Pear Nika

At the Michurin Institute, a whole team of breeders worked on the breeding of the Nick pear variety, therefore the authorship belongs not to one, but to six scientists at once. As a result of crossing two excellent varieties "Talgar beauty" and "Daughter of the Dawn", a tree was obtained that inherited the best qualities from them: high yield, large fruit size and excellent taste characteristics. The fruits of this winter variety can be stored for a long time without losing their qualities and presentation. In addition, the breeders managed to achieve another important goal, which they aspired to - the Nika pear variety perfectly tolerates low temperatures, and therefore it can be grown throughout the territory of our country, with its diverse and unstable climate. In this article, we will consider Nick's pear in more detail, consider its characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of the variety, as well as the rules for planting and caring for the plant.

Pear Nika: variety description and characteristics

Pear Nika: photo of the variety

Pear Nika belongs to undersized varieties, the height of an adult tree is no more than three and a half meters. The crown of the tree has a spherical shape, possessing good decorative qualities. The "skeleton" of the tree is made up of the main branches that extend from the trunk at an almost 90 degree angle. The branches are not very thick, the bark of the tree is brown. The older the tree becomes, the more sparse its crown looks. The leaves are not much different from the foliage of other varieties: they are oval, slightly pointed, with a smooth, but glossy surface. Nika's white flowers are relatively large.

Pear Nika begins to bear fruit early - in the fourth or fifth year after planting the seedling. The shape of the fruit is classic, just like that, which is called "pear-shaped". In a state of technical ripeness, they are green with a visible red on the sides, and in a state of full ripeness they turn yellow. The weight of one pear is about 170-185 g, that is, they are considered large. The peel is without roughness, smooth, with a slight waxy bloom. The flesh of the cream-colored Nika pear variety is very tender and juicy, sweet and sour, with a slight aftertaste of nutmeg.

Features of the variety

The Nika pear variety is very high-yielding, they begin to harvest the fruits in the second half of September, at this time they are still in a state of technical ripeness and they can be transported without fear of damage or crushing. Pears can ripen both in harvested form and on a tree - full ripeness occurs in October, and even when filled with juice, pears do not fall to the ground.

If you have a basement or cellar at your disposal, the temperature in which is kept around 0 degrees, then pears can be stored there for several months, while they will not lose their presentation and will not lose their taste.

The fruits of the Nika pear variety are most useful fresh, as they contain a record amount of vitamins and useful acids for pears. You can also make jams, compotes, jams, desserts and pie filling, marmalade, juice and even homemade wine from such pears.
Nick's pear variety needs pollinating trees, so other pears should be planted on the site, which will bloom in the same period as Nick's pear. "

The main pride of the breeders was the frost resistance of Nick's pear - the tree is able to withstand frosts down to -38 degrees. In addition, it should be noted that the plant has a good immunity - Nika's pear successfully resists the main "pear" diseases of scab and entomosporia.

Also, this variety does not impose special requirements on the composition of the soil and care, but still it is necessary to avoid heavy dense soils and waterlogging - both of which can undermine the health of the tree and negatively affect the yield.

Pear Nika: advantages and disadvantages

Analyzing reviews from gardeners who grow Nick's pear on their plots, we can conclude that this pear has much more advantages than disadvantages. Summer residents praise the tree's high immunity, its unpretentiousness and excellent fruit taste.

Among the main merits Nick's pears can be noted:

• high resistance to cold weather, which allows you not to worry about plants in frosty winters.
• regenerative ability, thanks to which even frozen branches are able to recover and give a crop.
• long shelf life of the crop - if all the necessary conditions are met, you can store it almost until the end of winter, while the fruits will not lose their taste and appearance.
• the tasting score of this pear variety is practically maximum - 4.5 on a five-point scale.
• the plant has excellent immunity to many infections.
• harvesting is easy and convenient due to the tree's low growth.

And of course, one cannot fail to note some limitations:

• the variety is self-fertile, so you will need to plant other pears nearby, otherwise you can not count on the harvest.
• the crown of the tree needs mandatory pruning.

Agree, against the background of the above-mentioned strengths of the "Nika" variety, it is difficult to name two minor disadvantages and disadvantages. All these qualities make the Nika pear a very popular fruit tree, which is grown not only by summer residents on their plots, but also by larger farms for industrial use.

Pear Nika: planting varieties

If you are a beginner gardener and are just planning to start a garden, then Nick's pear will be perfect for you and, due to its unpretentiousness, will not give you any trouble. If you already have some experience behind your shoulders, and you are used to responsibly caring for fruit trees, then growing Nick's pear variety will be just a holiday for you, again thanks to the unpretentiousness of the tree.

Site preparation and landing. When buying seedlings, you need to carefully examine them - a healthy 1-2-year-old plant has a smooth bark, roots are developed and elastic. Do not buy a plant if you have the slightest doubt about its appearance.

The pear should be planted in a well-lit place, after making sure that the groundwater is deep enough.

The planting hole should be prepared in advance, at least 2-3 weeks in advance, and even better - six months in advance. That is, for spring planting, the pit should be prepared in the fall and vice versa - for autumn planting, the pit is prepared in the spring.

The depth of such a pit is about a meter, diameter is about 80 cm. The top fertile soil layer should be mixed with compost, wood ash and phosphorus fertilizer (about 200 g) should be added. First, a pole is driven into the bottom of the hole, tall and strong enough to support your seedling. Then you should lay the drainage from stones, broken bricks, gravel and fill in 3-4 winds of the prepared soil mixture. In this form, the prepared place is left until the moment when the time comes to plant a tree.

On the day of planting, the roots of the seedling can be immersed in water at room temperature for one and a half to two hours, then the seedling can be placed in the center of the planting pit, spreading its roots on the nutrient soil poured in advance, attached to the support and covered with the remnants of fertile soil. When the hole is completely filled up, the tree must be watered with two or three buckets of water. After that, the soil will settle, so you will have to add earth and now you can tamp it a little, and then mulch it with any available material.

If pears do not grow on your site, then at the same time as the Nika pear, you will need to plant another variety and select it so that the flowering times of the plants coincide.
If you have sufficient experience, then you can graft Nick's pear cut onto another variety.

Pear Nika: variety care

Pear Nika: photo of the variety

The unpretentiousness of the plant does not at all exclude some care for it. So, for example, a five-centimeter layer of mulch will not only prevent moisture evaporation, but also protect the plant roots from overheating in the heat and from freezing in winter.

For the first two or three years, you do not have to worry about feeding the tree, as it has enough food put in the hole during the planting process. In the future, it will be necessary to fertilize the tree with mineral fertilizers, focusing on potassium-phosphorus supplements and not abusing nitrogen.

When watering plants, use the following system:

• The first time the pear is watered is when the buds are about to begin to bloom.
• The second watering follows two weeks after the first
• The third water recharge irrigation is carried out after the entire crop has been harvested.

In other cases, each gardener determines the need for watering independently, depending on the climate and weather conditions.

Pruning of the tree should be carried out every spring. Before the start of sap flow, all broken or damaged branches should be removed, and all healthy ones should be shortened by 10-15 cm. This procedure is necessary to rejuvenate the crown.

To prevent the invasion of harmful insects, a preventive treatment with an insecticide should be carried out before flowering.

In the northern regions, even the most frost-resistant varieties need additional insulation for the winter, so the trunk and lower branches of the tree should be wrapped with burlap or geotextile, and the trunk circle should be thoroughly mulched. By the way, due to the fact that the summer in such areas is rather short, even the sweetest pears can turn out to be sour, since they simply did not have enough sunny and warm days to accumulate enough sugar.

Outcome

Summing up, we can conclude that the Nika pear variety is perfect for both a private garden and an extensive farm, it does not deliver a lot of cotton to gardeners, has excellent immunity and excellent yield. Its large and sweet fruits are wonderfully stored and are easy to harvest thanks to the tree's short stature. You just need to remember to plant a pollinator and spend some time annually in the spring on pruning the tree, and the result will surprise and delight you.

Pear Nika: reviews

In conclusion, we present the reviews of gardeners who have been growing Nick's pear variety for several years:

Victor Vladimirovich, Obninsk.
I bought a two-year-old "Niki" sapling, the tree took root well, but froze a little during the first winter, despite the declared high frost resistance. Then it quickly recovered and bloomed a year later. That is, the tree was five years old when we were able to taste the first fruits (as many as six pieces!). Since then, we harvest every year at the end of September, the fruits are very tasty, although they are not stored for more than a month and a half (although there is no basement or cellar, we store it on a glazed balcony).

Nikolay, Suzdal.
The whole family is happy with Nick's pear, I have never regretted buying this particular variety - every year the tree gives an excellent harvest. Only the last year I found scab spots on several fruits, although I was sure of immunity against this sore. So now I will carry out preventive treatment in the spring.