Half a century ago, growing pears in the northern gardens was a difficult and risky task, because this plant is heat-loving and does not tolerate severe frosts. In this regard, breeders are constantly in the process of developing new, frost-resistant varieties that combine good taste and unpretentious care. One of these is a novelty called Hera.

Breeding History and Variety Breeding Region

The variety Hera was created at the beginning of this century in the leading breeding institution in Russia - the All-Russian Research Institute for Selection of Fruit Crops in the city of Orel. The nurseries of the institute are still undergoing tests of this culture, but those who wish can already purchase its seedlings.

Did you know? The choice of the name of the variety is not accidental. The ancient Greeks were the first to develop garden varieties of this plant. The pear was an attribute of Hera, the patroness of the family hearth. Figurines of the goddess were carved from the tree, and the fruits were recommended by healers for the treatment of motion sickness.

The creators define this variety as suitable for testing and development in the middle lane and in the south of Western Siberia.

Grade description

The “parents” of Hera were the high-yielding fragrant variety Daughter of Dawn and the variety Real Turinska, known for its compact crown. Hera embodies the best features of the above varieties.

Tree description

Like her Italian cousin, Hera is characterized by a neat, narrow-pyramidal crown and a mid-height (5–7 m). Fruiting has a mixed type (fruits grow on both old and annual branches). The shoots are brown, straight, medium thickness. The leaves are wide, oval, deep green.

Fruit Description

The fruit mass varies from 175 to 250 g. The main color is green, and the integument changes from pink to red as it ripens. The fruits are regular, broad-pear-shaped, without roughness. The seeds are medium sized, brown.

Did you know? Pears contain a large amount of endorphin, the so-called "hormone of happiness." Doctors recommend consuming these fruits for people who are prone to depression, as well as during periods of nervous tension.

Fruit pulp:

• cream color;
• slightly granular;
• melting;
• juicy
• with a sour-sweet taste and a faint delicate aroma.

Grade characteristics

Hera refers to winter varieties, which determines the features of its bearing. Consider the main characteristics of the variety.

Winter pear varieties also include Belorussian late.

Pollination

Being self-infertile, Hera requires the presence of other late and medium pears nearby. They must be planted at a distance of 5-6 m from each other. Another way to improve pollination is to vaccinate the tree with other grades of grafts.

Fruiting Dates

You can taste the fruits of Hera 3-4 years after planting a tree. Full fruiting should be expected by the 10th year. Removable ripeness occurs in the second half of September.

Productivity

The owners of this pear will be happy with a plentiful harvest: starting from the 4th year of cultivation, up to 40 kg of fruits can be harvested from one tree each year, and later, with proper care, even more.

Transportability and storage

The variety is characterized by good keeping quality and transportability. Subject to storage conditions, which will be discussed below, the pear can save up to 5 months.

Disease and pest resistance

Hera has a strong immunity against such fungal diseases as scab, septoria and entomosporosis, but can be affected by rust, ashtray and milky gloss.

In addition, the variety is susceptible to infection by pests:

• pear mite;
• moth;
• a copper pick;
• leaflet.

Frost resistance

Hera withstands frosts down to -38 ° С. At this temperature, the tissues of its branches begin to freeze only slightly (degree of freezing 1.8 points out of 5 possible on the Kichina scale).

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

• For a short cultivation time, Hera managed to become popular among farmers and summer residents thanks to:
• tasty and juicy fruits;
• frost resistance;
• high, stable productivity;
• resistance to some fungal diseases;
• fruit keeping conditions;
• comfortable narrow crown, suitable for small areas;
• unpretentiousness in leaving.

A negative feature of the variety is the tendency of the fruits to blacken when not properly harvested and stored.

Landing Features

For a pear, especially with a pyramidal crown shape, a weak root system is characteristic. That is why when planting a tree it is very important to pay attention to the type of soil, the choice of seedlings, timing and place of planting.

How to choose seedlings for planting

You need to buy seedlings in the autumn in a nursery or in the garden market. For planting, two-year-old seedlings are used. When buying, you first need to carefully examine the roots: their tips should have a whitish hue, which indicates continued growth and recent extraction from the ground.

The roots should be smooth, elastic, without blackening and growths. You should refuse to purchase seedlings with sluggish and dry foliage and buds.

Important! To seedlings better take root, they must be left overnight in a bucket of water, and before planting, dip 1 bucket of soil, 1 bucket of rotted manure and 300 g of phosphorus fertilizer in the mixture.

When to plant

In a temperate climate, a pear can be planted in the fall (in October), and in risky agriculture (for example, in Siberia), it is better to plant a pear in the spring (late April – early May) to guarantee root survival.

How to choose and prepare a place for landing

A pear does not like transplants, therefore the place of planting is of paramount importance and must meet the following requirements:

1. A distance of at least 3-4 m to fences and buildings.
2. The presence of other varieties for pollination nearby.
3. Good lighting, wind protection.
4. Fertile soil (loam, chernozem, sandy soil less suitable).
5. Low standing groundwater (at least 2 m) to prevent root decay.

Before planting, sandy soil is additionally fertilized with 1 bucket of rotted manure mixed with 2 buckets of peat. In clay soil, drainage is done (a layer of stones is laid on the bottom of the pit).

A landing pit is prepared 2 weeks before planting. Minimum dimensions of the landing pit: 1 m deep and 80 cm in diameter.

After digging a hole, they pour in it:

• 3-5 buckets of humus;
• 200 g of complex fertilizer (for example, "Azofoski");
• 2 buckets of sand;
• 2 buckets of water;
• a solution of dolomite flour (600 g of flour per 10 l of water);
• excavated earth.

In a couple of weeks, the minerals will dissolve and the roots of the seedlings will not get burned. In addition, during this time, soil shrinkage will occur, which will also contribute to root survival.

Immediately before planting, the pit must be shed with a root growth stimulator. During spring planting, you can dig a hole in the fall to destroy pests and bacteria.

Landing pattern

Hera and other medium-sized cultivar plants are planted at a distance of 4 m between seedlings and 5-6 m between rows (in large farms and gardens).

Care Features

As already mentioned, this is a fairly unpretentious variety, and care for it comes down to watering, rare fertilizers and easy burping. Additional winter warming is not required, only in the first year the seedlings are sprinkled with snow.

Watering

The pear is drought resistant. The first month, seedlings are watered by sprinkling (with special sprayers) or along grooves 2 times a week (3 buckets of water per 1 m² of soil). Then watering is carried out before and after flowering and in the fall after harvest.

Pear is watered in the evening, trying to prevent moisture from entering the leaves. In a very dry summer, you can additionally moisten the soil, focusing on its condition.

Fertilizers

In the first few years, seedlings have enough fertilizing made during planting.

Then the adult pear will need to be fertilized:

• nitrogen preparations in the spring;
• mineral complex - in the summer;
• phosphorus-potash additives - after harvesting.

Pruning

Thanks to its compact, narrow crown and rather rare branches, Hera does not need excessive adjustment.

The following actions will suffice:

1. Annual thinning of branches with pruning shears and delimbers for access of light and air.
2. Shortening the top of the trunk with a garden saw (by 25% in the first year, by 25–30 cm in the second year and then 1 time in 3 years).
3. Processing the place of cut with a solution of copper sulfate, and then with “Lac Balm”.
4. Removing diseased and dry branches, as well as branches growing at an angle of 90 °.

Harvesting and storage of crops

This is a late variety whose fruits reach mature maturity by the second half of September. As already mentioned, with improper storage, Hera has the unpleasant property of blackening and losing its presentation.

Learn more about the features of storing pears for the winter at home.

To avoid this, you need to follow certain recommendations for the collection and storage of crops:

1. It is better to collect the fruits a little immature, as they are able to ripen in the store.
2. Pears are stored in crates or containers lined with paper, straw or sand.
3. Fruits are placed in a container so that they do not touch each other. When laid out in layers, the layers are overlaid with paper, straw or sawdust.
4. During storage, it is necessary to regularly audit, removing spoiled fruits.

The Hera variety, although it is a relative novelty among pears and is still officially undergoing a state test, has already managed to fall in love with farmers, especially those living in the northern regions of the country.

Important! The optimum temperature for storing pears is 0 ° С, with a relative humidity of not more than 85%.

This is facilitated by the resistance of this variety to frost, the wonderful taste of the fruit, its rather compact size and simple care.