The 'Chance' plum variety is a high-yielding hybrid of cherry and plum, developed by the Donetsk Experimental Station of Horticulture. This variety is distinguished by its early ripening — fruits ripen in the last decade of June. Trees are medium-sized, with an attractive broad-oval crown and thick gray-brown branches, beginning to bear fruit on the 3rd-4th year after planting. Fruits are dark red, flat-round in shape, and weigh about 9-10 grams. The flesh is sweet, juicy, without acidity, with a distinct cherry-plum aroma, and the stone is small and easily separates. Due to its taste qualities, rated 4.7 out of 5 by the tasting committee, 'Chance' plum is suitable for fresh consumption as well as for making jams, compotes, baked goods, and various types of preserves.
The tree reaches a height of up to 3 meters and is characterized by high yield. The variety possesses good cold resistance and disease resistance, but it is self-sterile and requires the presence of other plum or cherry varieties for pollination. The juice of the fruits has a rich red or dark-red color, further enhancing their attractiveness and quality. Thanks to these characteristics, 'Chance' is successfully cultivated both in private gardens and on an industrial scale.
To ensure the health and high productivity of trees, a comprehensive protection against pests and diseases is recommended. An important stage is treating plums and cherries at different phenological stages: before flowering, use copper-containing fungicides and insecticides; during flowering — agents against the hairy beetle Olenka; after flowering — treatments for combating clasterosporiosis, aphids, and leaf-eating pests. In June, treatments against coccomyces, plum aphids, caterpillars, and plum fly and sticky plum sawfly are conducted using specialized insecticides and fungicides. All treatments are carried out with consideration for the rotation of chemicals and mandatory addition of adjuvants, ensuring effective protection and high-quality harvest.
