Finaev's Plum

Introduced at the Samara Regional Experimental Station for Horticulture by E.P. Finaev, P.P. Ivanov, E.V. Tyuzina, and A.N. Minin through a cross between Kuybyshevskaya Ternosilva and Bavarian Renclod. Registered in the State Register in 2005 for the Middle Volga region.

A small tree, up to 2.5 m tall, slow-growing. The crown is spreading and of medium density. Fruits predominantly on flower clusters and spurs. Shoots are thick, straight, dark red, and bare. Few small, medium-sized, white stipules. Leaves are medium-sized, medium width, egg-shaped, short-pointed, light green, smooth, glossy. Leaf blade is flat, concave (like a boat) downward, apex gradually pointed, weakly pubescent. Leaf margin finely toothed. Petioles absent. Petioles medium length, medium thickness, green. Stipules small, 1-2, yellow, round. Flowers solitary, rose-shaped, medium, white.

Fruits are medium-sized, one-dimensional, average weight 22 g. Fruit shape is round. Apex is depressed on the sides. Base has a depression, shallow and narrow. Seed cavity is small and barely noticeable. Fruit stalk is medium, medium thickness, easy to detach from the branch, weak attachment to the stone. Fruit color is mainly green, with a blue covering. Number of lenticels is medium, white, clearly visible. Skin is medium, bare, with medium waxy coating, difficult to remove from the fruit. Flesh is yellow-green, soft, juicy, cavity color is uniform with the flesh. Juice is colorless. Flavor is sour-sweet. Stone detaches from flesh moderately, medium-sized, flattened, blunt, in pits. Fruit flavor score is 3.9. Appearance score is 3.9. Fruits contain dry matter — 12.4%, sugars — 7.61%, acids — 1.83%, ascorbic acid — 3.80 mg/100g. Main use is universal. Suitable for making jams and compotes.

Harvesting period is September 3-6. Unripe fruits can be stored under normal conditions for up to 2 weeks, in a fruit storage facility — 2-2.5 months. Fruit transportability is good.

Flowering occurs May 14-22. Self-fertile. Best pollinators: Red Early, Mirnaya, Kuybyshevskaya Blue, Kuybyshevskaya Ternosilva. Fruit ripening is late. Trees begin fruiting at 5-6 years and quickly increase yield. At ages 6-7 years, trees typically yield 3-8 kg; at ages 8-12 years — 15-30 kg per tree. Annual fruiting. Fruit attachment strength is medium.

Withstood severe winters of 1955/56, 1968/69, 1978/79, and 1986/86. In winter 1978/79, trees planted in 1965 were damaged by 3.5 points. Young trees planted in 1976 were damaged by 1.9 points, but by 1980 they yielded 3.2 kg, and in 1981 — 20 kg. Trees damaged by frost recover quickly.

Trees show medium drought resistance. Fruits are not affected by moniliosis. Susceptibility to gummosis is low. Fruits are occasionally attacked by plum fruit moth up to 0.5% in certain years.

Propagated by grafting onto seedlings of Red Early and Kuybyshevskaya Ternosilva. Fruits well on elevated, wind-protected sites on light to medium textured soils — sandy, loamy, and light clay. No special pruning required. Standard formative pruning in early years. After 7-8 years, thinning cuts are needed inside the crown.

Advantages of the variety: high annual yield, low tree height.

Disadvantages of the variety: fruit drop observed in dry years.