Sour cherry «Donetsk Giant»

Sour cherry «Donetsk Giant»(Prunus cerasus) – a cultivar of sour cherry. A sour cherry–sweet cherry hybrid, bred at the Donetsk Experimental Station by breeder L.I. Taranenko by crossing cherry «Lyubskaya» and sweet cherry «Valeriy Chkalov». Maturity period – the third decade of July.

It is a medium-sized tree with an oval, moderately branched crown. Leaves are medium-sized. It begins bearing fruit in the 4th year. It bears fruit on spur branches and on one-year shoots. Yield is average, 7-8 kg from a 6-year-old tree under conditions of the Kyiv region. The cultivar is self-sterile.

Fruits weigh 10-12 g, dark red in color, slightly flattened on the sides, of medium firmness; the calyx cavity is deep and narrow. Skin is firm. Flesh is juicy, dark red, sweet-and-sour. The peduncle is of medium length, thick, separates well from the branches and the stone. Juice is red. Stone is rounded in shape, medium-sized, weighing up to 0.4 g. Taste evaluation of the fruits – 4.4 points.

Best pollinators: Shalunya, Samsonovka, Valeriy Chkalov, Krupnoplodnaya.

Hardiness zone: 4a (-35°C) At -35°C flower buds are damaged up to 86.4%.

Location: In one place the cherry can grow and bear fruit well for 15-16 years. Grows well on slopes, with abundant sun, dry soil and absence of shallow groundwater (minimum groundwater depth - 2-2.5 m). Prefers neutral or slightly alkaline soil, grows better on light soils. Resistant to drought, high humidity and frosts.

Planting: distance to neighboring trees for vigorous cultivars - 4 m, for weak-growing cultivars - 3 m.

Diseases: resistance to coccomycosis is moderate.

Pests: brown fruit mite, cherry fruit fly, cherry shoot moth, cherry sawfly, cherry slug sawfly, cherry tube borer, sapwood borer, western bark beetle, winter geometrid moth, ringed silk moth, red apple mite, gypsy moth, fruit moth, cherry leaf roller, tussock moth, powdery silk moth, peeling geometrid moth, fruit striped moth, cherry aphid.

Care: cultivation of the tree circles under the trees, watering (in autumn water-charging irrigation), application of fertilizers, prevention of diseases and pests, pruning of branches, whitewashing of trunks. It is recommended to perform autumn loosening of the soil near the trunk to a depth of up to 8 cm and at the periphery of the crown - up to 20 cm. Complex fertilizers can be applied once every 2 months.

Propagation: propagated by grafting onto common cherry.

Use: characterized by an oval crown, large dark-red fruits with high \r\n