exposed to the sun and protected from northern winds.

In such conditions, the Startovaya fruits will ripen sweet and juicy.

What crops can and cannot be planted nearby?

• Next to the Start one, another plum variety compatible with it should be planted. The best options are Eurasia-21 and Volga beauty, which are its best pollinators.
• There is no point in planting plum varieties next to each other that do not coincide with the given variety in terms of flowering time.
• Plums should not be planted next to cherries, cherries, pears, or walnuts.
• It gets along well with an apple tree or berry bushes: raspberries, currants.

Selection and preparation of planting material

It is very easy to grow a starter plum from a seed or cutting. Planting from a seed will be cheaper and easier.

1. The seeds are split, the seeds are extracted and pre-soaked in warm water for 70–120 hours, changing the water once a day.
2. After this, the bones are stored in a clean glass container.
3. 6 months before planting, the seeds are stratified in damp sand at a temperature ranging from -10 to 1 degree.
4. 2 years after planting, the cuttings can be transplanted to another location if necessary.

Today on the market you can find

• seedlings grafted on seed rootstocks;
• own rooted seedlings;
• seedlings grown from root shoots, cuttings, layering.

For the Starter Plum, it is best to buy your own rooted planting material: it will grow into a fruit-bearing tree that consistently produces a bountiful harvest and can easily withstand frost.

One-year and two-year-old seedlings are suitable for planting.

Indicators that are important when choosing are described in the table.

Landing algorithm

When planting seeds, you need to wait until they germinate during the stratification process. It is also necessary to prepare a sufficient amount of well-drained soil and compost.

1. When the roots are visible, the seeds should be planted in a pot or directly on the site, having first dug a hole.
2. In the center of the hole, you should make a hill of soil, place the seed there, carefully lay out the roots and bury the seed.

When planting seedlings in spring, pits for the Starting Plum are prepared in the fall. At the same time, it is easiest to buy seedlings, since at this time the market offers the widest selection of planting material. They should be kept buried until planting. If you decide to plant plums in the fall, the holes should be prepared a month before planting.

• It is best to plant plums at a distance of 3–4 m from each other and 5–6 m between rows. Starting plum trees in Siberia and the Far East should be located at a shorter distance - 2–3 m from each other and 3–5 m between rows.
• The holes should be 70–80 cm in diameter and 70 cm deep.
• When digging, the top layer of soil should be placed in one direction, the bottom layer in the other.
• If the soil is peaty or sandy, you should fill the hole to a 10-centimeter level with clay.

It is also better to fertilize the soil before planting. The recommended composition of the fertilizer is as follows:

• humus and compost - 2 buckets;
• peat - 2 buckets;
• superphosphate – 1 tablespoon;
• carbamide – 3 tablespoons;
• potassium sulfate – 3 tablespoons.

This mixture will help the Starter plum to take root faster and better. You should also add 2 cups of nitrophoska and 200 g of wood ash (an alternative to ash is fluff lime, dolomite flour).

If the soil is highly acidic, you need to add saltpeter with lime and ammonia, this will saturate the soil with nitrogen.

1. If the soil is heavy, you should loosen the bottom of each hole to a depth of 20–25 cm.
2. You need to mix 20 kg of prepared fertilizer into the removed top layer of soil.
3. A 110-centimeter peg is dug into the bottom of the hole.
4. Eggshells are placed in the hole, then two-thirds of it should be filled with a mixture of soil and fertilizer. If there is not enough mixture, you need to take a little more soil from the top layer of soil.
5. The seedling needs to straighten its roots and place it in a hole.

6. The hole is completely filled with ordinary soil without any fertilizers.
7. Compact the soil thoroughly: this will protect the roots from contact with air and, therefore, drying out.
8. In order for the Starting plum to absorb moisture to the maximum, you need to make a mound around the seedling from the lower layer of soil.
9. The seedling should be tied to a peg and watered abundantly (3-4 buckets of water).

Aftercare for plums

Trimming

The largest yield is produced by the Startovaya plum with the correct crown.To form it, it is necessary to prune from the moment of planting.

• In the first year, the trunk is pruned to a level of 1–1.2 m.
• For two-year-old plums of the Startovaya variety, the most powerful branches are cut to a length of 25–30 cm.
• In the third year, the apical growths are cut off by 30 cm, the lateral ones by 15 cm.

As a result, the Startovaya plum variety should have 5–6 branches growing at an angle of 50 degrees. The cup-shaped shape should be maintained and the branches should not be dense: this can lead to a lack of light for the ovaries and fruits and, consequently, a decrease in yield.

Watering

Plum grows well in conditions of excess moisture, so Startovaya needs to be watered regularly, especially for newly planted plants. Watering is especially important for spring seedlings, since the soil dries out quickly in the warm season. For mature trees, one watering per week is sufficient. A young Startovaya plum needs 5-6 buckets per watering, a fruit-bearing plum needs up to 10 buckets. In autumn, plum trees also need watering.

Preparing for winter

Plum Startovaya easily tolerates mild winters and does not require insulation, however, if it is grown in the northern and northwestern regions, preparation for winter is necessary.

• The Startovaya plum should be whitened, this will somewhat protect it from frostbite.
• You need to lay out several bags around the young tree and secure them with soil. In particularly severe frosts, it is necessary to lay several layers of burlap.
• An adult tree can be insulated by mulching with humus.
• The trunk circle of a young Starting plum is covered with polyethylene to minimize the harmful effects of precipitation.
• After the first snow, a snowdrift is made around the base of the trunk for additional insulation.
• Snow should be trampled around young trees to protect them from rodent attacks.
• If there is heavy snow, it must be knocked off the branches to avoid breakage.

By the end of February, you need to remove the trim from the plum, take it out of the garden, and shovel the snow away from the trunks.

Top dressing

Starter plums need 3 fertilizers per year: in spring, summer and immediately after harvest.

The Startovaya variety should be fed

• urea;
• superphosphate;
• wood ash;
• phosphates;
• nitrogen fertilizers.

Rodent protection

Most rodents make their moves at a depth of 10–20 cm. Reliable protection against their attacks will be a chain-link mesh dug around the Starting Plum at a depth of 40–50 cm. The diameter of such a mesh should be 60–70 cm. This will not interfere with the root system, but the tree will be reliably protected.

An alternative option is to set traps. Depending on the type of animal, you can use vegetables and herbs, bread fried in vegetable oil, and lard as bait. This bait can also be treated with poison and spread on the site. There are also specialized preparations, such as Ratobor, which is very attractive to pests with its taste and smell and is easy to use.

Diseases and pests, methods of control and prevention

The variety is not susceptible to most diseases and massive pest attacks, and therefore does not require annual preventive procedures. Treatment with chemicals is necessary only when symptoms of a particular disease are detected.

Conclusion

Starter plum is a fairly unpretentious and fruitful variety. It has high taste and universal purpose, so it is suitable for mass and private cultivation and will require relatively little effort and investment. The variety is optimal for climates with mild winters and loves the sun.In the first years of life, it is necessary to protect the Startovaya variety from rodents; in the future, prevention is not required, and the fight against diseases and pests comes down to situational treatment with chemicals.

Reviews

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