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For gardeners, the Urals is a region of “risky farming”; climatic and weather factors here are clearly not favorable to them. Therefore, for planting, you need to choose zoned varieties and hybrids that are specially adapted to the local climate. This applies to any crops, including the Red-sided pear, recognized as one of the most successful achievements of Ural breeders.
History of selection
Red-sided pear is a variety created in the Ural branch of the Academy of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The originator is the Ural Agrarian Research Center. The work of a team of breeders began in the mid-70s of the last century; stability of varietal characteristics was achieved only in the early 90s. The “parents” were the varieties Tenderness and Zheltoplodnaya.
An application for registration of a pear called "Red-sided" was submitted in 1992.The variety was included in the Russian State Register of Breeding Achievements only ten years later.
Description of the Red-sided pear with photo
Externally, the tree is practically no different from its “relatives”. However, the variety immediately stands out for its presentability and large fruit size.
Tree
Red-sided pear is a tree of medium height (up to 4 m). The growth rate immediately after planting is quite high, but after the first fruiting it slows down sharply. The crown has a regular round shape and is sparse. The leaves are large, with a pronounced corrugated surface.
Most of the tree's branches are noticeably curved; they extend from the trunk at an angle close to a straight line.
Fruit
The fruits of Krasnobokaya are classically pear-shaped, unusually large for the Urals (weighing 150-180 g). One-dimensionality and symmetry add to their presentability.
The color of the peel of unripe fruits is light green. As they ripen, it changes to greenish-yellow. In those places where the fruits are exposed to sunlight, blurry spots of pinkish or crimson “blush” of varying degrees of intensity appear.
The skin is thin and tender, you can hardly feel it when eating
The pulp is tender and “buttery” in texture, despite the presence of a pronounced “graininess” on the cut. The shade varies from almost white to yellowish-cream.
Characteristics of the red-sided pear
One of the main varietal characteristics of the Red-sided pear, which distinguishes it from among its “relatives” and has a great influence on the choice of gardeners, is the taste of the fruit. But before planting, you need to familiarize yourself with its other properties.
Tasting evaluation of Red-sided pear
In terms of taste, the Red-sided pear may well compete with other varieties and hybrids that are more picky about the climatic conditions in the cultivation region. The pulp is distinctly sweet, with a slight “balancing” sourness, without which it would seem “fresh,” and an almost imperceptible tartness.
The pronounced pear aroma is preserved after heat treatment in any homemade preparations and wines
Ripening time
Contrary to popular belief, Red-sided is not a winter, but a late-autumn pear variety. It is removed from the tree slightly unripe because ripe fruits quickly fall off, and not so that the fruits gradually ripen by December-January.
Productivity
The yield of the Red-sided pear, demonstrated during official variety trials, is 105 centners per hectare. According to this criterion, it was almost 1.5 times higher than the variety chosen as the “control”.
The tree begins to bear fruit 5-7 years after planting in open ground. There are no “rest” seasons; harvests are harvested annually. On average, an amateur gardener can count on 30-40 kg of fruit from an adult (over ten years old) tree.
Often, the red-sided pear harvest has to be rationed by removing the least well-placed ovaries
Frost resistance of Red-sided pear
According to official data, the cold resistance of the Red-sided pear varies between -30-35 °C. However, according to the originator, in the process of working on the new variety, the seedlings were exposed to frosts below 45 °C and successfully survived them, suffering little damage and quickly recovering.And this allows us to consider the Red-sided pear practically a “record holder” for this indicator.
Pollinators of the red-sided pear
Officially, this variety is not classified as self-sterile. However, without “outside help” the harvests will be extremely meager. Pollinators are selected based on similar flowering times and their ability to survive in the local climate. Most often, next to Krasnobokaya, gardeners plant the varieties Severyanka, Myth, Povislaya (3-4 trees in total).
Growing regions
According to the description of the variety given in the State Register of the Russian Federation, the Krasnobokaya pear is recognized as the most suitable for cultivation in the Urals. However, experiments and experiences of gardeners quickly proved that its “habitat” can be greatly expanded to include both Siberia and the Far East, as well as regions with a temperate climate more favorable for gardening.
People in the near abroad also became interested in the variety. As a result, the Red-sided pear quickly and successfully “migrated” to the territory of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine. It is also found in the Baltic states.
Disease resistance
The general hardiness required for the Red-sided pear to “survive” in the harsh Ural climate includes good resistance to diseases and pests. According to the originator, it extremely rarely suffers from scab and gall mite.
Gardeners report virtually no cases of crop damage by powdery mildew and cytosporosis. Also, aphids, pear moths, leaf rollers, and butterfly caterpillars that feed on leaves do not show much interest.
Scab is one of the most dangerous diseases for pears; fruits affected by the fungus are unsuitable for food.
Advantages and disadvantages
Red-sided pear stands out for its powerful and well-developed root system. Accordingly, plantings cannot be thickened.
The Red-sided pear is distinguished not only by its annual fruiting; weather during spring and summer has little effect on yield
Pros:
- general endurance, sufficient for adaptation to the harsh Ural climate, including almost record frost resistance;
- high resistance to many diseases and pests typical of the crop;
- ease of care;
- annual fruiting without “breaks”;
- consistently high productivity;
- external presentability and outstanding taste of the fruit;
- the versatility of the “culinary” purpose of pears;
- the relatively small height of the tree, the sparseness of the crown (both make it easier to care for and the harvesting process).
Minuses:
- slight astringency in taste, much more noticeable in unripe fruits;
- frequent small hard “lumps” in the pulp;
- the inability of fully ripened fruits to “stick” to the branches;
- short shelf life of fruits.
Planting red-sided pear
Red-sided pear in the regions where it is most common is planted in the spring (in the second half of May or even in early June). You need to wait until the soil warms up enough and the likelihood of return frosts is minimized.
The landing site is selected taking into account several criteria:
- good illumination, absence of dense shadow (distance of at least 3 m from any obstacle);
- the presence of protection from sharp gusts of wind, cold drafts;
- groundwater lying a meter or more below ground level;
- a substrate that combines fertility and looseness (chernozem, forest sierozem, sandy loam, loam).
The least suitable place for planting the Red-sided pear would be any lowland or part of the slope closer to the foot of the hill. There, the substrate is almost always waterlogged due to long-stagnant melt and rain water. Cold, damp air also accumulates in the lowlands.
When planting in the shade, you can’t count on a good harvest of Red-sided pears
Planting of the Red-sided pear follows the standard algorithm for seedlings of any fruit and berry crop, including subsequent mulching and pruning. The approximate dimensions of the planting hole are 70-80 cm in depth and diameter. A layer of drainage is required at the bottom, then fertile soil, which needs to fill about a third of the total volume of the hole.
The hole for spring planting of the Red-sided pear needs to be prepared last season, in the fall.
Caring for the Red-sided pear
Red-sided pear requires only standard care measures:
- Watering. In the first season after planting, the substrate in the tree trunk circle should not be allowed to dry out. Seedlings are watered every 10-14 days, taking into account the volume and intensity of natural precipitation. The approximate consumption rate is 10 liters per plant. An adult pear is regularly watered only in extreme heat and drought, and in addition - three times a season - before, after flowering and around the end of October.
- Feeding. Fertilizers are applied according to the standard scheme. In the spring, soon after “awakening,” the Red-sided pear needs nitrogen; during flowering and the formation of fruit ovaries, complex feeding is required.In the fall, in preparation for winter, phosphorus and potassium must be added.
- Trimming. For the Red-sided pear, a sparsely tiered crown with 3-4 tiers of skeletal shoots and 2-3rd order branches on them is best suited. When such a configuration is fully formed (it takes 3-4 seasons), you can limit yourself to maintaining it and sanitary pruning - the tree’s crown is sparse and it grows slowly.
Due to the high yield and annual fruiting, it is advisable to use complex store-bought preparations for fertilizing.
Collection and storage
The Red-sided pear is removed from the trees in a slightly unripe form in the last ten days of September or early October. You cannot delay harvesting - ripe fruits quickly crumble to the ground, their keeping quality is greatly affected.
The red-sided pear does not last long - a maximum of three months. If conditions are far from optimal, the “shelf life” is reduced to 20-30 days. The fruits are placed in any container that provides air exchange and stored in a dark room with a temperature of 5-7 ° C and good ventilation.
Regarding the shelf life of pears of the Krasnobokaya variety, information in reviews of gardeners with experience in growing it varies greatly
Conclusion
The Red-sided pear was originally intended for cultivation in the Urals, but it has successfully “taken root” in many other Russian regions, in the territory of the former Soviet republics. Its sustainable popularity is facilitated by ease of care, stable and fairly high yields, presentability and taste of the fruit, and good immunity. Of course, the variety is not without certain disadvantages, but, according to most gardeners, its advantages definitely outweigh it.
