Cathedral Pear: variety description and characteristics, yield and cultivation

Most people cannot indifferently pass by a juicy fragrant pear. Excellent taste, unpretentious planting - all this makes the pear popular among gardeners. The abundance of varieties of pear trees allows you to grow fruit in different regions, even where you could only dream about it before. The Cathedral pear variety is one of the well-known, high-yielding varieties that are winter hardy and have excellent taste characteristics.

History description and characteristics of the Cathedral pear

This is the fruit of the work of domestic breeders. S. T. Chizhov and S. P. Potapov, scientists of the Agricultural Academy of Moscow, began to breed the variety; in 1990 he passed the test. In 2001, the variety was included in the Russian State Register.

A not too tall tree with a conical crown, characterized by sparse branches with slightly upward curved tips.

The color of the skeletal branches is gray, the bark is smooth, the young shoots are reddish-brown, with a slight edging.

Pear tree with medium-sized leaves, slightly serrated, with a sharp tip. They are bright, light green, with a shiny glossy surface. The flowers are large, with slightly concave petals, delicate white.

Fruits weighing 120-140 grams, the pulp is tender and juicy, with a slight sourness. Great for drying, compotes, making jams and marmalades. The fruits have a smooth shiny skin, they are green or slightly yellow. This variety, for good yields, needs pollination. Pears varieties Lada, Detskaya are the best pollinators for the Cathedral.

Advantages and disadvantages

The virtues of the Cathedral pear are obvious to any gardener:

high frost resistance;
good yield;
disease resistance;
fast fruiting (for 3-4 years of planting).

The disadvantages are not so obvious, which is why this variety is popular with gardeners in the Middle Strip, it is grown in the south and in the Ural regions.

Disadvantages include:

modest size;
insufficient keeping quality of fruits;
ripe fruits break during transportation.

At the same time they are very tasty, suitable for processing, the variety is used for industrial cultivation.

How to properly plant a pear

Saplings of fruit trees should be bought in nurseries - they sell varietal plants, if you purchase low-quality planting material, you can return the purchase.

Terms of landing operations

The tree can be planted in spring and autumn. Autumn planting gives greater frost resistance, with spring planting, the seedling has time to get stronger before the onset of cold weather. In spring, a pear is planted from the third decade of March to mid-April, in autumn - in September-October, so that the tree has time to adapt before frost.

Choosing a seat

Pears need a sunny, wind-sheltered spot with light soils. It does not tolerate heavy soil and high humidity.

Important: the tree does not tolerate rowan, it is better to plant it next to the apple tree.

For planting, choose 1-2-year-old strong seedlings with a developed root system, without damage, with a smooth and shiny bark. It should not have dry areas, spots.

Plant pattern

The day before planting, the roots are soaked in a solution of mullein.

Dig a hole with a diameter of 1 meter and a depth of 40-50 centimeters. It is prepared in advance, in the fall. For autumn planting - 3-4 weeks before the event, for spring planting - before frost.

Before planting, the bottom of the hole is loosened, a mixture of complex potassium-phosphorus fertilizer and compost is introduced. A mound is poured at the bottom of the pit, along which the roots of the seedling are evenly distributed.

The hole is covered with soil, it is well compacted, leaving the root neck 3-5 centimeters above the soil surface.

The plant is watered, the soil around is mulched, the seedling is tied to supports, the pegs are at an equal distance from the seedling and do not allow the planting to slope.

How to care for a variety

To get good yields, 2-3 pear trees are planted nearby, which provide cross-pollination.

Pear grows poorly in lowlands, with close groundwater, reacts negatively to dampness, so plantings should be well ventilated.

Soil care

The plant prefers light fertile soils, pear roots lie deep, so they can withstand light moisture retention. On acidic soils, a small amount of wood ash is applied around the seedling.

Irrigation

Seedlings are watered once a week. Irrigation consumes 10-20 liters of not too cold water. An adult tree is watered 1-2 times a month. The soil is loosened and well mulched.

Cutting

Trees are pruned for proper crown formation, getting rid of old or diseased branches, to rejuvenate the tree. Forming crown pruning should be entrusted to specialists.

To rehabilitate a tree, it is pruned after shedding foliage and in early spring. Remove affected branches that make the crown too thick.

Whitewash

Before whitewashing, the trunk is cleaned of dead pieces of bark, lichens and moss. Hands, dressed in household gloves, carefully clean the barrel. Be sure to clean the lower part of the trunk and the base of the skeletal branches. Applying lime protects the tree from diseases and pests. Saplings are bleached with a less concentrated solution.

Important: whitewashing is carried out using goggles and rubber gloves. Lime corrodes the skin severely, causing serious injury if it gets into the eyes.

Treat the trunk and bases of skeletal branches. Whitewashing is carried out in autumn - after leaf fall and in spring - after snow melts.

Fertilizers

The soil is fertilized with organic matter every 3-5 years - a complex mineral fertilizer is mixed with the soil and introduced into small trenches dug in a spiral around the tree. The width of the crown will control the diameter of the fertilizer application.

Pear does not like nitrogen, they should be fertilized when absolutely necessary (a sharp slowdown in growth, a decrease in yield).

How to protect a pear from frost

Young seedlings of the Cathedral are sheltered from frost by wrapping the trunk with burlap, which is soaked in diesel fuel, dust, and other preparations from mice. The root zone is also insulated using straw, which should be mixed with herbs that repel mice (tansy, mint, wormwood). The snow around the seedling is well crushed.

Pests, diseases and their control

Cathedral Pear is resistant to most pests and diseases, but it definitely needs additional treatment.

Diseases characteristic of the Cathedral

Pear is prone to fungal diseases. Plants can get sick:

Powdery mildew. It is characterized by a white coating on the leaves and fruits, from a distance they seem powdered with flour. The disease affects other fruit trees. Affected leaves curl up, dry out and fall off. The fruits rot and fall off.
Moniliosis. Monilial scorch and fruit rot, characteristic of this disease, develop and spread easily in warm weather and high humidity.
Black or soot fungus. The disease leads to clogging of the pores and death of the leaves. Deprived of greenery, the tree quickly dies. If fungal growth is found, reduce watering.
Rust on the leaves. The disease is characterized by the presence of a reddish-rusty coating on the leaves. Leaves develop holes, dry up and fall off.

To protect against fungal diseases, Bordeaux liquid or suitable fungicides of complex action (Topaz, Horus) are used. Processing is carried out in the spring, before bud break. A second treatment is necessary before flowering.

To protect the tree from diseases, root circles are cleaned from weeds. Fallen leaves, diseased fruits and pruned diseased branches must be taken away from the tree and burned.

Pests attacking the Cathedral

Pear can suffer from aphids, weevil, various types of caterpillars and butterflies (hawthorn, sucker). For protection, insecticidal solutions are used, spraying with infusion of wormwood, tansy, tobacco dust. To keep the solution well on the leaves, laundry soap is added to it.

Insecticides are used in full accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations, using protective equipment for hands, respiratory tract, using thick clothes with long sleeves when processing.

To which regions is the variety more adapted

The Cathedral variety was bred for Central Russia. Today it has spread to more southern and northern regions. The tree feels great in the Rostov region and in the Middle Urals. Cathedral is growing well in the suburbs.

Ripening and storage of fruits

Cathedral pear belongs to summer varieties. In sunnier regions, fruits ripen faster - at the end of August, colder regions harvest in September. The fruits are harvested by hand so as not to crush the tender juicy fruits.

Delicious compotes are cooked from them, they are consumed fresh, juices and jams are prepared.

The cathedral pear, with ease of care and unpretentiousness, is capable of producing good yields. That is why the variety is so loved by Russian gardeners.