Drogana Yellow Cherry: variety description, planting and care, pest protection

The exact origin of Drogan Yellow cherries (with yellow drupes) has not been established. The variety is one of the oldest, was named after the Saxon breeder. Due to its unpretentiousness in cultivation, high resistance to fungal diseases, as well as excellent taste, it has become widespread in regions with a warm climate.

Description and characteristics of the variety Drogana Yellow

Cherry up to 6 meters high has a sprawling rounded or pyramidal, well leafy crown.Shoots of a uniform brown color with a greenish tint, lilac-gray bloom. Cone-shaped buds with shoot buds are dark in color. Generative flower buds are lighter, oval, closely attached to the shoots.

The leaves are large, about 16 cm long, 7 cm wide, without edging, smooth, elastic, with a sharp base and apex, a double-edged serrated edge. Inflorescences consist of 2-3 medium-sized flowers with snow-white petals. Corollas according to the description in the form of a saucer. Bell-shaped calyx with sepals without notches. Flowering and fruiting mostly occurs on bouquet branches.

Drogana yellow cherry variety produces medium (about 2 cm) round-heart-shaped fruits with a deep wide funnel and an oval top, weighing about 7 g. The color of the skin is rich yellow. The pulp is of dense consistency, lighter, juicy, sweet. Taste qualities are estimated by experts at 4.3 points.The percentage of dry matter in 100 g of sweet cherries is 17.3, sugars - 13.5, acids - 0.2, vitamin C - 6.6 mg. The possibilities of using fruits are unlimited.

Due to poor transportability, it is recommended to consume fresh berries in a short time, or process them into juice, dry, make wine, cook jams, compotes.

The most optimal for growing Drogana yellow-fruited cherries are the territories of Volgograd, Astrakhan, the North Caucasus and Lower Volga regions, Central Asia, as well as Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan.

Pros and cons of the Drogana Yellow cherry variety

The main advantages of sweet cherries are considered to be mid-early fruiting (4-5 years), a long period of productivity (up to 25 years), regular abundant yields (up to 150 kg per tree, up to 22 tons per 1 ha), versatility application of berries.

When laying a garden, it must be taken into account that the variety is self-fertile. To ensure fruiting, several pollinators should be planted nearby. Cherry blooms and ripens quite late in the second half of June - early July.

Frost resistance of perennial wood, young branches and flower buds is average. Due to late development, generative organs rarely freeze under early frosts in spring. The variety is resistant to drought, as well as the most common fungal diseases.

Among the shortcomings, one can note the poor transportability of fruits, their cracking in rainy weather, unsuitability for freezing. In addition, Drogan cherries are moderately affected by fruit rot, highly vulnerable to cherry fly.

Cultivation of Drogana Yellow cherries

When laying a garden, it is necessary to select several mutually pollinating varieties.Drogan cherries are not self-fertile, therefore, to increase productivity, 2-3 suitable pollinators are planted nearby, coinciding with it in terms of flowering (Bryanochka, Revna, Bagration, Franz Joseph). The trees are growing fast. To ensure good nutrition of the root system, the optimal interval between seedlings should be 5-6 m.

When to plant?

Young trees are recommended to be planted at the stage of deceleration of development processes. For warm regions where there is a risk of rapid onset of hot weather, the best landing time is September - the end of October. In autumn, the soil is well moistened, additional watering is not required. During the winter, seedlings will be able to grow young roots, therefore, they will retain strength for crown development and flowering.

In autumn, you can buy seedlings at a discount, see which cherries bear fruit and compare different varieties.

If in the fall they did not have time to plant a seedling on the site, it is sprinkled with soil before the end of winter, placing it at a slope of 45 degrees. In the northern regions of Russia with a cool climate, Drogan cherries are best planted in the spring.

Choosing a place and soil for cherries

For planting this variety, areas protected from the wind with light, moist soils are most suitable. In the first year, the root system grows rapidly; deep tree feeding without damaging the roots cannot be done. Therefore, you should responsibly approach the preparation of a permanent place.

Planting holes are dug 80x100cm in size. Having previously mixed 3 buckets of humus or organics, 2 kg of ammonium sulfate, 3 kg of superphosphate, 0.5 kg of potash fertilizers with the upper fertile soil, fill the pit to a third of the depth in the form of a mound.

Planting Drogan Cherry Yellow

In seedlings (preferably annuals), damaged roots are removed, cutting back to he althy tissue. The tree is placed on an earthen mound, the roots are straightened, and the prepared soil is tightly covered. The root neck is placed 3 cm from the soil.Water well - 10 liters per tree. Thoroughly mulch the soil with peat or humus.

Further care of the variety

The development and fruiting of cherries largely depends on care. Trees need regular watering, proper fertilization, disease control and proper timely pruning.

How to properly water and fertilize?

Moisten the soil around the Drogan yellow cherry according to the standard scheme. In summer, taking into account the precipitation, several additional waterings of the tree are carried out. Each time loosen the soil and mulch with humus. In autumn, before the onset of frost, the cherries are carefully watered to completely saturate the soil with moisture.

If you can't do it on time, you need to water in the spring before flowering.

In the first year after planting, the soil is regularly loosened on the plot with seedlings and weeds are completely destroyed.This ensures maximum moisture retention. Before the onset of cold weather, sweet cherries require additional watering before loosening the soil. From the second year, they cultivate the land within a radius of 50 cm, annually moving away from the trunk by another 50 cm.

The amount of drugs depends on the characteristics of the soil. It is preferable to use liquid fertilizers, they are easier to close up to a depth of at least 20 cm. Dry mineral fertilizers must be dissolved before application. Watering the ground with nutrient solutions should be in the growth zone of young roots, which intensively absorb the liquid.

You can improve the yield by sowing green manure that accumulates nitrogen. Any plants of the legume family, as well as honey plants, will do. They are sown in the second half of the growth and development phase of yellow cherries. In autumn, the resulting grass cover is mowed and used as mulch.

Crown decoration

Drogan cherries are pruned every spring at positive temperatures, in dry weather. Annual branches are shortened above the bud by about a third so that the central shoot remains at least 20 cm higher than the skeletal ones.

Annually shortening annual branches prolongs the fruiting period of yellow cherries, as this increases the yield and strength of the branches that form the frame.

Cherry branches poorly, so young trees should not be heavily cut. Shortening and thinning is useful at the stage of stable fruiting. Pruned branches give a greater yield and abundant growth of young shoots.

Removal of old, diseased or damaged branches is carried out with the onset of the extinction of the life processes of fruit trees. At the same time, 7-8 year old wood is subject to removal.

You need to use a sharp pruner. During thinning pruning, long stumps should not be left, subsequently they will rot. It is also undesirable to cut close to the trunk, this can lead to the appearance of a hollow. To speed up regeneration, sections with a diameter of 1 cm or more are coated with var.

Protection of the cherry tree from frost, pests and diseases

In autumn, the soil around the tree is abundantly moistened. Such soil will freeze through more slowly. The earth next to the trunk of the cherry is spudded and mulched. In young seedlings, the trunks are covered with tin or roofing material, wrapped in burlap, tied with spruce branches. This not only insulates, but also serves as a reliable protection against rodents. In winter, the trees are covered with snow. In spring, to protect the garden from frost, smoke is used (with checkers or by setting fire to heaps of grass and branches prepared in advance).

To protect cherries from fruit rot, destroy pests that carry the pathogen to he althy trees. Remove fallen fruits with signs of damage. Plants are treated with boron solution.

Significant damage to gardeners is caused annually by the cherry fly, which lays eggs in green fruits. The larvae hatch from them and eat the pulp of the berries. Pest control begins with the onset of spring, hanging yellow traps with sticky glue.

After flowering, and then after harvesting, cherries are treated with copper oxychloride or Bordeaux mixture. When the leaves fall off, coat the trunk with garden whitewash or a mixture of equal parts of clay, lime, mullein.

Harvest and storage of crops

Cherries ripen at about the same time, you can harvest the entire crop from the tree in the second half of June. The skin of the berries is thin, so it is undesirable to transport and store the fruits for a long time. When frozen, the drupes crack and lose their shape. Drogan cherries are suitable for drying, harvesting juice, compote, making jam, wine.

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