Content
The pear is a widespread, unpretentious fruit tree that can be successfully grown in any garden. Breeders annually develop new varieties of this crop with unique properties and characteristics. Among the huge variety of existing varieties, the Conference pear has withstood serious competition for more than 100 years and is popular with gardeners all over the world. Wide popularity and demand for a long period of time is justified by the excellent agrotechnical characteristics of the variety and the remarkable quality of the fruits. Thus, the conference pear is grown today not only in private plots, but also in horticultural farms. Fruits of this variety can often be found on store shelves. Growing a fruit tree with your own hands is quite simple. In our article, we will give a detailed guide on how to do this and present a description of the Conference pear, photos and reviews about this legendary variety.
Detailed description of the variety
The history of the creation of a wonderful variety "Conference" with its origins goes back to 1885. It was then that British scientists obtained a new kind of pear with excellent characteristics. After lengthy trials, the breeders presented their brainchild to the public during the British Conference of 1895. In honor of this event, the variety got its extraordinary name. Pear "Conference" quickly gained the recognition of farmers and spread throughout the European continent, and then beyond. Today, the popularity of the variety does not fade away. "Conference" is grown everywhere, including in Russia, mainly in the southern regions.
Characteristics of the fruit tree
Pear "Conference" is noticeably different from other varieties. This fruit tree is tall and lush. Its height reaches 4-5 m. The branches of the "Conference" are spreading, heavily leafy. The crown of a pear is so thick and voluminous that its radius can reach 5 m. The fruit tree quickly grows young shoots, 60-70 cm per season. Such active growth of greenery requires regular and careful crown formation. Every year, in the process of pruning, farmers recommend pruning branches so that the shape of the tree is conical. This will give a neat, decorative look to the plant, open its lower branches for the penetration of sunlight and uniform fruit ripening.
The "Conference" pear blossoms in the first ten days of May. It is always abundant and long lasting. The flowers of the fruit tree are simple, consisting of 5 white petals. They are collected in inflorescences of 6-10 pcs. The Conference variety is distinguished by its relatively low resistance to weather disasters. So, winter spring can lead to falling flowers and a decrease in yield.
The undoubted advantage of the "Conference" variety is its high self-pollination. Depending on weather conditions, ovaries are formed from 60-70% of flowers. Additionally, this indicator can be increased by placing another pollinator tree in the immediate vicinity. The presence of such varieties as “Bere Bosk”, “Williams” has a favorable effect on the “Conference”. It is worth noting that pollinating pears can not only increase the yield, but also improve the taste of the Conference fruit.
Description of fruit
After planting, a seedling of the "Conference" variety will not keep you waiting for the harvest for a long time. Already a four-year-old fruit tree will give several kilograms of ripe, tasty pears.As it grows, the yield of the tree increases. From each adult pear in favorable climatic conditions, it is possible to collect about 70-100 kg per season.
The ripening of conference pears begins in the second half of September. Ripe fruits are very juicy and sweet. Their flesh is slightly oily, creamy. The average weight of fruits is 130-150 g. Small or very large pears of this variety are formed extremely rarely. The harvest is usually uniform. The shape of the fruit is conical, elongated, slightly bottle-like. Pear skin is matte, rather dense, slightly harsh. Its color is green-yellow. A golden brown hue can be seen on some fruits on the sunlit side. Fruits of the "Conference" variety are securely attached to the branches with the help of strongly curved, short stalks, due to which they rarely fall off.
The taste of conference pears is excellent: the pulp is very sweet and aromatic. It consists of many small grains, which only add extra sophistication to the fresh product.
The pears of the proposed variety are not only tasty, but also very useful. They contain a whole complex of minerals, vitamins of groups A, B, C. Citric, oxalic and malic acids are also present in the composition of the fruit. The tannins contained in the peel of the pear have a number of beneficial properties and are widely used in medicine. It is because of the tannin content that the Conference pear has a slightly tart taste.
You can see the harvest of conference pears, evaluate the external qualities of the fruit and hear the farmer's comments on the video:
Resistance of the variety to external factors
Pear "Conference" is notable for its thermophilicity and is recommended for cultivation in the southern regions of Russia. Low winter hardiness does not allow the fruit tree to endure wintering at temperatures below -180C. This factor is, perhaps, one of the main disadvantages of the proposed variety.
The variety, bred many years ago, does not have protection against various diseases, so every gardener must independently take care of protecting his plant. So, growing the conference pear, one should be wary of the following ailments:
- Septoriosis is manifested by white or brown spots on the leaves, shoots of the plant and the pears themselves. The disease leads to deformation of the fruit and foliage fall, slow growth of young shoots. You can resist the disease with the help of prophylactic spraying of the fruit tree with fungicides.
- Scab is a small but numerous brown spots covered with barely noticeable nap on pear leaves and fruits. To prevent the disease, you should use a Bordeaux mixture or urea solution. It is recommended to cut and burn the affected areas of the tree.
- Rust on the leaves appears as orange spots. The areas of the crown damaged by this ailment must be treated with copper-containing preparations.
- Fruit rot is easy to identify by the presence of characteristic, foul-smelling lesions on the surface of the fruit. After the destruction of rotten pears, the fruit tree should be treated with the "Biomix" preparation.
- Powdery mildew is a gray coating on the leaves. Under the influence of the disease, they dry out. The drug in this case is an aqueous solution of soda ash with laundry soap.
- You can fight aphids on a pear with special preparations: "Agroverin", "Iskra-Bio".
In addition to the listed diseases, when growing the conference pear, you can encounter other diseases, the signs and treatment of which, you can find out detailed information from the video:
Advantages and disadvantages
Many years of experience in growing "Conference" pears allows us to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the variety. So, among the positive qualities of the variety, one should highlight:
- active growth of the fruit tree and early fruiting;
- bountiful, annual harvest;
- high level of self-pollination;
- excellent fruit quality;
- good marketability and transportability of fruits.
Speaking about the disadvantages of the "Conference" variety, you should pay attention to the following nuances:
- low winter hardiness of the variety;
- dependence of yield on weather conditions;
- low genetic resistance to disease.
Regular fruiting and a high level of yield allows growing conference pears in horticultural farms, with the aim of further selling the fruit. Delicious pears are popular with customers and generate a good income. The only condition for industrial farmers is compliance with the rules of cultivation and the implementation of preventive measures to protect fruit trees from diseases and pests.
How to grow
Pear "Conference" can grow and bear fruit successfully in one place for more than 40 years. Therefore, before planting a seedling, you need to choose the right place:
- A large fruit tree should not be placed near stationary objects on the site.
- Pear "Conference" prefers to grow on loose, well-drained and fertile soil.
- Pear soil should preferably be neutral acidity or slightly alkaline.
- The seedling should be placed on a sunny plot of land, protected from strong winds.
- Groundwater on the site should not be higher than 1.5 m from the ground surface.
- There should be no rowan near the pear. The proximity of these plants provokes the development of diseases.
A young seedling of the "Conference" variety should be planted in the fall around mid-September. First, for this you need to prepare a planting pit and a nutrient substrate containing organic matter and minerals. It is additionally recommended to put a few handfuls of rust on the bottom of the pit.
Before planting, the roots of the "Conference" seedling must be shortened a little, kept in water for an hour and smeared with a nutrient mixture of water, manure and clay, mixed in a ratio of 6: 2: 1. When a pear is immersed in a planting hole, it is necessary to spread the roots of the seedling and deepen them so that the root neck of the tree rises 6-8 cm above ground level.
The roots of the seedling must be covered with fertile soil and compacted. To water the plant, you need to use 15-20 liters of water. The trunk circle of the pear should be mulched. For a safe wintering, the trunk of a fruit tree must be wrapped in burlap.
Plant care in early spring should be started by removing burlap and other shelters. The trunk of the tree should be inspected, if there are cracks, the damaged areas should be treated with a strong solution of potassium permanganate. After processing, the trunk of the seedling must be additionally covered with garden varnish or lime. The soil in the near-stem circle of the fruit tree must be loosened to saturate the pear roots with oxygen.
The “Conference” seedling does not need to be fed the next year after planting, provided that a sufficient amount of minerals and organic matter has been laid in the planting pit. In subsequent years, organic matter must be introduced into the pear trunk circle in the amount of 2 kg per 1 m2 soil. For an adult plant, in addition to organic substances, it is also recommended to use potassium sulfate, complex fertilizers and urea. Immediately before flowering, once a season, you can carry out foliar treatment of the seedling with a superphosphate solution at a concentration of 3%. This measure will significantly increase yields and improve the quality of future fruits.
Soil moisture is extremely important for the Conference pear.Adequate water nourishes the plant itself and makes the fruit juicy and sweet. To obtain a high-quality crop, it is recommended to water every 1 m once every 3 days.2 soil in the near-trunk circle with 20 liters of water.
Thus, timely, proper care of the Conference pear will allow you to get the highest quality fruit harvest in large quantities. Preventive treatment of wood with folk remedies and special preparations will protect the existing crop from parasites and diseases.
Conclusion
Pear "Conference" is undoubtedly worthy of praise, because for a hundred years it has not found a worthy replacement among hundreds of other varieties. With relatively modest external qualities, the fruits are distinguished by excellent taste and aroma. Fruits are well stored, suitable for making desserts, preserves, compotes and jellies. A single fruit tree in an area with good yields can feed the whole family with healthy, fresh and tasty canned fruits all year round. To do this, you just need to show a little care for him.
So the conference in the Moscow region will freeze.