Sour Cherry (Prunus cerasus) ZHUKOVSKAYA

Sour Cherry (Prunus cerasus) 'Zhukovskaya'

A legendary Russian variety with fruits of excellent flavour.

'Zhukovskaya' (Жуковская) is one of the most popular and renowned sour cherry varieties, considered a hybrid of sour and sweet cherry (a duke cherry). Precisely because of this, it is characterized by an excellent, perfect sweet-tart flavour, which has been rated with a maximum of 5 points in tastings. In addition to the top quality of its fruits, it is also valued for its high resistance to certain diseases and has become a foundation for breeding other exceptionally flavourful varieties.

Main advantages of the variety:

• Excellent quality and flavour of fruits (rating 5.0/5).
• High resistance to shot hole disease and ring spot virus.
• Good yield, which increases with age.
• Versatile use and suitability for mechanical harvesting.
• Large, attractive fruits.

Origin and Registration

• Country of origin: Russia
• Breeders: S. V. Zhukov and E. N. Kharitonova
• Institution: All-Russian Research Institute of Genetics and Breeding of Fruit Plants I. V. Michurin
• Origin: Obtained from open pollination of Michurin's sour cherry varieties.
• Registration: Registered since 1947.

Variety Characteristics

Tree

• Growth: Medium-vigorous, grows to a height of 1.5 – 3 m.
• Crown: Globular, slightly spreading, medium density.
• Fruiting habit: Bears fruit mainly on bouquet spurs.
• Pollination: It is cross-pollinated (self-fertility is low).

Fruit

• Size and weight: Large, with an average weight of 4.0 g (maximum 6.0 – 7.0 g).
• Shape and colour: Oval-heart-shaped, dark red.
• Flesh and juice: The flesh is dark red, relatively firm, and juicy.
• Flavour: Excellent, sweet-tart (rating 5.0/5).
• Stone: Medium-sized (0.29 g), easily separable from the flesh.
• Use: Versatile.

Resistance and Requirements

• Frost resistance: Moderate (especially flower buds).
• Disease resistance: High resistance to shot hole disease and ring spot virus.

Cultivation Recommendations

• To ensure a harvest, it is essential to plant a suitable pollinator nearby, for example, the 'Molodyozhnaya' variety.
• Due to the moderate frost resistance of the flower buds, it is advisable to choose a location protected from late spring frosts.

Harvest and Storage

• Harvest time: Mid-early (second decade of July).
• Harvest characteristics: Ripening is simultaneous. Suitable for mechanical harvesting.
• Yield: Good, 12 kg from a 10-year-old tree, up to 30 kg from a 20-year-old.
• Entry into bearing: 4th year after planting.