European plum Yellow Hoppy

This variety was selected in 1930 in Ussuriysk in the garden of gardener Hoppy, N.N. Tikhonov, who studied this variety and contributed to its spread on the Far East, in Siberia, and in the Urals. For a long time, this variety was the leading one in their catalogues in these regions. It was officially registered in 1974 and approved for use in the Ural and West Siberian regions.

The tree is strong-growing, with a flat-rounded, spreading, sparse crown. The bark of main branches is smooth and gray. The main type of fruiting is in clusters. The trunk is low. Shoots are straight or slightly curved, thick, light-brown with a sheen and numerous small light lenticels. Vegetative buds are small, conical; fruit buds are round, medium-sized. Leaves are medium-sized, 11 cm long and 6 cm wide, egg-shaped, green, slightly glossy, moderately wrinkled. The broad part of the leaf is shifted toward the apex. The leaf blade has a wedge-shaped base and a sharp, slightly curled tip, with a smooth, serrated edge, hairless, open on older parts and folded into a boat shape on young shoots, hanging down. There are 2-3 flowers in the bud. Flowers are medium-sized, cup-shaped. Petals are touching, white, inversely egg-shaped, 9 mm long and 7 mm wide, with wavy edges. The stigma is at the level of the stamens.

Fruits weigh 12-14 g, round with slight flattening and a distinctly marked seam-groove, with a small depression. Fruit color is light-yellow with a slight white waxy coating. Flesh is loose, juicy, sweet-sour, with a slight aroma and good flavor. Skin is thin, bitter-tasting, which remains even in processed products. Stone is fairly large, round, well-formed, easily separates from the flesh.

Fruits ripen at the end of August to early September. Fruits contain 14.5-21.8% dry matter, 10.2-13.6% sugars, 1.2-1.7% titratable acids, 0.45-0.74% tannins, 4-12 mg/100g ascorbic acid, and 150 mg/100g P-active substances. During transport, fruits quickly deteriorate in appearance. Fruits of this variety are intended for fresh consumption.

Plants begin fruiting in the 4th year after planting as one-year seedlings, have good yields and regular fruiting. The variety exhibits increased winter hardiness of the tree and satisfactory winter hardiness of fruit buds. It has good adaptability, which contributed to its widespread cultivation. Moderately resistant to clasterosporiosis and damage by bird cherry; susceptible to rot, self-sterile, severely damaged by Maslov's seed-eater.

Widely used in breeding. With its participation, on the Altai, the variety 'Zarya Altaya' and several promising forms were developed, and in Krasnoyarsk — 'Divnaya'. It well transmits to offspring high adaptability and yield, but often also the bitter taste of the fruit skin.