Description of the plum variety Eurasia, cultivation and care, pollinators

Eurasia plum is the most unpretentious, early-ripening fruitful variety. It belongs to the hybrid crops and is popular among amateur gardeners, as it attracts with its unpretentiousness and resistance to climatic conditions. Among the various varieties of plums, Eurasia early ripening is distinguished by its large and sweet fruits.

History of plum breeding Eurasia

Eurasia 21 is a plum variety bred in the 60s of the last century by domestic breeders and scientists from Voronezh. To obtain a new subspecies, cherry plums were crossed with plums, and the varieties Domashnyaya, Chinese, American Yellow and East Asian were used. Eurasia has been listed in the State Register of Plums since 1986. The variety can be cultivated in the Central regions of the country, Karelia, Leningrad and Moscow regions.

Description of culture

Plum Eurasia is a stone fruit crop with a large spreading crown, grows to a huge height - reaching 5-6 m. Within 3-4 years after planting, it turns into a young tree with a lush crown. The tree grows its trunk very slowly, but its branches grow quickly, which is why it becomes unstable in windy weather. The crowns are of medium density. The elongated leaves of the tree are pointed in shape, slightly jagged at the edges. Plum flowers are bisexual, self-sterile,

The plum quickly begins to delight with its first sweet fruits after 4-5 years. With proper care, it produces more than 50 kg of harvest from one tree. Round fruits weighing 20-30 g, deep blue in color, have sour orange pulp, inside a loose structure. The chemical composition of the fruit is rich in minerals and vitamins.

Characteristics

The Eurasia 21 variety owes its popularity to its excellent taste characteristics and ease of care.

Resistance to drought and frost

The Eurasia plum variety has good winter hardiness.Stone fruit culture tolerates the harsh winter conditions of central Russia well. The root system and flower buds do not die even in frosts of twenty degrees or below, since Eurasia is characterized by excellent adaptive properties.

Resistance to diseases and parasites

The plum variety has an average level of resistance to diseases and parasites, so it is necessary to apply preventive measures. To prevent the appearance of parasites, it is necessary to attract beneficial insects to the orchard, such as lacewings, seven-spotted ladybugs, and dragonflies. Planted flowering plants that emit a smell that repels parasites give good results.

Important! For this, gardeners recommend sowing the row spacing with tansy, marigolds, mint, calendula, lemon balm or hyssop.

Pollinator varieties

Plum Eurasia is a self-sterile variety; for this reason, pollinating varieties should be planted next to the tree in the form of Skorospelka red, Mayak, Renklod Sovetskiy and Renklod Harvest, whose flowering periods for pollination coincide. Eurasia without pollination will not produce a high yield of fruits.

Flowering and fruiting of plum

The plum begins to bear fruit 4 years after planting. The harvest of Eurasia 21 is good, but not stable. If in the spring in May there were cold days with prolonged rains, then the plant blooms poorly and the fruits do not set.

Where is the plum crop used?

The tender plum fruits contain a lot of tannins, organic acids and vitamins beneficial to the body. Plums are processed and used to make jam, compotes, marshmallows, preserves, marmalades, and the juicy fruits are consumed fresh.

Pros and cons of Eurasia plum

The Eurasia plum is popular with many gardeners. They note the advantages of this fruit crop:

• high productivity;
• early ripening, the plant produces a harvest within 3-5 years after planting;
• excellent winter hardiness;
• sweet taste, pleasant aroma;
• keeping quality, fruits remain fresh for a long time.

The Eurasia plum variety also has disadvantages:

• the plum tree grows to enormous heights;
• the tree must be planted with appropriate pollinator varieties;
• branches grow quickly and require frequent pruning;
• the fruits are characterized by loose pulp;
• the seeds are difficult to separate;
• The variety cannot be dried for prunes.

Planting plums on the site

Proper planting at the recommended time and good care yield results in obtaining a bountiful harvest.

Deadlines for planting work

There are certain dates for planting Eurasian plums; they are selected taking into account the region. In the Central regions and the middle zone, the crop should be planted in the spring, when frosts do not threaten the plum tree. This is usually done in April-May. The tree takes root well over the summer in warm climates and enters winter stronger.

Autumn planting is more suitable for southern areas: here the winters are not so severe with bitter frosts, the seedlings can safely overwinter. Approximately 1.5-2 months should pass between planting a seedling and the onset of stable frosts. Seedlings are planted in dry, windless weather.

Deciding on the place to plant the plum

To plant plums, you need to choose a well-lit place in the garden on the south or southeast side of the site. It should be illuminated from all sides, especially in the morning. Another requirement for the planting site is low groundwater levels. On the north side, tall buildings or fences should protect the tree from the wind.

Plum Eurasia shows good growth on sandy or loamy soil.

Important! The crop does not like soil with high acidity, so when planting a tree, be sure to lime the soil.

Recommended and contraindicated neighborhoods

Eurasia's garden neighbors cannot include birch and poplar, walnuts and hazelnuts, fir and pears. There is good contact between the plum and the apple tree. You can grow thyme, tulips and daffodils between rows. The distance between the plum and the nearest tree should be at least 3-4 m.

In the area where Eurasia is planted, there should be other varieties of domestic plums that bloom at the same time: Record, Renklod fruitful, Volga Beauty, Mayak, In Memory of Timiryazev.

Seedling preparation

For planting you need to choose good healthy material. To determine quality, one must be guided by the following criteria:

1. The length of the roots of a quality seedling should be within 10 cm.
2. A seedling with a length of 1.5 m and roots up to 30 cm should not have mechanical damage.
3. The material for planting must be grafted. The grafting site is easily determined by the presence of thickening and curvature of the trunk just above the root collar.
4. The seedling should have a well-defined conductor with 3-4 side shoots 50-70 cm long.

You need to know that 3-year-old seedlings take root worse, so you need to choose 1-2 year old planting material.

Important! The growth of a crop and its fruiting largely depend on the quality of the seedling. Planting material must be of high quality, purchased from a nursery or a specialized point of sale of seedlings. When purchasing, you need to pay attention: seedlings should have slightly enlarged buds.

Technological process of planting

Planting the Eurasia plum is carried out in compliance with several stages:

1. Dig a hole 90 cm deep, the diameter of which is 2 times the size of the root system of the seedling (usually 70-80 cm).
2. The removed soil is mixed with a bucket of peat and humus, superphosphate (500 g), and ash. If the soil is acidic, lime by adding 500 g of lime.
3. Pour soil into the hole and install a peg in its center, which will support the tree.
4. Place the seedling on a mound, carefully straightening the roots, then cover it with soil. The tree is slightly lifted and shaken to evenly distribute the soil between the roots.
5. Place the root collar at a level of 5 cm above the ground surface, compact the soil slightly.
6. Next, the seedling is tied to a stake, a hole 50 cm wide is made around the seedling and watered with 20–30 liters of water.
7. The tree trunk area is mulched with wood shavings or peat with a layer of 10 cm.

Plant care

Caring for plums Eurasia 21 consists of timely watering, loosening the soil, weeding between rows, pruning and fertilizing. It must be protected from rodents and reliably prepared for wintering.

Regularity of watering

Plum Eurasia is distinguished by its demands for frequent watering. Lack of moisture can lead to the fall of flower ovaries and the loss of part of the harvest. The irrigation regime is determined by the amount of precipitation and weather conditions of the area. Water with water directly under the root of the fruiting tree. After planting the tree, it must be watered after 8-10 days, pouring at least 3 buckets of settled water under the root.

An adult, rooted tree should be watered 2 times a month. In this case, it is recommended to pour from 60 to 100 liters of water under the root of each crop. After watering, the soil near the trunk must be fluffed up and mulched.It is necessary to ensure that the irrigation water saturates the soil by about half a meter. To increase winter hardiness, you need to water the plum tree in the fall.

Important! If there is a lack of moisture, the plum fruits will crack and lose their presentation, and if there is too much moisture, the leaves will turn yellow.

What and how to feed the Eurasia plum variety

Plum is characterized by its responsiveness to fertilizing with conventional fertilizers, which contain nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium. The plant is fed by introducing fertilizers into the soil around the trunk, while simultaneously loosening it. Add 10 to 12 kg of organic matter with nitrogen to the soil per 1 square meter of area once every 3-4 years in the spring.

Constant seasonal feeding is performed as follows:

1. Before flowering, fertilize with ammonium nitrate (1 tbsp per 10 liters).
2. During the flowering period, 2 tablespoons of potassium sulfate with urea per 10 liters.
3. During fruit set, 3 tbsp. nitroammophoski for 10 l
4. After harvesting, add 3 tbsp. superphosphate into the soil when digging.

Advice! In summer it is useful to feed using an infusion of mullein or chicken droppings.

Pruning a young plum and forming a crown

The first plum pruning is done to form the crown and create a skeleton in mid-autumn. A crown is formed from 5-7 developed, well-placed skeletal branches. In this case, a third part of the trunk is left to ensure the normal growth of young branches. In addition, the remaining shoots are shortened by 1/3 of their length.

When forming the crown, it is worth paying attention to the fact that the distance between the branches should be within 20-30 cm. In summer, pruning of the main trunk is not practiced; only the side branches are shortened by 20-30 cm.

In the fall, young side shoots are pruned and dry and diseased branches are removed.In summer, grafted mature trees should remove root shoots down to the base of the root of the mother plant. When the plum tree begins to bear fruit, the conductor is cut off above the highest and most developed branch. Thus, a bowl-shaped crown is formed, which is illuminated from all sides by the rays of the sun.

Important! After each pruning, the cut areas must be treated with garden varnish or drying oil-based paint.

Tree trunk care

Proper care of the plum tree trunk is of great importance in the development of the plant. In the summer you need to do weeding, freeing the ground from weeds. In the fall, you should definitely dig around the tree and between the rows to a depth of 15 cm. It is necessary to collect fallen leaves and burn them in a timely manner. Rotten carrion should not be left on the ground; such fruits can be a source of disease, so they also need to be gotten rid of.

Preventive measures and getting rid of pests

The plum tree is susceptible to disease and attack by pests. Plum aphids damage leaves, which leads to stunted shoot growth, a reduction in the amount of plum yield and the winter hardiness of the tree. To protect the plum from aphids, you need to spray the plant during flowering with a 3% urea solution.

Plum sawfly larvae damage plum fruits and can sometimes destroy the entire crop. The tree is treated from larvae after flowering using Bordeaux mixture and karbofos. The caterpillars of the codling moth eat away the kernels of the plum tree. The fruits stop growing and then fall off. One caterpillar can damage the crops of several trees. It is necessary to save yourself from the codling moth in the summer with hunting belts.

Preventive measures against codling moth are:

1. Tillage by autumn digging;
2. Weeding in summer and loosening the soil;
3. Pruning branches to avoid thickening.

Fruit rot results in a brown spot. The plum pulp becomes tasteless and watery. The drug phytosporin is used for treatment before flowering.

Preparing the tree for winter

Despite its excellent winter hardiness, the plum tree requires preparation for a cold winter. First you need to remove the fallen dry leaves, then start watering. Then you need to dig up the ground around the tree and mulch the soil with sawdust. It is mandatory to treat the plum trunk with garden whitewash. To prepare the solution, you need to take 3 kg of lime, 400 g of copper sulfate, 50 g of casein glue and mix everything in 10 liters of water. Before whitewashing, it is necessary to clean the tree trunks from dry bark and moss.

In young plants, the branches are tied to the trunk and insulated with material that allows air to pass through. The trunk must be insulated using spruce branches or a polymer mesh; this will serve as good protection against all kinds of rodents in winter. Place a rag next to the tree, moistened with mint oil or turpentine, the pungent smell of which will repel mice.

In general, the Eurasia variety is in demand among gardeners, as it is unpretentious, frost-resistant, and pleases with an early, abundant harvest.