Plum 'Kuban Comet'

Developed from: plum 'Kitayskaya Skoroplodnaya' × cherry plum 'Pionerka'

The plum or cherry-plum 'Kuban Comet' is a plum cultivar of mid-early ripening (late July). The cultivar was bred in the 1980s at the Crimean Experimental Breeding Station of the All-Russian Research Institute of Plant Breeding named after N.I. Va­vilov. The authors of the cultivar are breeders S.N. Zabrodina and G.V. Yeremin.

It is a low-vigor tree with a sparse, flattened-round crown. The trunk is smooth and gray in color, with sparse lenticels. Shoots are horizontal, of medium thickness, gray with a pale sunburn on the sunny side.

Leaves grow vertically, green; the leaf blade is medium-sized, elliptical in shape with an acute apex. Leaf margins are serrately-crenate, waviness weak. Glands at the bases of the blades. The petiole is medium, glabrous, with a deep groove and medium-intensity anthocyanin coloration.

Flower buds are small to medium, rounded, slightly delayed relative to shoots; scales are pale pink when opening. Two flowers (sometimes one) develop from a bud, of medium size. Sepals are ovate, appressed to the petals. Petals are white, obovate, small, of medium size. Stamens are orange, located on the lower surfaces of the calyx. Pistils occur 1 (2) per flower, positioned above the stamens. The pedicel reaches 13–14 mm in length, of medium thickness. Blooms early, in April, and flowering is abundant. The cultivar is partially self-fertile.

Fruits are large, weighing 30–40 g, elongated, asymmetric, with the maximum diameter located closer to the base; the suture is even along the whole length and weakly expressed. Wax bloom is medium. The fruit apex is rounded; the basin is medium. Skin is thin but strong, burgundy-red. Flesh is of medium firmness, fibrous, medium juicy, yellow. The stone is medium, semi-clinging, oval, elongate-elliptic on the ventral suture side, symmetric. The greatest width is located in the middle. The peduncle is short and firmly attached to the fruit.

Begins fruiting early, in the 2nd–3rd year after planting. Yield is high and annual. Fruits remain on the tree for a long time at ripening and are resistant to cracking. The cultivar tends toward crop overload and resulting fruit size reduction.

Sugar content and acidity of the fruits are medium; aroma is medium. Tasting scores: fresh fruit – 4.6 points, compotes – 4.5 points, juice with pulp – 4.4 points.

Frost hardiness: winter hardiness of fruit buds and the tree is high.

Site: the cultivar adapts well to various regions. Prefers elevations and well-lit locations. Prefers fertile, moist, neutral soil, although it can grow on any soil, including heavy soils and even with shallow groundwater (recommended groundwater depth – 1.5 m). Drought tolerance is medium.

Planting: similar to that for domestic plum.

Care: responds well to applications of nitrogen and potassium. Needs phosphorus the least.

Pruning: it is not recommended to remove the foliage-bearing shoots, especially on the trunk and on the main scaffold branches.

Diseases and pests: resistance to diseases is medium.

Uses: fruits are transportable, consumed fresh, and also suitable for canning.