Tavricheskaya Pear

Synonyms: Tavriyskaya pear

Tavricheskaya Pear (Pyrus communis) – a winter cultivar of the common pear. Ukrainian breeding, developed in Crimea in 1934 from a cross of Bere Bosc and Dekanka Zimnyaya. Authors: Mileshko, Kharchenko, Krasotsky, Zaets, Osmanov.

It is a medium-sized tree with a pyramidal crown of medium compactness. Growth in the nursery and in the garden is good. Flower buds are formed on spur clusters, fruiting short shoots and one-year-old shoots. Compatibility with quince is good.

An intensive-type cultivar, early-bearing and high-yielding. On seedling rootstock it enters fruiting in the 4th year, on quince in the third year after planting. It bears abundantly every year. On quince rootstock the yield is 48.7 t/ha, maximum 90 t/ha.

Fruits uniform in size, weighing 240-600 g, pear-shaped. The skin at picking maturity is greenish-yellow; at consumer maturity – yellow with a pink blush. Flesh juicy, creamy, buttery, without grittiness. Taste excellent, sweet-sour with a slight spicy aroma, tasting score 4.5-5 points. Fruits hold firmly on the tree. When overloaded with fruit the fruits become smaller. Thinning of the fruit set is necessary. Fruits ripen September 20-25.

Pollinator varieties: Maria, Izumrudnaya. The cultivar is self-fertile, but with pollinators it sets more fruit.

Hardiness zone: 4 (-30°C).

Location: demanding in terms of environmental conditions. Less winter-hardy and more thermophilic than apple. Poorly tolerates early autumn frosts, thaw periods alternating with frosts and spring frosts (buds die at -4 degrees Celsius). Prefers loose, moist soil with a small clay content. Prefers sunny but not scorching, wind-protected sites.

Planting: plant seedlings preferably in spring, but can also be done in autumn. Pear seedlings generally have a poorly developed root system, so the pear practically does not grow during the first 2 years. The soil from the hole should be mixed with organic and mineral-potassium fertilizers. Fill the mixture to the top of the hole. The root collar should be left 3 cm above ground level.

Propagation: propagated by grafting onto quince, wild pear

Diseases and pests: high resistance to scab and thermal leaf scorch

Use: fruits are consumed fresh. Popular due to high and stable yields, disease resistance, winter hardiness, and high taste and commercial qualities of the fruits. Transportability is good.