Flashlight

Autumn variety from the Krasnoyarsk Experimental Station for Fruit Growing, developed by N. N. Tikhnov and A. S. Tolmacheva from crossing Rанетки 6774 (Seedling of Omsk 17) with Pепин шафранный.

The variety gained great popularity from the early 1960s. Interest in it declined in the 1980s with the emergence of newer, larger-fruited varieties, until its excellent canning qualities were discovered. In the late 1990s, its fruits began to be used in the canning industry. The variety is included in the State Register for Chita, Irkutsk, Tomsk, Tyumen, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Kemerovo regions, Krasnoyarsk Krai, republics of Khakasia, Buryatia, Tuva. It performs well in forest-steppe zones on south-west facing slopes.

Medium-sized tree. Narrow-pyramidal crown, medium density and foliage. Bark smooth, brown with an olive tint, fruiting on simple and complex rings, often on last year's growth.

Shoots of medium thickness, straight, round in cross-section, brownish-brown with a bluish tint, slightly hairy. Buds few, small. Buds small, pressed, conical, hairy.

Leaves medium-sized, egg-shaped, short-pointed, slightly wrinkled, dark green with a bluish tint, with coarse veins, shiny. Margin finely serrated. Petiole long, thin, hairy, with small lanceolate stipules.

Flowers medium-sized, small cup-shaped, white, star-shaped, aromatic, buds greenish. Petals oval, thin, touching each other. Stigma short, without hairs. Stigmas equal to stamens.

Fruits small, medium-sized, oval, color when harvested blurred purplish-magenta throughout the fruit, more intense when stored. Skin smooth, with a bloom. Fruit stalk long, thin, straight, in a small, medium-width cup, without rust. Calyx persistent, half-open. Receptacle small, wide, ribbed. Subcalyx tube short, funnel-shaped. Axial cavity small, seed chambers do not connect.

Fruit flesh pinkish-yellow with red veins, medium density, very juicy, sweet-sour taste, with a slight aroma. Chemical composition of fruits: dry matter — 20.9%, sugars — 14.3%, titratable acids — 2.55%, sugar-to-acid ratio 5.5, pectin substances — 20.9%, tannins — 0.19, ascorbic acid — 24.6 mg/100g, vitamin P — 133 mg/100g.

Autumn variety. Harvesting begins 1-10 September. Fruit storage life 2-2.5 months.

Fruits hold well on the tree, good transportability. Marketability low (1st class — 12%).

Fruits used fresh, for making compotes, excellent juices, puree, jam.

Self-sterile variety. Best pollinators: Alenushka, Lada, Zhivinka, Svetloe, Krasnoyarskoye sladkoye.

Fruit production begins on the 3-4th year; under favorable conditions, yield at 13 years old — 109 centners per hectare. Fruit production periodicity in early years is irregular. High yields alternate with lower ones (74 centners/ha, 140 centners/ha, 173). Gardeners' 6-year-old trees yield 15-17 kg per tree.

High winter hardiness. In critical winters of the 1960s and 1980s, when the sum of negative temperatures reached -2926°, and the minimum down to -41.8°, soil temperature -48.4°, no tree losses occurred. Flower survival in 1968 at -3.2°, -4.7° — 43.6%. Recovery capacity high. Drought resistance medium. The variety is resistant to scab.

Advantages of the variety: high winter hardiness, early fruiting, high regular yield, universal fruit use, high ascorbic acid content.

Disadvantages of the variety: small fruits, insufficient drought resistance.