UDK: 634.1.

22
Originalan nau~ni rad – Original scientific paper

Growth and fruit-bearing performance of the plum

cultivar ^a~anska lepotica grown in the region of
the Central Balkan mountains

Kalin Dragoyski, Hristina Dinkova, Teodora Spasova, Ivan Minev

Research Institute of Mountain Stockbreeding and Agriculture, Troyan, Bulgaria
E-mail:inst@instroyan.com

Content: The plum cultivar ^a~anska lepotica has been tested in collection orchards of the Research
Institute of Mountain Stockbreeding and Agriculture, Troyan, since 1979. In April 1977 a produc-
tion orchard with this cultivar was established.
The cultivar shows very good commercial properties, short juvenile stage, high tolerance to PPV,
and regular and abundant fruit-bearing (even in the absence of irrigation measures).
Its fruits are large and attractive, with taste that is close to the taste of cv Kyustendilska plum.
With denser planting cv ^a~anska lepotica is suitable for orchards with elevated intensification
level.

Key words: Plum, cv ^a~anska lepotica, growth and reproduction, sharka susceptibility.

Introduction
There has been growing interest in the Serbian plum cultivar ^a~anska lepotica
over the last decade (Dragoyski et al., 2003). The reasons for this are comprehensive
and include its tolerance to sharka disease, early entering into fruit-bearing, high crop-
ping potential of attractive fruits, self fertility, early ripening time that extends the
term for market supply with fresh fruit, which renders it particularly suitable for inclu-
sion in the plum assortment in Bulgaria (Rankovi}, 1986; Petrushke, 1989;
Oga{anovi} and Plazini}, 1986; Nikoli}, 2003). The cultivar has been grown in a col-
lection plantation at RIMSA, Troyan, situated in a region severely infested with shar-
ka disease (Mondeshka et al., 2002). Preliminary researches have shown satisfactory
tolerance to the disease, good cropping potential and high quality of fruit (Dragoyski,
2000). These results, as well as the good reports on the cultivar from tests in European
countries (Petrushke, 1989), encouraged us to conduct a more comprehensive pro-

Vo}arstvo, Vol. 39. br. 151 (2005, 3), 271–277 271

duction trials on the cultivar’s commercial performance together with the parameters
of technologies for its growing under the conditions of a typical plum production
region in Bulgaria, such as the Troyan region.

Material and methods

The observations were made in a production and experimental orchard with the
cultivar ^a~anska lepotica, established on an area of 0.78 ha, in 1997/1998. The trees
were grafted on yellow Myrobalan rootstock, planted within 6 x 4 m distance, or 416
trees in a hectare. The growing technology did not include irrigation.
The orchard is sited in the lands of RIMSA, Troyan – the Central Balkan
Mountains region, on slightly sloped ground, facing east, at 450 m a.s.l., poor fertili-
ty soil, with severe gleization, grey forest soil with pH 5.2. This is a typical fore moun-
tain micro climate region, with annual rainfall sum 650 – 700 l/m2, rather cold winter,
cool spring and dry summer (August and September). The active growing season
starts in the middle of March when the daily average air temperature reaches 5°C.
The trees were planted in trenches filled with farm manure. The inter-row alleys
were grassed down, while the row strips, 1 m wide, were kept in black fallow by
tillage with rototiller and soil herbicide application.
Plant protection was performed after standard scheme, using predictions or
alarms for appearance of some of the more dangerous causing agents of diseases or
pests: Tranzschelia pruni-spinosae (Persoon) Dietel.; Polystigma rubrum (Persoon)
De Candolle.; Monilia laxa Ehrenberg; M. fructigena Persoon; Coryneum car-
pophilum Jauch.; Xanthomonas pruni Dowson; Hoplocampa minuta Christ.;
Laspeyresia funebrana Tr.; aphids and acars .
The following traits were measured:
- Trunk girth, in cm, 40 cm above soil surface;
- Crown height (cm), from the first skeleton bough to the top;
- Number of annual branches;
- Mean length per 1 branch (cm);
- Total length of annual growth (cm);
- Crown volume (m3);
- Phenological times of flowering and ripening stages;
- Relative percentage of useful fruit sets (%);
- Fruit yield in kg/tree and kg/ha;
- Chemical composition of fruits and suitability for drying;
- Development of the economically important fungal and bacterial diseases (by
symptoms);
- Degree of infection and infestation with the economically important viral dis-
eases, including sharka (both by symptoms and DAS ELISA).

Results and discussion

The beginning of flower formation and fruit-bearing of cv ^a~anska lepotica
were recorded in the second year following planting.
Under the Troyan region conditions the growing season for cv ^a~anska lepot-
ica sets in about 10 days earlier than for cv Stanley, while flowering is moderately

272 Vo}arstvo, Vol. 39. br. 151 (2005, 3), 271–277

early, 4 – 5 days ahead of cv Stanley. The fruits ripen early and reach consumer-readi-
ness in late July, and technological ripeness – by 8 – 10 August (Tab. 1). In 2004, the
useful fruit sets percentage was 21.3%, while for the cv Stanley (control) it was
31.2%. We noted a continuous process of falling off of non-fertilized fruits after hav-
ing reached the size of grain up to hazelnut. This is presumably due to partial self-fer-
tility, and therefore additional pollination is necessary. Despite of the rather early
flowering, up to now we have not witnessed any great damages from recurrent spring
frosts. The early ripening times provide opportunities for longer-lasting market sup-
ply with fresh plum fruit. This renders the cultivar suitable for growing in the vicini-
ty of resort centres, on the one side, and also in regions of shorter growing season, on
the other.
Tab. 1. Times of phenological stages in 2004
Datumi fenoloških stadijuma u 2004. godini
____________________________________________________________________
Bubrenje pupoljaka

Pucanje pupoljaka

Po~etak cvetanja
Swelling of buds

End of flowering

Ripening stage
Full flowering
Puno cvetanje
Bursting open

Kraj cvetanja
Beli pupoljak

Beginning of
White bud

flowering
of buds

Zrenje
Cultivar
Sorta
____________________________________________________________________
^a~anska lepotica 05. 03. 20. 03. 03. 04. 05. 04. 08. 04. 14. 04. 25–30. 07.
Stanley 15. 03. 22. 03. 07. 04. 09. 04. 14. 04. 18. 04. 25–30. 08.
____________________________________________________________________

The trees of cv ^a~anska lepotica had very vigorous growth (with Myrobalan
rootstock). In the initial 4 – 5 years their crowns are more gathered, and the growth is
more intensive than in cv Stanley (Tab. 2). The trees of cv ^a~anska lepotica form
denser crowns, on account of the nearly twice greater number of annual branches of
greater length. This is confirmed by the values of the total annual increment, which in
the initial 5 years was much higher for cv ^a~anska lepotica (up to 208% in 2000)
than for cv Stanley. On entering into full fruit-bearing, there was considerable drop in
the mean length of 1 branch, which affected the total growth as well. Thus in 2003 the
total growth was 909 cm, while in cv Stanley the measured value was 1,300 cm.
The bending of the skeletal boughs of the 1st storey enhanced the setting of fruit
buds and harvesting of greater fruit yields as early as the 3rd year upon planting, 2 – 5
kg/tree, or 3.980 kg, on average. In 2004 (6th year upon planting), the mean yield per
tree was 26.7 kg, at average mass of 1 fruit - 37.63 g. The fruits had uniform shape
and sizes of 42.13 mm (height) x 38.44 mm (width along the ventral suture) x 34.82
mm (thickness). The stone had a mass of 1.6 g, and dimensions 22.75 x 14.05 x
9.06 mm.
In 2004, a year with dry spring and wet summer, with uniform distribution of
rainfall during the growing season, the fruit yields were high, with larger and attrac-
tive fruits (42.6 g). Harvesting was performed on 2 August for fresh consumption,
while in 2003 it occurred on 8 August - for drying. Having reached consumer ripeness,
the fruits are fully suitable for technological processing.

Vo}arstvo, Vol. 39. br. 151 (2005, 3), 271–277 273

 Tab. 2. Tree growth
Rast stabla
____________________________________________________________________

godišnjeg prirasta (cm)

Ukupna du`ina jedno-
Broj jednogodišnjih
Visina krošnje (cm)

Prinos (kg/stablu)
Obim stabla (cm)

Mean length of 1

Srednja du`ina 1
annual branches

Total length of
annual growth
gran~ice (cm)
Crown height
Trunk girth

Number of
Cultivar

gran~ica
Sorta
Godina

branch

Yield
Year

____________________________________________________________________
^a~anska
lepotica 1999. – – – – – 0.32
Stanley 1999. – – – – – 0.17
^a~anska
lepotica 2000. 11.90 205 43.0 97.0 417.0 3.98
Stanley 2000. 11.40 190 20.0 99.0 200.0 3.78
^a~anska
lepotica 2001. 17.40 290 55.0 85.6 470.8 15.81
Stanley 2001. 17.20 300 48.0 82.0 393.6 12.30
^a~anska
lepotica 2002. 21.22 383 42.0 72.0 298.0 20.00
Stanley 2002. 19.59 343 36.0 64.0 230.0 15.00
^a~anska
lepotica 2003. 24.80 420 45.3 21.9 909.0 25.00
Stanley 2003. 23.00 389 25.0 52.0 1,300.0 19.00
^a~anska
lepotica 2004. – – – – – 26.70
Stanley 2004. – – – – – 25.00
____________________________________________________________________

The contents of dry matter in the fruits harvested in consumer ripeness in 2004,
was 15.1%, while in those picked in technological ripeness in 2003 it was 21.9%. The
lower value in 2004 was due to the prolonged wet weather in summer. After drying in
a production type of tunnel drying installation the ratio dry vs fresh fruits of cv
^a~anska lepotica, in 2003, was 1 : 3.5, while for cv Stanley it was 1 : 4. The prunes
had shiny black colour, red flesh and characteristic more sour taste than dried fruits of
cv Stanley. The fruit skin was very thin and tended to melt when processed with hot
water.
The initial observations for sharka under our growing conditions were conduct-
ed on six trees, grown in an assortment orchard, sited in the centre of a region with
severe infection sources. The first sharka symptoms on leaves were noted by the sev-
enth year upon planting, while by the twelfth year the rest of the trees also got infect-
ed (Dragoyski, 2000). In an orchard established in 1998 for production and experi-
mental purposes, up to 2003 sharka-like symptoms were observed on the leaves of 30

274 Vo}arstvo, Vol. 39. br. 151 (2005, 3), 271–277

 Tab. 3. Chemical composition of fruits
Hemijski sastav plodova u %
____________________________________________________________________
Cultivar Total Invert
Sorta sugars sugars Sucrose Acids Tannins Dry matter
Ukupni Invertni Saharoza Kiseline Tanini Suva
šeceri šeceri materija
____________________________________________________________________
^a~anska lepotica 11.23 10.25 0.93 1.06 0.131 21.9
healthy/zdrava 2003.
^a~anska lepotica 10.78 8.78 1.90 1.03 0.119 15.1
healthy/zdrava 2004.
^a~anska lepotica 10.25 9.83 0.40 1.37 0.119 14.1
with PPV/zara`ena
____________________________________________________________________
Stanley (in 2003) 12.7 9.36 3.17 0.69 0.278 24.6
____________________________________________________________________

trees. The ELISA test applied proved the presence of PPV in 12 of them, which cor-
responded to 5% of the total number of trees. Symptoms appeared on single leaves
and were very slight, while those on fruits were hardly noticeable. The flesh and stone,
however, were flecked with red spots. About 38.5% of the fruits on sharka infected
trees ripen 3 – 4 days earlier and during the height of harvesting season they are over-
ripe, with a mass of 7.71% less than that of healthy trees’ fruits.
In the Troyan region the cultivar ^a~anska lepotica, planted in a moist site and
under standard plant protection scheme, manifested slight to medium susceptibility to
plum rust (T. pruni-spinosae). In the years 2001 and 2002 no infection was registered,
while in 2003 and 2004 that were favourable for disease development the disease
index (DI) recorded was medium, 10.60% and 16.89%, accordingly.
Concerning red leaf spots (P. rubrum), cv ^a~anska lepotica had medium to
strong susceptibility, and from 2001 to 2004 the DI ranged from 10.02% (2004) to
53.3% (2001). This complies with the report by Nikoli} (2003) of the cultivar’s sus-
ceptibility to this disease.
Unlike cv Stanley, cv ^a~anska lepotica proved very slightly susceptible to
early and late brown rot (M. laxa and M. fructigena).
There was no evidence of infection with other fungal and bacterial diseases.

Conclusion
Under the conditions of the Central Balkan Mountains, the plum cultivar
^a~anska lepotica grafted on Myrobalan seedling, had satisfactory growing, even
without irrigation, with gathered and rather compact crown, which enables denser
orchard planting. The cultivar starts fruit-bearing at an early age, it is a regular and
abundant cropper. The fruits ripen early (end of July - early August), they are attrac-
tive, with separable stone and taste that is preferred by Bulgarian consumers.
Due to its satisfactory sharka tolerance, quality fruits and the possibility for pro-
duction intensification, the cultivar ^a~anska lepotica is particularly suitable for
enriching the plum assortment in our country.

Vo}arstvo, Vol. 39. br. 151 (2005, 3), 271–277 275

 References
Dragoyski, K., Dinkova, H., Stefanova, B. (2003): Promising cultivars for structure
formation of mountain plum production. Journal of Mountain Agriculture on the
Balkans, 6: 617-629.
Dragoyski, K. (2000): Investigation of plum pox and possibilities for its control. PhD
Thesis. RIMSA, Troyan, pp. 90-100.
Mondeshka, P., Dinkova, H., Minev, I., Dragoyski, K. (2002): Description of the fruits
of some plum cultivars grown in the collection orchards of RIMSA, Troyan.
Anniversary Scientific Session, ’120 Years Agricultural Science in Sadovo‘,
Collection, 3: 134-138.
Nikoli}, M., (2003): Tehnologija proizvodne {live, Grafika Jure{, ^a~ak.
Oga{anovi}, D., Plazini}, R. (1986): Oplemenjivanje {ljiva i ososbine novostvorenih
sorti i hibrida. Zbornik sa Jugoslovenskog simpozijuma o selekciji i oplemenji-
vanju vo}aka, ^a~ak, pp. 45-55.
Petruschke, M. (1989): Scharkatolerante Zwetschensorten fur den wirtschaftlihen
Anbau. Obst und Garten, 7: 402-404
Rankovi}, M. (1986): Ispitvanje otpornosti nekih novijih sorti šljiva prema virusu
šarke. Jugoslovensko vo}arstvo, 29: 601-606.

Primljeno: 01. 12. 2004.

Prihva}eno: 10. 05. 2005.

276 Vo}arstvo, Vol. 39. br. 151 (2005, 3), 271–277

 RAST I RODNOST SORTE [LJIVE ^A^ANSKA LEPOTICA GAJENE
U CENTRALNOJ PLANINSKOJ REGIJI BALKANA

Kalin Dragoyski, Hristina Dinkova, Teodora Spasova, Ivan Minev

Institut za istra`ivanja u planinskom sto~arstvu i poljoprivredi, Trojan, Bugarska

E-mail: inst@instroyan.com

Rezime
Sorta {ljive ^a~anska lepotica testira se u kolekcionim zasadima Instituta za
istra`ivanja u planinskom sto~arstvu i poljoprivredi, u Trojanu, od 1979. godine. U
aprilu 1977. godine zasnovan je komercijalni zasad sa ovom sortom.
Ova sorta pokazuje veoma dobre komercijalne osobine, kratak period sazre-
vanja, visoku otpornost na virus {arke i ra|a redovno i obilno (~ak i bez primene mera
navodnjavanja). Plodovi su veliki i privla~nog izgleda, sa ukusom sli~nim sorti {ljive
Kyustendilska. Kod gu{}e sadnje, ^a~anska lepotica pogodna je za intenzivne zasade.

Klju~ne re~i: [ljiva, sorta ^a~anska lepotica, rast i rodnost, osetljivost na {arku.

Author's address:
Kalin Dragoyski
Research Institute of Mountain Stockbreeding and Agriculture
281, Vasil Levski Str.
Troyan, 5600
Bulgaria

Vo}arstvo, Vol. 39. br. 151 (2005, 3), 271–277 277