Plum Variety Eurasia: Description And Characteristics, Advantages And Disadvantages, Planting And Care Features + Photos And Reviews

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-17 22:26

We grow a productive and winter-hardy plum Eurasia

Many gardeners want to have a plum on their site. But it is not so easy to choose the right variety, so that the tree winters well and is productive enough. Plum Eurasia has such characteristics. Gardeners who choose it do not have to look after it too carefully, but they need to be prepared for some irregular harvests.

Content

• 1 Description of the Eurasia plum variety

  1.1 Table: advantages and disadvantages

• 2 Landing features

  • 2.1 Video: artificial pollination of plums
  • 2.2 Selection of seedlings
  • 2.3 Site selection
  • 2.4 Pit preparation
  • 2.5 Video: planting a plum

• 3 Tree care

  • 3.1 Fertilization
  • 3.2 Watering
  • 3.3 Cropping
  • 3.4 Preparing for winter

• 4 Pests and diseases

  • 4.1 The main diseases of plum and methods of controlling them - table

    4.1.1 Photo gallery: plum diseases in the photo

  • 4.2 Table: harmful insects and control

    1 Photo Gallery: Plum Insect Pests

• 5 Collection, storage and use of crops
• 6 Reviews

Description of the Eurasia plum variety

Eurasia (Eurasia 21) is one of the varieties of home plum. Received by breeders of the Voronezh Agrarian University.

The trees of this variety are tall (5–5.5 m), have a semi-spreading, not too dense crown. The bark of the trunk and branches is gray. To reduce the size of the tree, they try to grow it on low-growing stocks.

Eurasia plum fruits look attractive

Fruits of dark burgundy color are of medium size (25–32 g) and round in shape. Thin delicate peel covered with a thick waxy coating. Juicy and tender, sweet and sour yellow-orange pulp melts in the mouth. Medium-sized bone is partially separated from the pulp.

Table: advantages and disadvantages

pros	Minuses
Early fruiting (fruiting from the 4th year of life).	Irregular harvests (in a cold rainy spring, fruits are practically not tied).
High winter hardiness.
Good taste and presentation of the fruit.
Quite high yield (18–20 kg per tree).

Landing features

The variety is self-fertile, so you need to plant pollinating plums nearby - Hungarian Moscow, Skorospelka red, or other trees in bloom at the same time. Even with pollinators, Eurasia does not always bear fruit, because its flowering occurs in a relatively cold period of time, when there are very few insects. Manual pollination can be used to increase yields.

Video: artificial pollination of plums

youtube.com/watch?v=aOrleO9_GZg

Selection of seedlings

For planting, it is advisable to buy seedlings 1–2 years old with a well-developed root system. Pay attention to the integrity and smoothness of the bark, elasticity of branches and roots, and the presence of green buds. Do not take seedlings with open leaves, as they do not take root well.

Plum trees can be planted in both spring and fall. Spring planting - in April - is recommended for the middle lane, and autumn (late September - early October) - for the southern regions. In autumn, you need to have time with planting 1–1.5 months before the onset of frost, so that the seedling has time to take root.

If the seedling is bought in the fall, you can dig it in and save it until the spring planting.

Seat selection

All plum trees love warmth, so the place for them needs to be sunny, protected from cold winds and stagnant air. The culture is not too demanding for soil conditions, it can grow well on loamy and sandy loam lands, if they are sufficiently rich in nutrients, are well warmed up by the sun and moderately moist. Heavy clayey, too wet and cold, boggy-peaty and sandy soils are not suitable for draining. The tree does not tolerate the close standing of groundwater.

Avoid planting plums where cold air stagnates

You can plant trees along the fence, but only from the sunny side. For tall plants, the plum should be placed on the south side to avoid shading, since with a lack of sunlight, the leaves lose their color saturation, and the fruits do not gain sweetness. Since Eurasia belongs to tall varieties, it requires a fairly large space: the distance between trees in a row is 3-4 m, in row spacing - 5-5.5 m.

Pit preparation

When planning a planting, you need to prepare the soil in advance - remove perennial weeds and apply 100-120 g of complex mineral fertilizer and 55-60 g of bone meal (per 1 m ²). A planting hole with a depth of 40-50 cm and a diameter of 70-80 cm must be dug in advance (preferably in the fall) and immediately filled with soil mixture, consisting of fertile top soil, 1.5-2 buckets of humus or rotted manure, 0.3-0, 4 kg of superphosphate and the same amount of wood ash, as well as 20-30 g of ground dolomite.

A pit for planting plums must be prepared in advance

Planting sequence:

1. Drive a 0.5 m high stake into the bottom of the pit in the middle.
2. Place a seedling on the soil mound on the north side of the peg and gently straighten its roots. The root collar should remain 3–4 cm above the ground.
3. Cover the root system with a soil layer, shaking the seedling to evenly fill the inter-root space.
4. Tamp the soil with your foot, placing your foot toe to the trunk.
5. Tie a tree to a peg with a cloth tourniquet or soft twine
6. Pour 2-3 buckets of water.

Video: planting a plum

Tree care

The soil under the plum trees requires regular loosening (preferably with a pitchfork, not a shovel), removing weeds and mulching. Trunk circles with a radius of 0.5–0.6 m should be free of grass, since weeds near the trunk provoke cancer.

Loosening improves soil air permeability, inhibits weed growth

Fertilizer

Plums are very sensitive to nutrients, and their lack is immediately reflected in the intensity of growth and development of the tree. Lack of nitrogen causes yellowing of the tips of the leaves, with a lack of phosphorus, the color of the foliage becomes grayish, and with a deficiency of potassium, brown. The rate of fertilizers must be strictly controlled, since their surplus is also harmful.

Organic matter and mineral fertilizers are applied under deep digging of the soil

It is recommended to apply complex fertilizer and 30 g / 1 m ^{2 of} nitrate under young trees in the early spring period, as well as mulch the near-trunk circle (1–1.2 m in diameter) with a 3-5 cm layer of rotted manure and compost. The barrel must remain clean.

Under adult fruiting trees, before flowering and during the ripening of fruits, a urea solution (15 g per 5 l of water) is applied. After harvesting, potassium sulfate in solution (15 g per 5 l of water) should be added. Organic fertilizers in the form of compost or rotted manure are needed at a dose of 10–12 kg per 1 tree in the early spring and late autumn periods for soil digging.

Watering

During the entire growing season, the plum requires regular watering (it does not tolerate dry soil). Lack of moisture during seed formation (2–4 weeks after flowering) leads to massive loss of ovaries. Those that remain do not reach their normal size and shape.

Sprinkler method is suitable for watering plums

Water the plum tree during the season should be every 10-12 days at the rate of 3 liters of water per 1 m ². Abundant irregular watering is harmful to the plant, as it causes the fruit to crack. In late autumn, at the end of October - early November, it is advisable to carry out water-charging irrigation for pre-winter saturation of deep soil layers with moisture - this improves the wintering conditions of the tree.

Pruning

Despite the recommendations, pruning in the first year after planting is not necessary, since the tree is already weakened by strong pruning in the nursery, and it will be difficult for it to recover.

During the first pruning in the second year after planting, a tree stem is formed, which can be high (1.5–1.8 m) and low (0.8–1 m). Trees with a low stem tolerate winter better, therefore, when planting plums in cold regions, the trunk can be made only 30–40 cm high. At the required height, the tree must be trimmed to the bud before budding. All branches located below are pruned into a ring, and the lateral branches are pruned 7-8 cm to stimulate thickening of the trunk.

The first pruning is carried out in the second year after planting in 2 stages - in spring and summer

In the same year, in summer, 4–5 branches of the first order are chosen, growing near the top. On all other shoots, the growth point is removed up to 4–5 leaves. In the 3rd year, in early spring, 4 branches are selected, located at a large angle to the trunk, and their growth is shortened by 1/2, leaving the extreme bud facing outward. Other branches are removed, counting the side branches of the previous year.

In the summer, you need to completely cut off the shoots on the trunk and root growth. A year later, the same steps are repeated to allow a sufficient number of second-order branches to develop, which can fill the increasing gaps. Leave 6-8 well-developed and well-placed branches. Uncut lateral shoots located inside the crown are shortened to 10-12 cm.

For an adult plum, you need to remove competing branches that thicken the crown.

This completes the formative pruning, then thinning is carried out and dry and diseased branches are removed (sanitary pruning). When the fruiting of the tree falls, rejuvenation is carried out by cutting off old branches to 3–5-year-old wood.

For rejuvenation, you need to cut off some of the old branches to young replacement branches

Preparing for winter

Plum Eurasia has a high winter hardiness, so there is no need to insulate the tree for the winter. To protect the root system of young trees, you can mulch the trunk circle with a thick layer (25-30 cm) of sawdust or peat.

Plums are mulched to protect the roots from the cold

Rodent protection may be required. To do this, wrap the stem and the lower branches with spruce branches (needles down) or steel mesh.

Pests and diseases

With improper care and rainy weather, plums can become ill.

The main plum diseases and methods of dealing with them - table

Diseases	Symptoms	Control methods
Hole spot	Brownish-brown spots appear on the leaves, surrounded by a dark border. Subsequently, the middle falls out, a through hole is obtained. The affected flowers darken, the fruits are deformed.	In 12-15 days after the end of flowering, spray with HOM preparation (1%) or Bordeaux liquid (15-16 g per 5 l of water). Thin the crown regularly. Remove fallen leaves.
Rust	The leaves are covered with reddish-brown spots with dark spore pads, the leaves dry out.	Collect and burn fallen leaves. Over the summer, treat 2-3 times with 1% Bordeaux liquid. Removing nearby junipers is the source of the disease.
Moniliosis (fruit rot)	Flowers suddenly turn brown and wither, then young twigs and leaves wither. Fruits are covered with brown rot spots with gray spore pads. The bark of the affected branches is cracked.	Pruning affected branches and burning them. Spraying with 2% Nitrafen solution in the early spring period or after leaf fall. Treatment before the beginning of flowering and at the end of it with HOM (36–40 g of powder per 5 l of water) or 1% Bordeaux liquid. Deep digging of soil with embedding of leaves in the fall.

Photo gallery: plum diseases in the photo

Hole spotting affects leaves, flowers, and fruits.

With rust, the leaves are covered with bright spots.

Moniliosis spreads especially quickly in rainy weather

Table: harmful insects and the fight against them

Pests	Signs	Ways to fight
Eurytoma plum	Massive shedding of ovaries (June-July) due to pests that have invaded the bones.	Treat with 0.3% solution of Karbofos or Metaphos (after flowering, then after 2 weeks). Treat the soil with 25% HCH powder (45–50 g per 1 m 2). Collect and burn or bury affected fruits and seeds from branches and soil. Dig up near-trunk circles, row spacing to a depth of 10-15 cm.
Plum moth	Green plums turn purple and fall off.	Spray with 0.25% chlorophos solution 11–12 days after flowering, then again after 15–20 days. Install trapping belts in June. Systematically remove the carrion. Peel off and destroy dying bark.

Photo gallery: plum insect pests

Plum moth larvae can significantly reduce the yield

Eurytoma causes massive ovary loss

Plum moth larvae eat away fruits

Collection, storage and use of crops

Ripening of plums begins at the end of July, ripening occurs by mid-August. The harvest has to be collected in 2-3 stages. You need to remove the fruits by hand, carefully so as not to damage the stalk and wax coating.

Plum makes an excellent jam

Fruits stored in the refrigerator at a temperature of 0 ^to C for 2-3 weeks, with a further storage darkens pulp. If the fruits are frozen, they can be stored for 7 months, but the taste of the plums deteriorates somewhat (it becomes sour).

Since Eurasia belongs to table varieties, its fruits are usually consumed fresh, but you can make jam, juice, jam, and prunes from them.

Reviews

Plum Eurasia is suitable for patient gardeners who are ready to put up with irregular yields, as well as hand-pollinate plums. The tree will thank for the cares with abundant harvests of large sweet and sour fruits.