Obilnaya Plum

Derived from: Chinese plum Burbank × cherry plum Tavricheskaya

The plum or cherry plum Obilnaya – a mid-season plum cultivar (second half of July). Bred at the State Nikitsky Botanical Garden by breeders O.A. Zobransky and K.F. Kostin. Recommended for cultivation in the North Caucasus region since 1969.

It is a medium-sized tree with a sparse, flat-rounded crown. Fruiting twigs are short-lived, short. The trunk is dark gray, of medium thickness, straight. Lenticels numerous, medium-sized. Shoots horizontal, 2.5-3.5 mm in thickness. Tip of the growing shoot green in color, sunning of medium intensity, reddish-brown.

The leaf blade large, directed upwards, then horizontal, oblong-ovate, 62 mm long and 31 mm wide, with a cuneate base and an acute apex. Upper surface of the leaf green, glossy, with slight pubescence along the veins, with a doubly serrate margin, margin waviness slight. Petiole 10-11 mm long, 1.3 mm thick, with a deep groove, strongly anthocyanin-colored; glands 2 on the petiole, pubescence very weak.

Flower buds medium, appressed, rounded, scales green. Two flowers develop from a bud. Many flowers form on a one-year-old shoot. Flowers medium-sized, 20-23 mm in diameter, white, with a slightly open corolla. Petals small, 10-11 mm long and 8 mm wide, oval in shape, with strongly frilled margins and a wavy apex. Numerous stamens, numbering 34. Filaments slightly curved, 4-8 mm long, anthers yellow. Pistil up to 10 mm long, slightly curved, stigma oval in shape, positioned above the anthers, ovary glabrous. Calyx glabrous, bell-shaped. Sepals broadly ovate, slightly reflexed. Peduncle of medium thickness, 6-7 mm long.

The cultivar is self-sterile. Blooms mid-season (mid-April). Pollinizers: Krymskaya, Purpurovaya, Sharovidnaya.

Fruits large, 35 mm long, 38 mm wide and 35 mm thick, weighing 35-40 g, rounded or slightly flattened-rounded in shape, asymmetric, the maximum width located closer to the base. The ventral suture well expressed, even along its entire length. Density of wax bloom medium. Apex rounded, calyx basin of medium depth. Ground color yellow, overcolor – solid red-violet. Number of subcutaneous dots medium, dots yellow. Skin elastic, medium in thickness, peels well from the flesh. Flesh orange, near the stone – red, moderately fibrous, firm, low-juiced, darkens slightly on exposure to air. Tasting score - 4 points. Stone of medium size, 15×13×7 mm, mass 0.6 g, constituting 2% of the fruit mass, oval, symmetrical, on the dorsal suture side – elongated-elliptical, detaches well from the flesh. Keel with a rough surface, weakly developed, edges of the continuous suture intact, fusion of edges absent. Ventral suture medium in width, with a wide and rounded base, apex moderately acute. Pedicel medium, 14 mm long and 1 mm thick.

Fruits ripen in mid-season – in late June.

Frost hardiness: moderate

Site: grows well on elevated and well-lit sites. Soil light or medium, pH 4.5-7.5. Drought tolerance low.

Planting: similar to that for the common/domestic plum.

Care: responds well to irrigation, as well as to mineral and organic fertilizers.

Pruning: requires formative pruning when young; during full fruiting – rejuvenation pruning.

Diseases and pests: resistance to clasterosporiosis, bacteriosis, and moniliosis is moderate

Use: fruits are transportable, consumed fresh and also used for canning. Fruit evaluations: canned juice with pulp – 4.4 points, canned compote – 4.1 points, jam – 4.3 points, frozen fruits – 4.2 points. On a fresh weight basis fruits contain: 11.20% dry matter, 7.2% sugars (3.7% sucrose and 3.5% monosaccharides), 2.02% acids, 0.96% pectic substances. Sugar-acid index 3.0. Ascorbic acid 5.1 mg/100 g.