European plum Chemal

Developed at the NIISS named after M.A. Lisavenko in the mountainous region of the Altai (Chemal village) by selecting among seedlings from open pollination of Ulmus ussuriensis (possibly Manchurian Beauty) varieties. Authors: V.S. Putov, T.M. Pletneva (Tsipetsaver). Included in the State Register in 1974 and approved for use in the Ural, West Siberian, and East Siberian regions. Currently, it is scarcely distributed.

Trees are medium-sized, with round or flat-round, drooping, dense crowns. The main type of fruiting is in cluster branches. Branches are gray, emerging from the scaffold branches at an obtuse angle. The trunk is low. Shoots are thin, straight, bare, brownish-red, with numerous small lenticels. Vegetative buds are conical; fruiting buds are round. Leaves are medium-sized, egg-shaped, matte, green. The leaf blade has a blunt base, drooping, unpubescent, slightly concave or open, with a curled tip resembling a comma, and a finely doubly serrated edge. The petiole is short and of medium thickness. Two to three flowers are located in the bud. The corolla is cup-shaped, with small white petals.

Fruits are medium-sized, 25 mm high and 27 mm in diameter, weighing 14 g on average, angular-oval, with a deep pit divided by a groove. The ventral suture is well-defined, of medium depth. The dark red color with a slight bluish waxy bloom covers the entire fruit. The skin has numerous small dots. The skin is rough. The flesh is yellow-green, juicy, tender, slightly acidic, and flavorful. The stone is medium-sized, elongated-oval, well-formed, partially detached or fused with the flesh. The pedicel is short and easily separates from the fruit.

Fruits ripen in the third decade of August. They contain 17-22% dry matter, 7.5-16% sugars, 0.6-1.5% titratable acids, 0.35-0.58% tannins, 4-9 mg/100g ascorbic acid, and 400-450 mg/100g P-active substances. Fruit transportability is satisfactory. The variety is of universal use.

Begins fruiting on the 4th year after planting in orchards using one-year-old seedlings. High yield is observed only in favorable horticultural zones. Tree cold hardiness is high; fruit bud cold hardiness is below average. Sensitive to fruit rot. Resistant to Clasterosporium; damaged by fruit moth in moderate degree, and severely by Maslov's seed weevil. Self-sterile. Several selected forms have been identified in hybrid progeny involving this variety.

Advantages of the variety: high tree cold hardiness, resistance to Clasterosporium.

Disadvantages: low fruit bud cold hardiness.