Sweet cherry Valeriy Chkalov

Seedling of the 'Caucasian Pink' variety from open pollination. Developed jointly by the Central Genetic Laboratory named after I.V. Michurin (now the All-Russian Research Institute of Genetics and Selection of Fruit Crops) and the Melitopol Experimental Station for Horticulture (now the Ukrainian Research Institute of Irrigated Horticulture). Authors: S.V. Zhukov, M.T. Oratovsky. Included in the State Register for the North Caucasus region since 1974.

The tree is large, developing a spreading, moderately dense, well-leafed crown with age. The trunk is thick, with gray-brown, rough bark. Main branches branch off at angles of 45-60°, with reddish-brown bark. Shoots are curved, 5 mm in diameter, gray-brown, with sparse lenticels on the bark. Vegetative buds are conical, 6.4 x 3.3 mm, brown. Leaves are 190 x 100 mm, ranging from broadly oval to inversely egg-shaped, with doubly serrated edges and a sharp transition to the apex; petiole 45 mm, with two bean-shaped, greenish-brown glands at the base of the leaf blade.

Fruits are large, weighing 6-8 g, broad-heart-shaped, with a blunted apex, dark red, almost black-red, juice intensely dark red. Flesh is dark red with pink veins, semi-fleshy, juicy, containing 13.5% dry matter, 10.7% sugars, 0.6% free acids, and 21.5 mg/100g of ascorbic acid in raw mass. Stone is large, weighing 0.37 g, creamy, almost round, semi-detaching from the flesh. Peduncle 40-45 mm, firmly attached to the fruit, detaches with juice excretion. Variety is intended for dessert use, also suitable for canning.

Plants begin fruiting in the 5th year. Flowering and ripening (first decade of June) are early. Best pollen parent varieties: Zhabule, Skorospelka, Iyunskaya Rannaya, Aprilka, Bigarro Burlat. Exhibits enhanced winter and cold hardiness: at -23.5°C, maximum flower bud damage is 70%. Affected by coccomycosis up to 4 points, not resistant to gray mold, shows relative field resistance to other fungal diseases. Variety demonstrates good potential productivity: in Crimea, the average productivity over 10 years of fruiting in trees aged 10-19 years amounted to 62 kg of fruit per tree, maximum 174 kg at age 12. In Krasnodar Krai, productivity of trees aged 10 years amounted to 24-32 kg per tree.

Advantages: large fruits of early ripening.

Disadvantages: susceptibility to coccomycosis and gray mold.