Scientists from Yekaterinburg obtained the first red-fleshed plum varieties in the Urals

Scientists of the Ural Federal Agrarian Research Center of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (UrFANITs Ural Branch RAS, Yekaterinburg) have developed two new varieties of Chinese plum with red flesh.
The varieties “Eurydice” and “Dominika” are patented and, based on the results of expert evaluation, included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements and approved for use in the Ural region.
Both varieties are characterized by high winter hardiness, productivity and late ripening. Harvesting in September allows you to increase the period of consumption of fresh fruits until the end of October, as well as ensure their better storage and transportability. Plums weighing 25-30 grams have a beautiful appearance, excellent taste and good density, universal purpose - they can be consumed fresh, and also used for processing (compotes, jams, preserves). From one tree you can collect 10-15 kg of fruits, which in terms of hectares is about 100 c/ha.
“Eurydice” and “Dominika” are new varieties obtained together with the Altai breeder, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences Mikhail Nikolaevich Matyunin, based on the most winter-hardy subspecies of Chinese plum - Ussuri plum, with the involvement of different types of cherry plum. Selection in this direction is of great relevance and value for the Urals - this includes resistance to damping off, winter hardiness, quality and transportability of fruits, their use for various types of processing without the use of dyes, high adaptability to different climatic conditions of the Urals,” said Tatyana Slepneva, one one of the authors of new varieties, head of the Sverdlovsk horticulture breeding station of the Urfanits Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The trees of the new plum varieties are medium-sized, do not exceed 2-3 meters in height, are early-bearing, and begin to bear fruit steadily in the fourth year. “Eurydice” and “Dominika” are self-sterile varieties, that is, they require pollination by other simultaneously flowering varieties of Ussuri plum. Resistant to damping off and common diseases: clasterosporiosis and fruit moniliosis. In addition, as breeders note, the Eurydice variety has a decorative effect - when blooming, the leaves have a beautiful purple color, and in the summer they have an unusual greenish-red hue.
Since 2011, new varieties have undergone variety research, been studied and tested in two ecological zones of the Urals: Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk regions. Today, at the Sverdlovsk Horticulture Breeding Station, scientists planted queen cells of trees for propagation. Seedlings of new varieties for planting will be available in 2-3 years.

Reference. The Ural Federal Agrarian Research Center of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (UrFANITs Ural Branch RAS) unites in its structure 6 research organizations of the Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk and Kurgan regions. Over the years of work, the center's scientists have created and included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements of the Russian Federation more than 300 varieties of grain, fodder, fruit, berry, ornamental crops and potatoes, which are grown in different regions of Russia on a total area of ​​more than 2 million hectares. In the field of veterinary medicine and animal husbandry, serious work is being done on the epizootic welfare of farm animals and genomic selection and genotyping of cattle .

Source: Federal State Budgetary Institution Ural Federal Agrarian Research Center Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences