Rossoshanskaya Chornaya

This variety was developed at the Rossoshanskaya Zonal Experimental Station for Horticulture by A.Ya. Voronchikhina through sowing seeds from open pollination of a local cherry variety named Forma №2. The paternal variety is presumably Shirotpotrebye Chornaya, which Rossoshanskaya Chornaya resembles in several characteristics of the tree and fruit. Since 1986, the variety has been officially approved for the Central Chernozem, North Caucasus, and Lower Volga regions. It has gained significant popularity in commercial and private orchards, especially in the Central Chernozem region, in Rostov and Volgograd Oblasts.

The tree has medium growth vigor, reaching a height of no more than 3-4 m in maturity; the crown is broad-pyramidal or conical, sparse, with moderate or weak foliage density; main branches become heavily stripped with age. The bark on the trunk is gray, dark grayish-gray on older trees, smooth or slightly rough, without or with weak longitudinal cracking; lenticels are convex, from medium to very long, narrow or medium width, with medium or strong density; the trunk is not twisted. Shoots are straight, occasionally slightly curved, with medium or long internodes; in young trees the bark is greenish-brown, then acquires a grayish hue with characteristic longitudinal striping at the base, alternating olive-brown and silvery-gray stripes; the shoot is covered in medium density with small transverse lenticels of darker gray color, bare. Vegetative buds are large, 4-5 mm, egg-shaped, with a pointed apex, set apart from the shoot. Flowering buds are also large, 4-5 mm long, egg-shaped or elongated-egg-shaped with a more rounded apex, also set apart from the shoot. Leaf blade is oval, with a strongly and frequently sharply pointed apex, base ranging from arcuate to broad-acute, 9-10 cm long, 4-5 cm wide on one-year shoots; upper surface green, slightly wrinkled along lateral veins, glabrous, glossy, moderately to strongly concave along the central vein; lower surface grayish-green, nearly glabrous, with very sparse and weak pubescence along lateral veins, doubly toothed, with medium and fine teeth, leathery. Petiole 20-25 mm long, medium thickness, slightly pubescent on the upper side, glabrous on the lower side, entirely colored in a dull brownish-purple, with 1-2 glands, sometimes glands absent; stipules absent. Inflorescence usually contains 2, occasionally 1 or 3 flowers, 20-25 mm in diameter, wide-cup-shaped; petals rounded or broadly rounded (width greater than height), overlapping, white at the beginning of flowering, acquiring a pinkish tint by the end of flowering; stigma is slightly raised above the stamens by 1-2 mm, stamens 5-6 mm long, stigma with ovary 10-12 mm. Calyx is short bell-shaped, calyx lobes equal in length to the calyx tube, upright at the beginning of flowering, then bending backward and adhering to the tube, elongated-lanceolate, not fused, toothed, edges colored pink; by the end of flowering the calyx lobes turn pink-purple.

Fruits have average mass of 4.5 g, height 21 mm, width 21 mm, thickness 19 mm, fruit shape round or slightly round-oval, sides slightly or moderately flattened, moderately ribbed; depression is wide and shallow, fruit apex rounded with barely noticeable stigma remnant as a point. Fruit skin color is dark cherry-red, nearly black. Flesh is dark cherry-red, nearly black, uniform color, dense, fleshy, for cherry dense; juice dark red. Flavor is slightly tart-sweet, pleasant, tasting score 4.5 points. Fruits contain 10.9-18.3% soluble solids, 8.5-12.3% sugars, 1.1-1.9% titratable acids, 0.1-0.2% tannins and pigments. Pedicel is short, 25-28 mm long, 0.8-1 mm thick, fused with the stone in medium degree; detachment of fully ripe fruits is nearly dry, in underripe fruits damage occurs at the point of separation, from which juice exudes. Stone is medium size, average mass 0.33 g, which constitutes 7.3% of fruit mass, oval-rounded, apex rounded and slanted, base rounded or even flat; stone color in fresh state brownish-beige with reddish tinge, poorly separates from flesh. Rossoshanskaya Chornaya possesses high technological qualities: average score for compotes over 8 years of study was 4.7 points for appearance and 4.3 points for flavor.

Flowering occurs late; the variety is partially self-fertile, but for higher yield requires additional pollinators. Fruits ripen in early-mid season, in southern Central Chernozem by the third decade of June, and can remain on the tree for a relatively long period without spoiling. Trees grafted onto antipka begin bearing fruit on the 3-4th year after planting in the orchard; at three years old, yield per tree may be 3-4 kg, but yield increase is relatively slow, and average yield over the first 4 years of fruiting is 5.5 kg/tree. Average yield per tree in age 6-11 years was 15.3 kg of fruit, reaching 20-25 kg/tree in the most favorable years.

Winter hardiness of trees in southern Central Chernozem is high, average frost damage score in unfavorable winters did not exceed 1.0. Maximum flower bud damage over 10 years of study did not exceed 10%. Rossoshanskaya Chornaya is susceptible to coccomycosis at medium or strong degree. During rainy and cool weather during flowering, it is also significantly damaged by moniliosis.

Advantages of the variety: small tree, dense high-quality fruits, suitable for long-distance transportation.

Disadvantages of the variety: medium yield, weak disease resistance.