Delicious (Rossoshanskoe tasty)

Late-winter variety developed by the Rossoshanskaya Zonalnaya Experimental Station for Horticulture. Obtained by M. M. Ulyanichyev through crossing Renet Simirenko with McIntosh. Widely grown in southern areas of the Central Chernozem region and Rostov Oblast. Included in the State Register of the North Caucasus region since 1974.

Medium-sized tree with a medium-density, spherical crown. Bark of the trunk is gray, while the scaffold branches are grayish-brown. Scaffold branch arrangement is oblique-vertical. Bears fruit on two- to three-year-old wood. Fruit buds are ring-shaped, occasionally spear-shaped, of medium thickness.

Shoots have grayish-brown bark, are straight, of medium length and thickness, round in cross-section, with medium-length internodes, slightly hairy. Number of shoots on two-year-old wood is small. Buds are small, convex, sparsely arranged. Buds are pressed, conical, with brown outer scales.

Leaves are medium-sized, elliptical, with rounded base and short apex, dark green, with blunt-serrated margins. Leaf blade is slightly curved, edges sometimes wavy, elastic consistency, smooth and glossy surface. Upper surface is hairless, lower surface slightly hairy. Petiole is short, medium thickness, base has reddish tinge. Stipules are small, lanceolate.

Inflorescence — umbel-like raceme, with medium number of flowers. Buds and flowers are white. Flower corolla is plate-like, without double-petal formation. Stigma is at the level of anthers.

Fruits are medium to above-medium size, one-dimensional, elongated-conical, symmetrical, even, with smooth surface. Skin is of medium thickness. Main color is greenish-yellow, covering color absent or as faint, diffuse, dull red blush on sun-exposed fruits. Under-skin spots are clearly visible. Skin is matte, rusting absent. Pedicel is short, medium thickness. Calyx and receptacle are of medium size, closed. Subcalyx tube is small, usually funnel-shaped, axial cavity absent. Seed cavity is medium. Seeds are in medium quantity, elongated, light-brown.

Flesh is yellowish-white, slightly acidic-sweet, with medium intensity aroma, fine-grained, juicy, excellent taste. Appearance is very attractive — 4.7 for appearance and 4.8 for taste. Chemical composition of fruits: dry matter — 14.7%, total sugars — 11.6%, titratable acidity — 0.81%, ascorbic acid — 16.2 mg/100g.

Variety belongs to late-ripening group, days from end of flowering to ripening usually 135-140. Based on this indicator, it belongs to winter or late-winter varieties.

Fruits remain firmly on the tree. Maximum storage life is 250 days. Fresh fruit transportability and commercial quality are high. Quality-wise, it belongs to dessert-type varieties.

Self-sterile; best pollinators are Rossoshanskoe Lezhkoe, Severny Sinap, Aprilskoe.

Early fruiting age — 6-7 years after grafting in nursery. High and regular yield. In the first fruiting period, yield is 50-110 kg per tree. On average, over years in southern Central Chernozem region, yield is about 200 centners/ha, comparable to control varieties Rossoshanskoe Polosatoye, Severny Sinap.

Winter hardiness of the tree is medium. In southern Voronezh region, during critical winter 1978-1979, degree of freezing was 1.0-2.0 points, comparable to Severny Sinap. During entire study period in this region, no tree death or partial damage was observed. Highly resistant to scab and powdery mildew.

Advantages of the variety: high yield and fruit quality, prolonged storage life, good resistance to scab and powdery mildew.

Disadvantage of the variety: freezing in exceptionally severe winters.