Introduction to the Jinshui Xiang Pear Variety and Its Fruit Characteristics

The new cold-hardy pear variety Jinshui Xiang [Apple Pear x (Xiangshui Pear x Apple Pear)] is an excellent variety bred by the Mudanjiang Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences. In 1997, it passed examination and was named and released for promotion by the Heilongjiang Provincial Crop Variety Examination Committee. This variety has strong cold resistance, strong disease resistance, and excellent quality; it can be eaten fresh and can also be stored frozen. In recent years, it has been promoted across 15,000 hectares in the three provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and it is also cultivated in other provinces in northern China. It has now become one of the main cultivated varieties in cold-region pear production.

Characteristics:

1. Botanical traits: The Jinshui Xiang pear has a semi-circular crown and an open tree posture. The trunk is dark gray and smooth on the surface. Perennial branches are dark gray, 1-year-old branches are greenish brown, and the internodes are relatively obviously curved. Leaves are medium-large, long ovate; buds are free, medium-sized. Each inflorescence has 8--10 flowers; flower buds are pink, and the corolla is medium-large and white.

2. Fruit economic traits: The fruit is flat-round, with an average single fruit weight of 100 g and a maximum fruit weight of 125 g. The skin is yellowish white, with a red blush on the sunny side; the fruit is smooth, and the flesh is white, crisp at first and then soft, edible after harvest, with fine texture, strong flavor, extremely abundant juice, and a pleasant sweet-sour taste, with no stone cells, and top-grade quality. The soluble solids content is 16.50%, soluble sugar content is 10.29%, and vitamin C content is 6.16 mg/100 g. The fruit juice yield is 80%--85%; the raw juice is semi-transparent, light brown, and has the delicate fragrance of Pyrus ussuriensis.

3. Growth and fruiting characteristics: Jinshui Xiang has strong tree vigor, high sprouting ability, medium branching ability, and the angle of scaffold branches is 50--60°. Long, medium, and short fruit branches and axillary flower buds all bear fruit, with 4--6 fruits set per cluster. It begins fruiting early; after planting, the trees bear fruit in the 3rd year, yield 5,000 kg/hectare in the 5th year, and yield 30,000 kg/hectare in the 7th year, with no alternate bearing, and the highest yield is 40,000 kg/hectare. In the initial fruiting stage, trees mainly bear fruit on long fruit branches; in the full fruiting stage, trees mainly bear fruit on short fruit branches. Jinshui Xiang has strong cold resistance; under conditions of a frost-free period of 100 days and an extreme winter low temperature of -40°C, it grows and develops normally; it has very strong resistance to pear scab and pear brown spot, and the leaves generally do not develop disease under ordinary conditions.

Cultivation points:

1. Orchard establishment: Select first-grade seedlings with a height above 1 m, basal diameter of about 1 cm, full development, a sound root system, and true variety purity. The planting spacing is 3 m x 4--5 m. Before planting, dig planting holes 40 cm wide and 50 cm deep, backfill with good soil, and apply 15--20 kg of organic fertilizer per hole. Configure pollinizer trees at 4:1; suitable varieties include Wanxiang, Youyi No. 1, Muyu 11-11, and others. After planting, irrigate thoroughly, cover the tree dish with plastic film, and set the trunk height at 70--80 cm.

2. Soil, fertilizer, and water management: After planting and before fruiting, keep the tree rows clean-cultivated and apply organic fertilizer, with 25--50 kg per tree each year for 2--4-year-old trees. After fruiting, every year after fruit harvest in autumn, deep plow and expand the holes; from late April to mid-August, during the budbreak stage, rapid fruit growth stage, and flower bud differentiation stage, apply compound fertilizer (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium ratio 2:1:1) once; trees bearing more fruit may receive one additional application during the fruit enlargement stage (late July to late August), with increased phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. Before the rainy season, bury and press green manure, weeds, and so on. Entering July, combine with pesticide spraying to apply 0.3% urea as a foliar spray 2--3 times; in August, spray 0.3%--0.5% potassium dihydrogen phosphate 1--2 times. Irrigation should focus on three periods: the budbreak stage, the rapid new shoot growth stage, and after leaf fall to before freeze-up.

3. Pollination and fruit thinning: On the basis of configuring pollinizer trees, artificial supplementary pollination may be carried out (dusting or rolling pollen), and at full bloom spray an 800-fold pollen sugar-vinegar solution. From late May to early June, carry out flower and fruit thinning, generally controlling to leave one strong inflorescence about every 15--20 cm, with 2--3 fruits retained per inflorescence.

4. Pest and disease control: Focus on controlling pear psylla, peach fruit moth, and other pests and diseases. Before winter, clean up fallen leaves, weeds, and fallen fruit in the orchard, prune out diseased and insect-damaged branches and dead branches, and burn them in a centralized manner or bury them deeply. In early spring, spray once with 5 degrees Be carbendazim wettable powder 1000-fold, and thiophanate-methyl 800--1000-fold solution, to prevent disease occurrence. For control of pear psylla, spraying should be timed at the late peak of emergence from overwintering (when eggs are first seen in the field); agents may include 20% fenvalerate emulsifiable concentrate 5000-fold, 5% beta-cypermethrin 1000-fold, Bailin No. 3 10000-fold, and 2.5% deltamethrin 2000-fold. For control of peach fruit moth, at the peak period of overwintering adult emergence and egg laying, generally begin control in early July, using 2.5% Taoxiaoling emulsifiable concentrate 3000-fold.

5. Rational pruning: Use a small crown form or spindle form, control tree height below 4 m, keep crown diameter within 3 m, trunk height 60 cm, and evenly arrange 6--8 main branches on the central leader, with spacing of about 25--30 cm. The thickness (diameter) of the main branches must not exceed 1/2 of the central leader, and fruiting branch groups are borne directly on the main branches. After planting, prune more and cut back less, increase the number of effective branches and buds, open the main branch angle to about 80 degrees; after fruiting, pay attention to moderating tree vigor, controlling crown size, and renewing fruiting branch groups in a timely manner.