Pear Etude Kyivsky

Bred from: Bere Gardi x Josephine Mechelnskaya

Synonyms: Etude, Etude of Kyiv

Pear Etude Kyivsky – a winter-ripening cultivar of the intensive type. Bred by breeders V. P. Kopan, K. N. Kopan at the Lviv Experimental Horticultural Station. Station trials were conducted at the Ukrainian Research Institute of Horticulture. In 1987 it was submitted for state variety testing.

It is a fast-growing tree with a compact pyramidal, not dense crown. At 10 years of age it reaches 3.5—3.75 m in height and 3—3.5 m in diameter. Shoots are thick or medium-sized, arching, brownish-brown in color. Leaves are broadly ovate, large, shortly acuminate, green with a yellowish tint, entire-margined, borne on long thick petioles.

Begins bearing fruit in 3—4 years, setting fruiting buds on the current year's shoots. Yield is high; at 7—10 years it gives 165—300 centners/ha.

Fruits are short-pyriform in shape, large, 180–190 g (260–300 g). Skin is dry, of medium density, russeted, greenish-yellow at harvest, becoming grayish-yellow at full maturity. Flesh is buttery, juicy, intensely creamy, almost yellow, without grittiness. Flavor is sweet-acid with a strong rose aroma. Fruits contain: sugars 8.4–9.28%, acids 0.28–0.32%, pectins 1.12–1.84%, vitamin C 1.16–1.92 mg per 100 g of fresh weight. Tasting score 4–4.5 points. Harvest maturity of fruits occurs in October, eating maturity in November. In storage rooms they keep until the end of January, in refrigerators until February–March. During storage fruits tend to shrivel but without loss of buttery texture and flavor quality.

Hardiness zone 6a.

Site: not demanding on soil, but grows better on light, sufficiently moist ground. The plant is drought-tolerant.

Pruning: same as for common pear.

Pests and diseases: high resistance to scab

Uses: Fruits are consumed fresh, for drying and processing. Noted for excellent dessert taste, good transportability and long storage life. The cultivar is promising for intensive cultivation in the southern Polissya and Forest-Steppe of Ukraine.