The peach is a noble fruit with a rich history. The Tajiks have cultivated it since ancient times. Gardeners of the country have a special interest in growing this fruit. Because of its profitability.
Where are peaches grown?
There are no industrial peach plantations in Tajikistan yet, there are only farm orchards, but they give a stable harvest.
According to Nurmahmad Kamolov, head of the Institute of Horticulture, Viticulture and Greenery of the Academy of Agricultural Sciences of Tajikistan, under the USSR, due to the monoculture of cotton, the republic was unable to expand peach orchards.
Now more attention is paid to this crop – in the valley areas of Khatlon and Sughd regions, farmers are closely involved in the cultivation of different varieties of peaches.
Features of growing peaches
Peach orchards usually begin to bear fruit in the 3rd year after planting. Fruiting time depends on soil, care and climate. Under favorable conditions, the harvest is actively formed over the course of 20 years.
The peach biologically belongs to the plum family of the Rosaceae family. In the economic classification, it ranks among the stands of stone fruits such as cherries, cherries, plums and apricots.
The peach tree is propagated by seed and grafting. Seedlings are used as rootstock.
Productivity up to 20 tons per hectare.
The specialist draws gardeners’ attention to the fact that when establishing plantations, it is necessary to plant several varieties so that the trees pollinate each other. The peach belongs to the group of pollinating plants and needs a partner.
Peach tree in bloom
Photo from the spriroda.club website
Nurmakhmad Kamolov does not recommend occupying the garden area with only one variety. When there are more varieties of peaches in the garden, it is also beneficial from an economic point of view – when the early varieties fail to yield, they are replaced by mid-ripening varieties, followed by late varieties. You can enjoy peaches from the beginning of summer until late autumn.
Peach moderately loves heat and light, is resistant to frost, but dies at a temperature of -20 ºС. It is particularly cold-tolerant during spring flowering.
What kinds of peaches are there?
15 varieties of peaches are grown in almost all regions of the country. There are over 300 hectares of peach orchards in Uzun jamoat in Jaloliddini Balkhi district alone, where over 13 varieties of these fruits are grown.
In addition, several foreign varieties are currently being tested at pilot sites. The specialist is convinced that many of them will take root in the natural, climatic and soil conditions of Tajikistan
Peach varieties are divided into two groups.
The first group consists of real peaches – with fluff, with soft flesh. They are called “Shaftolo”.
The second group is nectarines (“shaftolui lucak”), which are without fluff.
Scientists have recently classified fig peaches (also known as flat or Fergana peaches) as a separate species of peach. They look similar to the flat type of figs, but are biologically far from it, which is why figs are included in the mulberry group.
What varieties are there in Tajikistan?
Among the 15 varieties of peaches, one can distinguish the old American variety “Alexander”, which was brought to Tajikistan from Russia and began to be cultivated after the establishment of Soviet power. Its trees begin to bear fruit in the 3rd year after planting. This is an excellent early table variety.
Peach “Alexander”
Cumberland peaches ripen in August. They are highly resistant to winter and spring cold.
Ravganigov is a group of varieties that differ in terms of ripening and fruit shape (among them – late, No. 1, No. 2, etc.). All varieties of this variety have late-ripening fruits, yellow in color, without blush and without anthocyanin coloration around the seed, with flesh of an oily consistency, as a result of which they receive the name Ravgani gov, which means cow’s butter. This variety is mainly used for table and dried fruit purposes.
Nectarine “Abundant” is the result of pollination of the variety “Yellow” with a mixture of pollen from the varieties “Sara Oil” and “Arp Beauty”. Obtained from the Samarkand branch of the Horticulture, Viticulture and Viticulture NPO. It began to be cultivated in Tajikistan in the 1960s.
Lola nectarine is the most popular species in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. This variety is characterized by drought resistance and productivity. In addition, this variety is widely used in the decorative decoration of gardens, because during the flowering period it is densely covered with large pinkish flowers that emit a pleasant aroma.
Nectarine Lola
Among the third type of peaches, the local variety “Anchiri Surkh” (peach with red fig) is the most popular among gardeners in Tajikistan. It is characterized by flat fruits, a groove in the pit and unbranched veining of the leaves. There are pubescent and nectarines.
In addition to these varieties, peach and nectarine varieties such as ‘Malina’, ‘Elberta’, ‘Farkhod’, ‘Guldor’, ‘Sumbuli’, ‘Ravshan’, ‘Ozoda’ and ‘Zarnigor’ are grown in Tajikistan.
Peach fig
The root system of all peach varieties is not embedded more than 60-70 cm into the soil, and therefore the crop requires watering in dry hot weather. For this reason, it is not grown in rainy areas.
Peach country
Around 23-25 million tons of peaches and nectarines are grown in the world annually. About 70% of the world’s production of this fruit comes from China, which produces 16 million tons annually. The largest producers also include: Spain – 1.2 million tons, Italy – 1 million tons, Turkey – 900 thousand. tons, USA and Iran – 800 thousand each
Greece is the leader in peach production per person, this country produces 55 kg of peaches and nectarines per inhabitant per year. Next comes Spain – 26, Armenia – 20, Chile – 18 and Italy – 17 kg.
Tajikistan, along with China, Iran and Afghanistan, claims to be the birthplace of the peach.
According to FAO – the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Tajikistan annually produces 30-32 thousand tons of peaches. 3 kg per person per year, the average yield is 5-10 tons per hectare. This is much lower than the global figures.
Five facts about peaches
The word “peach” in Russian comes from the term “Persian apple”.
Nectarines are a mutation of peaches that remove the typical peach hairs from the fruit. Historical evidence suggests that nectarines were first cultivated in Central Asia over 2,000 years ago.
Peach unwittingly became the “father” of the popular game – basketball. In 1891, school coach James Naismith used hanging baskets to collect these fruits to throw balls, as directed by the headmaster, to distract students from idleness.
Peaches do not occur in the wild. This culture was developed through a large number of crosses.
It was a peach that became the first fruit eaten on the moon. In July 1969, American astronauts Neil Armstrong and his partner Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon on the Apollo 11 spacecraft and ate one peach.
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