Sweet cherry Lebedyanskaya

Introduced by T.V. Morozova from the Institute of Horticulture named after I.V. Michurin, from seed of Vladimirskaya cherry, treated with the chemical mutagen EK at a concentration of 0.1% during the germination stage. Under state variety testing since 1990.

Medium-sized tree, fast-growing, with a pyramidal, moderately dense crown. Fruit-bearing on bouquet branches. Bark on trunk and main branches dark brown. Large, dark brown shoots with few lenticels. Buds egg-shaped, large, slightly deviated from the shoot. Leaves large, oval, doubly serrated, smooth texture, dark green, glossy, hairless. Leaf petiole medium length and thickness, with anthocyanin coloration along the entire length. One or two small dark red glands present at the base of the leaf blade. Bracts long, weakly divided, late-falling. Flowers medium size, white, rose-like. Petal shape rounded. Flowering period medium. Stigma of the pistil positioned higher relative to the stamens.

Fruits medium-sized (mass 3.6–4.1 g), heart-shaped with rounded apex, with a depression at the base and a fine ventral seam. Pedicel long, weakly attached to the stone and well-detached from the branch. Fruits dark red, without surface dots. Stone medium-sized, round, easily separates from flesh. Flesh dark red, with dark red juice, medium density, juicy, tender. Flavor character sour-sweet with sugar predominance. Chemical composition: sugars — 11.64%, acids — 1.37%, ascorbic acid — 34.66 mg/100g. Universal variety with high technological fruit qualities. Good transportability.

Fruits ripen medium-early — in Michurinsk in the second decade of July. Fruit-bearing begins on the 4th–5th year. Yield 60–80 centners/ha under Michurinsk conditions. Self-fertile. Best pollinators — Zhukovskaya, Turgenevka, Morozovka, Vladimirskaya. Tree winter-hardy, drought-tolerant, with moderate resistance to coccomycosis. Propagated by budding: on seedlings of cultivated cherry varieties and clonal rootstocks of Vladimirskaya. Pruning similar to Zhukovskaya and Turgenevka varieties.

Advantages of the variety: high yield with high fruit quality, suitability for mechanized harvesting.

Disadvantages: insufficient winter hardiness of flower buds in northern areas of the Chernozem region.