Although the Marble pear variety requires some additional efforts to create optimal growth conditions for it, its high yield and excellent gastronomic qualities fully justify the efforts applied to the cultivation of fruits. Read more about this variety later in the article.
Description and characteristics of the variety
This variety of pears was bred for a long time - in 1947 in the Voronezh region, but only in 1965 it was brought to the State Register. Since then, Marble has become very popular in regions with moderately frosty winters far beyond the borders of Russia.
Did you know? Before tobacco was brought from Europe to America, the leaves of other plants were smoked there, mostly pears. It is interesting that almost simultaneously with the advent of tobacco in Europe, pears unknown to them began to be grown in America before that time.
Externally, this pear looks like a relatively low tree with a sparse pyramidal crown covered with medium-sized foliage of a radically green color. Fruits on the glove, which are located on branches at the age of two to four years. Gloves are the shortest of overgrown branches, have a well-developed flower bud and ribbed bark.
During the flowering period, which begins early, white flowers develop on the tree, and inflorescences form from every 8 specimens. Ripening time starts in the second decade of August and stretches to the first decade of September.
The fruits of the variety are characterized by a high content of nutrients and excellent taste conditions, which are evaluated by tasters at 4.8 points out of 5 possible.
Juicy granular flesh of cream color, saturated with aroma and outstanding taste, deserves these high marks. The mass of each fruit, painted in green-golden color with a blush in marble stains on its side, mainly varies from 130 to 170 g, but sometimes reaches 220 g.
The main advantages and disadvantages
- In addition to the benefits described above, this pear variety also boasts:
- innate immunity, allowing the plant to successfully resist scab, fruit rot and powdery mildew;
- good presentation of fruits;
- the presence on them of a strong skin that increases their transportability;
- high and stable productivity;
- precocity.
- The disadvantages of the variety include:
- late start of the fruiting period, which occurs no earlier than the 6th year of life;
- insufficient frost resistance;
- fear of recurring May frosts;
- poor drought tolerance.
Pollinators
Although there is self-fertility in Marble, nevertheless, to obtain a high yield, the tree requires third-party pollinators. However, due to the fact that this tree enters the flowering season before many other pear varieties, not all of them can act as pollinators.
The following varieties are best suited for this purpose:
- Cathedral;
- Lada;
- Northerner;
- Tatyana;
- Chizhovskaya.
Did you know? The Chinese claim that you can’t share the pear with anyone, as this supposedly leads to quarrels, especially between friends and lovers. However, some argue that such a belief was specially invented so as not to share such a delicious fruit with anyone.
Marble Pear Productivity
One adult pear tree of this variety can produce up to 200 kg of fruit. On average 220 hectares are harvested per hectare, and the maximum yield reaches 420 centners per hectare.
Features of planting and care
Planting measures in relation to Marble differ little from planting other pear trees, but the subsequent care of the plant requires some additional effort.
Choosing a quality seedling
The subsequent condition of the fruit tree depends on how well the pear seedling is chosen.
When choosing such a seedling should proceed from:
- age of seedlings not exceeding 2 years;
- a complete root system with at least 3 processes, whose length is at least 25 cm;
- the number of side branches, which a two-year-old seedling should have at least 3;
- absence on the root processes and surface of the cortex of cracks, mechanical damage, traces of existing diseases.
Important! It is preferable to choose seedlings in which the roots are covered with an earthen lump that protects them from damage.
Choosing the right landing site
For a photophilous pear, the place of growth should be selected with maximum lighting. In addition, strong winds negatively affect this variety, from which the tree must be protected.
It is also not necessary to plant the described variety on a site with a high occurrence of groundwater. In the event that stagnation of water is possible at the place of planting the pear, this danger must be eliminated without fail through drainage measures.
Landing pattern
Considered pear trees prefer fertile loamy soil of loose fraction. If it is sandy or clay, it must be enriched with organic fertilizers.
Planting of Marble seedlings in the ground can be carried out both in the spring and in the autumn. In spring, the best planting date is the beginning of May, when the danger of frost return is finally past. And in autumn, it is best to plant a pear in early October, which allows it to gain strength before the onset of cold weather.
When a couple of weeks are left until the landing, the soil in the future landing pit must be prepared, and then 2 weeks later to carry out the landing itself, for which:
- Dig a hole with a diameter of up to 60 cm and a depth of 80 cm. In this case, it should be borne in mind that subsequent holes for pear seedlings should be no closer than 4 m from each other.
- Soil from the pit should be selected in layers, bearing in mind that the soil on the top is much more fertile than the bottom.
- The top layer of the excavated soil is mixed with 9 kg of humus, 40 g of potassium sulfate, 200 g of superphosphate and 150 g of wood ash.
- The bottom of the pit is lined with walnut shells or small tin cans, and 2/3 of the prepared soil is poured on top.
- In the center of the pit, a wooden support with a height of at least 130 cm is vertically strengthened.
- Before planting, the roots of a seedling are lowered into a clay mash, and 80% of the foliage is removed from the tree.
- The seedling descends into the pit so that its roots look down, and not sideways, and the root neck is at least 5 cm from the ground.
- After planting, the soil is tamped, a watering hole is dug in it.
- Then the seedling is abundantly watered, and its trunk circle is mulched by means of mowed grass, sawdust or hay.
Watering and fertilizer
The described pear variety does not tolerate drought: a moisture deficit can significantly reduce the yield. Watering with watering holes or grooves should be regular, during which at least 3 buckets of water must be poured each time. In a rainless summer period, the number of buckets poured each time can increase to 5.
In addition to regular and intensive watering, this variety also needs active top dressing with fertilizers. At the beginning of the growing season, when there is a set of green mass, the tree especially needs nitrogen, which is plentiful in organic fertilizers - solutions of mullein, humus or bird droppings.
It is also useful to combine watering with the introduction of urea, 100 g of which is diluted in half a bucket of water. During flowering and the formation of fruits, pear mainly requires potassium and phosphorus, which, in the form of superphosphate and potassium sulfate, are introduced into the soil by means of solutions before irrigation.
To stimulate fruit set a decade after flowering, it is useful to spray the pear with a 1% urea solution, repeating this operation after a couple of weeks. And when the current harvest has already been harvested, you should take care of the future, for which the root area is dug up with 5 kg of compost, 2 kg of mullein and 1 kg of bird droppings.
Cropping and shaping the crown
If pruning is carried out in the spring, then it is carried out before the sap flow in the tree begins, and if in the fall, it is done after harvesting. During the first 2 years of pear growth, only damaged and dried branches should be removed.
Important! Do not prune the tree if the ambient temperature drops below +8°WITH.
The third year is dedicated to the beginning of the formation of the crown of the tree, for which only the 3 most powerful branches leave, while the others shorten by 1/3 of their length. In the fourth year, the main branch is shorter by 8 buds, and the rest are again shortened by 1/3.
Pruning, including sanitary, must be carried out with a sharp secateurs with the processing of slices using a garden var.
Pay attention to this pattern of pear formation.
Processing plants for the winter
Since the Marble pear variety is not resistant to low temperatures, it has to be carefully prepared for winter.
For this purpose it is necessary:
- water the tree generously, spending up to 100 liters of water for this;
- mulch the near-stem circle with sawdust or hay;
- wrap the trunk and large branches with non-woven material or burlap;
- after snowfall pour snowdrift in the near-stem circle;
- do not forget at the same time that the described pear variety is afraid of not only severe colds, but also spring frosts.
See also other varieties of pears, namely:
Difficulties that may arise when growing
As already noted, good immunity allows this tree to successfully resist scab, powdery mildew and fruit rot. And yet Marble is unable to cope with some diseases and pests independently.
This is especially true for the following issues:
- pear mitesucking nutritious juices from foliage. To combat it in the spring before the swelling of the kidneys, spraying with colloidal sulfur is used;
- black cancercharacterized by the appearance of dark spots on the cortex. Spots must be immediately cut off, grabbing a couple of centimeters of healthy bark for prophylaxis and disinfecting the cut-off place with 2% iron sulfate;
- tinker, to prevent the attack of which the tree must be sprayed with chamomile infusion or yarrow decoction;
- leaf rust, signaling its appearance with spots of orange on leaf surfaces. After pear flowering, the leaves are sprayed with 1% Bordeaux liquid, and when the leaves fall off - with a 5% urea solution;
- codling moth, to combat which it is necessary to remove all scavenger from the ground under the tree, and spray the leaves on the tree during the flight of the butterflies with water;
- green aphid, to get rid of which you need to treat the pear with soapy water with the addition of anabazine;
- cytosporosischaracterized by drying of the bark. For control, spraying is used in the spring before the leaves bloom with 1% Bordeaux fluid;
- sunburn bark, for the prevention of which the tree trunk must be whitewashed with slaked lime or chalk.
Harvesting and storage
The fruiting time of the described variety starts in the second decade of August and lasts until the first decade of September, sometimes stretching until the beginning of October, when the fruits reach full ripeness. Experts recommend picking pears on a warm and dry day, tearing them from the tree along with the stem.
Pears are stored in boxes or wicker baskets, alternating with sawdust or torn paper, in a dry and dark room at a temperature of 0 ... + 3 ° С. Fruits in these conditions maintain their condition for 60–70 days.
The pear variety Marble, having a solid cultivation experience in various regions and even countries, has by no means lost its position under the onslaught of many modern varieties. The outstanding taste of the variety, coupled with high productivity, allows Marble to take an honorable place today both in farm gardens and in suburban and private plots.