Quiet Don

Autumn variety selected at the Rossoshanskaya Zonal Experimental Station for Horticulture. Developed by A. M. Ulyanishcheva from crossing the varieties Rossoshanskaya Krasivaya and Marfornaya. Approved for the Central Chernozem region.

Trees of moderate growth, up to 3 m tall at ten years of age. Shape of crown rounded, slightly weeping, medium density. Bark of trunk gray, scaffold branches grayish-brown. Position of scaffold branches inclined-vertical. Fruit type ring-shaped. Rings sessile, on 2-3-year-old wood.

Shoots vertical, straight, round, long, medium and thick, brown-red. Internodes medium, number of shoots small, pubescence absent. Buds small, medium density. Leaves medium, egg-shaped, finely toothed, glossy, dark green. Leaf blade curled upward, leathery, not pubescent. Petiole medium length and thickness.

Inflorescence — umbel-like cluster, number of flowers in inflorescence large (8). Buds and flowers white, saucer-shaped, flower size medium. Petals closed, entire. Stigma style not pubescent, stigma at the level of anthers.

Fruits large and very large, average weight 270 g, maximum up to 350 g, oval or blunt-conical, equal-sided. Skin dense. Color at consumer maturity greenish-yellow with pinkish-red diffuse blush on most of the surface and densely distributed dark green and rusty subcutaneous spots. Peduncle medium length, thick. Depression absent, sometimes slight swelling at the base of the peduncle. Receptacle closed or half-open. Saucer small, medium width, wrinkled. Subreceptacular tube small. Seeds elongated, brown.

Flesh cream-white, tender, juicy, oily, sweet, with slight acidity and bitterness, full very good taste. Fruit attractive (5 points), excellent taste (4.8 points). Chemical composition of fruits: dry matter content — 18.5%, total sugars — 11.4%, organic acids — 0.16%, ascorbic acid — 10.1 mg/100g, catechins — 77.4 mg/100g, pectic substances — 0.61%.

Autumn variety, harvest maturity occurs at the beginning-middle of September, consumer maturity period lasts from late September to November. Fruit drop absent. Fruit commercial and transportability high. Fruit storage life in standard storage ranges from 78 to 142 days. Mainly dessert use, although also yields excellent compotes.

Self-sterile. Good pollinators are approved varieties Marfornaya, Dessertnaya Rossoshanskaya and other simultaneously flowering varieties.

Early entry into fruiting, at 5-6 years after grafting in nursery. Regular flowering and fruiting. High yield. Yield of mother tree at 10 years old from sowing was 70 kg (418 centners/ha). Grafted trees in the first 4 years of fruiting averaged 19 kg (107 centners/ha).

Highly resistant to extreme environmental conditions. In the most severe winter in recent years, 1986-1987, with minimum temperature -36.4є, degree of freezing was 1.0 point. Resistance to spring frosts, which occurred during mass flowering or its end in 1998, 1999 and 2000, 90-100% of flowers died, as with all other varieties, including standard ones. Good drought resistance, since neither fruit drop nor fruit shriveling was observed.

Highly resistant to scab. Affected by septoria in epidemic 1996 to 1.6 points. In some years affected by apple rust at the same level as other varieties, including standard ones. Virus and mycoplasma disease infections not detected during garden and nursery inspections.

Advantages of the variety: small tree size, early fruiting, high yield, large fruit size, excellent commercial and taste qualities of fruits. Complete resistance to scab.

Disadvantages of the variety: susceptibility to septoria and apple rust.