It's just that Maria is a late-ripening variety bearing fruit in October. It has a good yield, and severe frosts do not affect the quantity and quality of fruits. This winter-hardy grade withstands temperatures up to -38 degrees. After freezing, trees quickly regenerate and delight owners with many ripe pears.
Pear variety "Just Maria"
The main color of the pear is first yellow-green, but when ripe, the skin becomes golden yellow with a blush on its side
How did the variety appear?
Just Maria is a pear variety bred in Belarus at the Institute of Fruit Growing. When crossing used the pear variety Maslyanaya Po and the hybrid form 6 / 89-100. This experiment was a success for famous breeders O. A. Yakimovich, G. A. Alekseev and M. G. Myalik. The variety was originally named “Maria”, and then it was given the name “Just Maria”.
Grade description
The tree grows fast, low. By 10 years, plant growth is only three meters. Pear Just Maria is characterized by a wide-pyramidal crown, with a diameter of up to 2.5 m, with medium density.
The fruits have a pear-shaped shape, in weight reach up to 180 g, sometimes 220 g, there are larger specimens. When picking fruits, their peel is light yellow in color. A light pink tan is present on one side of the fruit. Numerous subcutaneous dots of a green tint are clearly visible. The peel is loose, smooth, tender. Fruits with a glossy surface and medium-dense, juicy, fine-grained flesh of yellowish-white color. No roughness and rust. The taste is sweet and sour, the aroma is pronounced.
The variety is valued for good yield indicators - from 1 tree, 40 to 70 kg of ripe fruits are harvested. Fruiting occurs 3-4 years after planting.
Many gardeners believe that the taste of fruits is superior to many well-known European varieties. Due to the fact that the variety is considered a dessert, it is used for making jam, compotes, juices, fruit salads. When removed from a tree, slightly unripe fruits are transportable, characterized by good stubbornness. They can be stored in the refrigerator until January.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Experienced gardeners claim that the variety Just Maria has many advantages, because they prefer this particular pear. The positive aspects include the following qualities:
- Early maturity. The tree bears fruit by 3-4 years after planting a seedling.
- Resistance to disease. The plant is characterized by increased resistance to diseases such as bacterial cancer, septoria, scab.
- Stable productivity. The variety has high resistance to adverse weather conditions. The plant bears fruit and delights with juicy fruits, even with a lack of sunlight and the absence of regular care.
- Good taste and appearance of the fruit. Pears ripen in the correct form, without deformation, tasty and sweet.
- High yield. More than 40 kg of fruits are harvested from one tree. The output of marketable products is 90%.
- Ease of reproduction. The gardener can independently obtain a new individual, propagating the culture in one of several ways.
- Resistance to mechanical damage and severe frost. The tree is able to quickly recover after partial freezing, withstand sharp fluctuations in the temperature background.
The variety has almost no flaws. The only negative is that gardeners consider the average productivity indicator, and not everyone likes the very sweet taste.
You can get more information about other varieties of pears here.
Preparation and landing
For the reason that the variety is considered unpretentious, when planting it, they generally use standard agricultural technology for culture. To plant a seedling does not require much time and special knowledge. But the procedure requires the gardener responsibility.
Site selection
A pear is considered a photophilous plant, but is able to tolerate shading. But in this case, the fruits become smaller, and their taste is worse. It is advisable to choose a well-lit and warm area. The place should be spacious, especially if you plan to plant a pear and its two pollinators.
Choose a site protected from cold winds and drafts. It is better if there is a shelter nearby that protects the plant without obscuring it. Plant seedlings not in a row, but at the tops of an imaginary triangle, keeping a distance between them of 5-6 m. Do not plant trees in a lowland where water stands for a long time after snow or snow melts. Do not plant pears in places where mountain ash grows - it attracts insects who like to feast on the fruits and leaves of the pear.
The advantages of the variety include its undemanding to the soil. The plant survives well in both heavy and light soil. A place with acidic soil is not the best option for planting a seedling. To reduce the acidity of the soil, slaked lime or crushed shells are introduced into it. Highly alkaline soil is fertilized with peat or needles. A pear prefers loose fertile soil, which allows air and water to pass through well.
Soil preparation
Prepare the pear planting hole in advance. If you plan to plant a plant in spring, prepare a hole in the fall. The approximate size of the hole is 60x70x90 cm. Put drainage on the bottom (pebbles, expanded clay or brick chips) - it does not allow moisture to stagnate at the roots.
The top layer of the earth extracted from the pit is fertile. Set aside the earth separately and mix with fertilizers: 17-20 l of humus or rotted compost, 60-70 g of superphosphate, 15-25 g of potassium nitrate, 30-40 g of ammonium sulfate. Pour the prepared mixture to the bottom of the pit, forming a mound. Cover with a sheet of slate or roofing material so that nutrients are not washed out of the soil.
Phased landing
Plant a pear according to certain rules. After preparing the pit, proceed to the following steps:
- In the spring, just before planting, remove and inspect the seedling. Make sure that he has endured the winter. Soak its roots for several hours in water by adding root formation stimulants - Kornevin, Heteroauxin, Epin, etc.
- Open the landing pit and remove part of the soil from it so that there is enough space to accommodate the roots.
- Pour a small knoll in the middle, and at a distance of 10-15 cm from the center, drive in a wooden stake 1 m high from the soil surface.
- Dip the seedling in the pit, spreading the roots.
- Fill the pit with earth and tamp.
- Make sure that the root neck is not buried - it should be located 3-5 cm above the soil level.
- Tie the sapling to the peg using elastic material so as not to transmit the trunk.
- Form a near-stem circle around the seedling, creating an earthen roller along the diameter of the planting pit. Use a chopper or plane cutter.
- Water the tree abundantly to moisten the pit well. After drying, loosen and mulch with rotted sawdust, freshly cut grass, pine needles, etc.
- Cut the seedling to a height of 60-80 cm. If there are branches, shorten them by a third.
Pollination
The plant is partially self-fertile, for this reason it will be possible to achieve the maximum number of fruits when planting pear varieties that coincide in terms of flowering. These include the Koschia pear, Duchess pear, In memory of Yakovlev, etc.
Growing process
To get a good harvest, carefully take care of the plant, following all the necessary procedures. This will accelerate the growth of the plant, will allow you to get beautiful and juicy fruits annually.
Irrigation scheme
Water the planted plant every day, pouring 10 liters of water under it. Pear Just Maria likes moisture, therefore, water an adult plant several times during a season. Water after the snow has melted, and then when the leaves unfold. Also water the tree just before flowering.
In the summer, watering depends on weather conditions. If severe drought, moisten the pear more often, if summer is warm with enough rainfall, water the plant once a month.
The last watering is carried out in mid-September - it will protect the fruits from cracking, fill them with juice, and the soil will be moist.
Feeding
Fertilize for the second season after planting a tree. It's just that Maria is a variety that responds well to natural organic fertilizers. At least once every three years, in the spring in the trunk circle when loosening, distribute humus or rotted compost at the rate of 8-10 kg per 1 sq. m. Mineral and nitrogen fertilizers are applied annually - per 1 sq. km. m 10-15 g. It is permissible to divide the general norm into three top dressings. In this case, make nitrogen fertilizers after the leaves bloom, 10 days before flowering and immediately after it.
It is forbidden to make nitrogen fertilizers simultaneously with humus, otherwise this is fraught with the burning of the roots of the plant. Between feeding, keep a minimum interval of 4-5 days.
7-10 days after flowering, the pear needs complex nutrition. Use complex nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium preparations (Azofoska, Nitrofoska, Diammofoska) or special fertilizers for fruit trees (Hera, Master, Agricola). It is convenient to apply natural fertilizer - infusion of mullein, bird droppings (25-30 l per adult plant).
During the summer, apply foliar top dressing - 1 time per month. For 10 liters of water, take 25-30 g of potassium nitrate and simple superphosphate.
Pear pruning
An important step in pear growing is the formation of the crown:
- In the spring, before the sap flow begins, carry out the forming pruning. On one skeletal branch, leave several fruit shoots. Carry out the very first pruning immediately after planting the seedling.
- Shorten the central shoot by 15 cm, and cut off all the side branches to the growth point. Shorten the elongated crown to the tips of the highest tier of branches annually.
- Cut all shoots growing inside the crown.
The pear branches slightly, therefore, formative pruning in the future, carry out as necessary.
In the fall, sanitary pruning is mandatory: cut the shoots that are broken, diseased, dried up and damaged by pests. Perform the procedure after harvesting and falling leaves when the plant "sleeps". Always cut slices after pruning with garden varieties.
Winter preparations
Pear Just Mary is considered a frost-resistant variety that can tolerate severe frosts without harming itself. If you grow a tree in the Urals, you can not do without shelter for the winter. The preparatory process consists of the following procedures:
- Clean the trunk circle. Take away all the fallen fruits and foliage, broken branches and other rubbish.
- Update the mulch layer so that its thickness in the near-stem circle is up to 10 cm, near the trunk - up to 25-30 cm. Use humus.
- Cover the trunk to the first fork and the lower third of the skeletal branches with whitewash - it will protect the plant from rodents and sunburn.
- Wrap the base of the barrel with several layers of covering material that allows air to pass through well.
- When a lot of snow falls, grab it to the trunk. During the winter, the snowdrift will gradually settle, so update it several times, while breaking a hard crust on the surface.
Breeding
There are several ways to propagate the pear Just Mary: by cuttings, layering and grafting. Each of the methods provides for the implementation of certain requirements and rules.
Cuttings
This method is considered the most effective. Cut a green stalk with leaves from a tree. Treat it with root stimulants and keep under a film cover until the roots appear at a temperature of 20-25 degrees.
Layering
This procedure does not take you much time. The process of reproduction is simple: bury in a nutrient moist soil, saturated with oxygen, part of the parent branch so that the top is located above the surface of the soil - it should be exposed to sunlight.
Roots are formed in the place where the branch is covered with earth. No special care needed. You will only have to keep the soil moist. After the emergence of the roots, cut off the pruning shears from the mother branch, plant it as a seedling.
Vaccinations
This method is the longest and most time consuming. Propagation of the pear by grafting is permissible when the movement of juice in the plant has not begun. To do this, prepare the cuttings in December and store them in a cool place. For this purpose, it is allowed to use one-year-old shoots with 3-4 eyes. In spring, cuttings begin to plant. As a stock, use any kind of pear, wild game or apple tree.
Diseases and Pests
Pear Just Maria - a variety that is resistant to various damage, but there is a risk of infection with certain diseases. The table shows the diseases and pests to which the plant is occasionally exposed:
Disease / Pest | Symptoms | Ways to fight |
Septoria | Fungal disease of nature. Fungal spores are present in fallen foliage. When the disease appears on the leaves, grayish-brown spots form. | For treatment, carry out three treatment procedures for the garden plot:
|
Bacterial cancer | Fungal disease, during which the bark cracks and blackens, brown spots form on the leaves, fruits become dark and quickly deteriorate. | To prevent the disease, make sure that the bark is not damaged. To combat the disease, cut the affected wood and disinfect the wounds with copper sulfate. After pruning, treat the plant with fungicides. In the spring, before buds open or at the end of November, spray the plant with a solution of iron sulfate with a concentration of 3-4%. |
Scab | A fungal disease during which spores form in the kidneys. Brown spots appear on the leaves and fruits. | Fight the disease should be in the same way as with Septoria. |
Aphid | The pest settles on the back of the leaves and on young shoots. Usually appears on a tree with ants, which bring it in and then feed on sweet secretions. | For prevention, carry out such procedures:
|
Pear moth | This is a gray butterfly laying eggs in the soil of tree trunks. Emerging caterpillars penetrate the fruits. | Spray the plant with a decoction of wormwood, pre-fill 800 g of grass with 10 liters of warm water and leave to insist for 2 hours. Put on a slow fire, bring to a boil and boil for half an hour. Strain the broth and combine with 10 liters of water. In a solution, treat the plant before flowering three times. |
Harvesting, storage, transportability
The fruits are harvested before they are fully ripe. This is done so that the ripe fruit does not become excessively soft and does not undergo mechanical damage. The reason for this is the juiciness of the fruit and the softness of their peel. Gardeners leave the pears to ripen in a cool room, extending the ability to use the product. It is permissible to transport pears until they are tender and fragile.
Grade Reviews
On the network you will find many positive reviews from gardeners. Many of them consider this variety to be one of the best for their high productivity and unpretentiousness in care. One of these reviews can be seen in the video below:
Inna, 34 years old, gardener. I just planted Mary 7 years ago.I harvested the first fruits already in the fourth year after planting. Pears are juicy, tasty, smell good. The tree bears fruit annually. I tried to propagate the variety by vaccination. Of the seven cuttings, two on the apple tree and wild pear took root. The variety is liked by the fact that there is no need for regular care.
Roman, 25 years old, beginner gardener. It’s just that Maria has been growing on my site for 8 years. I have been picking ripe fruits for 5 years now, which I like for their sweetness and softness. The wife closes the jam, boils compotes and juices. I noticed that if you regularly water and feed the plants, there are much more fruits on the tree than if you do not carry out any care procedures.
Egor, 47 years old, a summer resident. I heard about the cultivar from a neighbor, bought and planted a young seedling in the country. Productivity is good, I collect about 50 kg of fruit from one plant. My family likes the fruits, but to me so-so, I don’t really like sweet pears. The tree is tall, about three meters. In principle, there are no shortcomings, the care is simple and does not require much time.
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Pear Just Maria is an unpretentious plant, which is preferred by many gardeners who do not have much time to care. Subject to all agricultural measures, the yield indicator is many times higher, and a lot of fruits appear.
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Ukraine. City: Kryvyi Rih
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