Complex evaluation of economic-valuable indicators of pear varieties in the conditions of the Northern Caspian region

The article presents the results of testing pear varieties in order to identify those with more valuable complex of economic characteristics that meet the requirements of modern intensive horticulture in the conditions of the Northern Caspian region. The objects of the study are 5 pear varieties: Krasivaya, Nadezhda, Moldavskaya rannyaya, Victoria, Lyuberskaya, grafted onto the VA-29 rootstock. Control is the zoned pear variety Krasivaya. The studies were carried out on the experimental plot of the Caspian Agrarian Federal Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences using generally accepted methods. The soils where the varieties were studied are light chestnut carbonate, powerful, medium-powerful. The humus content is 1.02 % at a depth of 0–40 cm, easily hydrolyzable nitrogen 24.4 mg/kg, mobile phosphorus 26.4 mg/kg, exchangeable potassium – at the level of 368 mg/kg of soil. The results of the pear variety parameters showed that the height depends on the variety and fluctuates between 3.0 and 4.5 m. The Victoria (4.5 m) and Krasivaya (4.1 m) varieties were noted as vigorous. It was found that the leaf area formed on one hectare in the Krasivaya (k), Lyuberskaya and Victoria pear varieties averaged 2500–2700 m2/ha. According to the results of calculating the distribution of the feeding area among the pear varieties, the Victoria (71.7 %), Krasivaya (70.4 %) and Moldavskaya Rannyaya (65.2 %) varieties stood out with the most developed crowns and having mastered more than half of the allocated space. During three years of fruiting, the varieties with high productivity stood out: Victoria, which averaged 11.2 kg/tree, Nadezhda 9.6 kg per tree, Moldavskaya Rannyaya – 8.7 kg/tree. High average specific productivity per unit of crown projection area was observed in the varieties Nadezhda – 6.1 kg/m 2 , Victoria – 5.6 kg/m 2 , Moldavskaya rannyaya – 5.0 kg/m 2 . The fruit load per unit of trunk cross-section area was higher in the varieties Victoria (0.79 kg/cm 2 ) and Nadezhda (0.68 kg/cm 2 ) compared to the control variety Krasivaya (0.60 kg/cm 2 ).