Quince fruit have strong and nice aroma and valuable food ingredients. The large content of pectin, combined with the tannin content has simultaneously anti-inflammatory and clamping action. Pectin is particularly valuable, which appears as a kind of “sweeper” to the pathogen and waste products from the intestines of man.
Quince fruit can also be used for fresh consumption, but mainly for processing into compotes, nectar, sweets, jams, etc. The seeds and the fruit meat is used as tea against cold, ocular diseases and inflammation of the skin. Quince juice and compote are appropriate food and a drug in the event of illnesses of the digestive system. From 1 tree there can be received 80 – 100 and even 400 kg. quince fruit.
Biological and botanical features
The quince develops as a bush or a tree with a height of 1.5 to 8 m. Comes into fruit production early. Blossoms late, due to which it is assumed that it is not endangered by late spring frosts. In fact, young fruit buds may be damaged by -2°C frosts. The heat is a decisive factor for the wide distribution of the quince. Temperatures of -23&-25° damage fruit buds as well as weak and older twigs and branches in the deepest winter standstill. At – 27°C whole trees will die.
Fruit grow intensively and ripen late which requires a long and warm autumn. Therefore in high places quincе fruit cannot ripen.
The quince tree grows well on various soils, but does not bear ones containing lime, where is suffers from chlorosis and dies early. Optimal humidity – around 70 % is necessary during the entire vegetation period and especially during the intense growth of fruit in August and September.
Varieties
The quince is represented by a limited number of varieties: Portugal Triumph, Czech, Pl djishkа, Leskovatska, etc. The Portuguese quince is widely popular in Bulgaria. Because of its great sensitivity to the disease of bitter pit on fruit its distribution is limited, in favour of the cultivation of local sorts : Triumph, Asenitsa, and Hemus.
Cultivation
The quince is a suitable culture for small private orchards. Varieties are grafted on growing seasonal quince pads. One-year-old trees are used, some varieties exhibit autonomy or partial autonomy, due to which it is necessary to overlap several varieties of good pollinators. Agrotechnique is as with the apple and attention is paid to the watering in August and September. It is attacked by disease spoils the very young fruit, which could derail the whole harvest. It is also attacked by soft rot and bitter pits on fruit. In retarded harvesting earlier and in larger amounts there appear bitter nuts on the fruit.