Winter hardiness of promising pear varieties in the conditions of the steppe zone of the Southern Urals

Abstract

The article presents the results of a long-term study of the winter hardiness of pear varieties of domestic breeding in the conditions of the steppe zone of the Southern Urals (Orenburg region). The research was carried out in the Orenburg branch of the Federal Horticultural Research Center for Breeding, Agrotechnology and Nursery in 2018-2021 at the experimental site of the genetic collection of pears in 2002 planting according to generally accepted methods. Mathematical processing of the obtained data was performed using variance analysis by Dospekhov B. A. (2011). Field assessment of winter hardiness was carried out in the I-II decades of May after flowering and budding of vegetative buds. Damage to the bark, kidneys and wood was assessed by eye on a scale: 0 points − no damage, 5 points − tissues died. The objects of research were 15 varieties of pears. Planting scheme: 6×4 m. It was found that during the years of research in the conditions of Orenburg, the most unfavorable weather conditions were observed in the winter of 2017-2018 and 2020-2021, which made it possible to study the hardiness of varieties in the field by II-IV components. It was found that the studied pear varieties have sufficient winter hardiness, the degree of damage to them was: wood − 0,5-1,5 points, bark − 0,5-1,8 points and kidneys − 0,8-1,8 points. At the same time, the plants quickly recovered and began to actively vegetate, which indicates the high adaptive ability of most varieties. The greatest resistance to adverse winter conditions at the level of the control winter-hardy variety Krasnobokaya was shown by the varieties Krasulya, Skazochnaya, Pingvin, Isetskaya Sochnaya, Lel, Chizhovskaya, Lada, Uralochka and Povislaya, which can be recommended for use in the breeding process as sources of a sign of high winter hardiness.