Peach Sochny

Персик Сочный (Рrunus persica Sochniy) – a peach cultivar of early‑mid ripening. Developed at the Nikitsky Botanical Garden from a cross between the cultivars Rochester and Greensboro.

It is a vigorous tree with a spreading, densely branched crown. Begins fruiting in the 3rd–4th year.

Fruits are above average in size, weighing 124 g, broadly ovoid; skin thick, firm but not coarse, greenish‑cream, with a bright, diffuse carmine or burgundy marbled blush covering more than half of the fruit, with fairly dense pubescence, and easily detached. Flesh light cream, tender, very juicy, slightly fibrous, fairly aromatic; under the skin with anthocyanin streaks, near the stone pink, sometimes with a greenish tinge, with a harmonious sweet‑and‑sour flavor. The stone is medium, rounded‑oval, and does not separate from the flesh.

Ripens in late July to the first decade of August; fruits are not long‑keeping and are poorly transportable, requiring delicate picking and careful packing. Consumed fresh; used for juice production with pulp. Yield is high and regular – up to 50 kg per tree.

Hardiness zone: 5-8 (-23°C)

Location: requires sunny and wind‑protected sites. During fruit set moderate watering is recommended. Prefers loamy or sandy‑loam soils. Drought tolerance is average; heat tolerance below average.

Planting and care: planting is recommended in spring, but can also be done in autumn (in which case mulching the trunk circle and earthing up to a height of 20–30 cm is necessary). The planting pit should be at least 0.7×0.7 m, with spacing of 4×4 m. Ten kg of well‑rotted manure and 150 g of superphosphate are mixed with soil and used to backfill the seedling with the root system spread out. The trunk circle should be compacted to the edges, well watered (4–5 buckets) and mulched with a compost layer 8–10 cm high.

Pruning: requires moderate watering and formative pruning. For improved yields the improved vase method of pruning is used. After planting the seedling all side branches should be removed. Leave 3–4 scaffold branches 10–20 cm apart. The leader should be cut at the base of the upper lateral branch. In the second year shorten first‑order branches if they are longer than 50 cm or if they change direction of growth. In subsequent years pruning should be aimed at fruiting. Rejuvenation pruning is carried out from bud swell to the beginning of flowering. If frost damage occurs, pruning is done after water sprouts appear on trunks and branches.

Diseases and pests: resistant to clasterosporiosis, but susceptible to powdery mildew. Use: the cultivar is distinguished by precocity, high regular yields, self‑fertility, winter hardiness, and average drought tolerance