White Swan peach: description and farming techniques

Recently, the White Swan peach variety, also called the White Lebedeva White, is very popular with residents of the Crimea and surrounding areas.This is one of the most fruitful and attractive in taste varieties applicable for canning. Let's take a closer look at its features and growing conditions.

The homeland of the "White Swan" is Nikitsky Botanical Garden. At first, the variety was planned as medium late, but then it was possible to make it early maturing. Flowering time: end of April - beginning of May. The harvest may be collected in August, the dates vary somewhat in different growing areas (for example, in the Zaporozhye region and in places with the same climate this is the beginning of August, in areas cooler - mid or late August). It should be harvested on time, otherwise if it oversweeps, the peaches become too soft and only suitable for use fresh.

Peach trees can grow up to 4 m in height, spherical crown with a diameter of within 5 m, with leaves of light green color. Fruits in the fourth year and bring about a dozen crops. The yield is quite high, reaching more than 50 kg per tree.

The fruits have a rounded shape, medium in size, weighing more than 150 g. The pulp is fibrous, white, can be light cream, does not darken at the cut. Easy to peel and pitch. The fruits have a juicy and sweet taste, good for canning, but when fully ripe, they are not particularly suitable for long-term transportation due to their softness.

First of all, you need to choose the right place for landing. "White Swan" grows well in places where there is a lot of sunlight, so it is better to place it in an open and even elevated area. The soil is preferable to loamy, with a neutral level of alkali and rather deep (not higher than 1.5 m) location of groundwater. It is better not to use the places where plums or apricots were grown before. Planting time: autumn or early spring, when the first buds had not yet formed.

It is necessary to prepare a hole in advance with a diameter of about one meter and a depth of 50-70 cm. depending on the age of the plant and the volume of the root system. If the seedling has dried roots, they are pruned. 20 kg of humus, 200 g of mineral fertilizer are placed in the pit, covered with earth on top, and then dug up.

When planting it is important to evenly spread the roots throughout the pit. Then they are covered with earth. Peach root neck deepens by 3 cm or left flush with the ground. The earth is tamped and watered.

To peach trees stably pleased gardeners excellent harvest, it is necessary to take care of them. A year after planting, fertilizers are applied, primarily potash and phosphate fertilizers, which increase frost resistance. Nitrogen fertilizers should be used carefully, in moderate amounts. Recommended amount of fertilizer applied per plant:

• 200 g of granulated superphosphate;
• 130 g of potassium chloride;
• 500 grams of wood ash;
• 25 g of organic matter.

Fertilizers should be scattered around the tree in autumn and ground should be added on top. A couple of times a year is carried out feeding manure or chicken manure diluted with water (1:10 for manure and 1:20 for litter). At the same time, the soil must be wet, otherwise damage to the root system may be caused. Before winter, peach trees are treated with insecticides and fungicides to protect against pests and diseases. Can be used folk remedies, but unlike chemicals, they will have an effect only after 3-5 times application.

Care measures also include crown formation. It should provide a uniform distribution of the branches in such a way that there are no obstacles to the penetration of sunlight.Dried and diseased shoots are cut annually in early spring and late autumn.

Weeding and watering trees are regularly needed. One adult plant takes up to 40 liters of heated water.

At the end of autumn it is recommended to whitewash of 100 g of copper sulfate, a kilogram of lime and 5 liters of water, you can add a little clay. For warming for the winter, mulch the ground with peat, needles or sawdust, cover the crown with some insulating material, if dimensions allow.

There are three ways breeding peach "White Swan":

• sowing seeds;
• grafting;
• graft.

To grow a peach from a stone is most successful for residents of the southern regions. It is removed from the fruit and buried to a depth of 8 cm, then watered. Next, you need to systematically water and fertilize the plant, and after 3-4 years it will begin to produce fruit.

The method of grafting requires a large amount of free land and is applicable only in horticultural farms that have the conditions to ensure the rooting of cuttings.

The method of vaccination also presents many difficulties. Requires a normal stock, which requires a long time for self-cultivation, and which is not so easy to acquire. And also it is necessary to carefully observe all the conditions for the proper connection of the tissues of the stock and the scion. When grafting a peach, plum, apricot, almond or quince seedlings can be used as a stock.

Although the White Swan has good disease resistance, it is not always possible to avoid the infection that insects or even wind can tolerate.

The most dangerous of diseases can be considered leaf curl. It occurs in springtime with high humidity. The leaves are covered with reddish protuberances and white bloom on the back side, then fall off, leaving the shoots bare. To save the plant, remove the affected shoots and treat with a mixture of lime and sulfur. For the prevention of the disease, spraying with fungicides, copper sulphate and bordeaux liquid is used.

The most common of the diseases affecting all varieties is klyasterosporioz. Brown spots appear on the leaves, which later become discolored and fall out, leaving holes. Branches can also be damaged by a fungus, and as a result, the whole tree may die. For the treatment of cholerazoriosis, the affected parts are first removed and burned away from the garden, and then the wood is treated with Bordeaux oil and Meteor, which helps the tree to recover.

In late spring and in hot summer there is a danger of powdery mildew. It appears as a white bloom under the leaves, on the tops of the shoots, on the fruits. Gradually there is a spread on the whole tree, the young shoots die. In the fight against the disease get rid of the affected branches and apply treatment with insecticides and the drug "Topaz".

Concluding the conversation about the peach “White Swan”, it should be noted that for several decades it has always been popular among gardeners. According to reviews, its fruits are very tasty and juicy, have a pronounced aroma. Among the advantages that have ensured the love of both professionals and ordinary gardeners for this variety are the following:

• high drought resistance, unpretentiousness in irrigation;
• good frost resistance (up to –25 degrees);
• resistance to fungal diseases;
• excellent taste;
• wide application in cooking.

There are few disadvantages of this variety. It:

• vulnerability to pests and bacterial infections;
• the need for additional insulation during frosts of –30.35 degrees;
• limited transportation options due to the softness and tenderness of the fruit.

See the White Swan peach review below.