Šampionka

It derived from a cross of 'William's Bon Chrétien' and 'Président Drouard'. The hybridization was carried out in 1952, and it was named and released in 1977. The breeder was prof. Dr. Asen Stančević

The tree is medium vigorous, robust and fairly spread, similar to 'Bartlett'. The trunk is straight and strong, with smooth, grey-brown bark. The crown is moderately wide, with strong main branches which grow at 60^°. Short fruit bearing spurs and short branches predominate. It bears some crop on long slender branches prone to breaking under heavy crop. The shape and color of branches are similar to those of 'William's Bon Chrétien'. The flower buds are medium-sized, conical, obtuse, light brown. Leaf buds are small and pointed. The leaf is medium-sized, elliptical. The flower is medium-sized, white and open. It belongs in a group of cultivars with mid-late flowering time i.e. 1-2 days before 'William's Bon Chrétien'. Good pollinators are pears 'Passe Crassane', 'Packham's Triumph', 'Stark Delicious', 'Dr J. Guyot', etc. It is a diploid cultivar producing abundant pollen with good germination ability. Bears fruits very early, in the second year after planting, bearing high and regular crops. It is moderately resistant to diseases and pests, similar to 'William's Bon Chrétien'. It is in good affinity with quince.

The fruit is very large (250 g average fruit weight). The shape is piriform (95 mm long and 75 mm wide on average). The calyx is medium-sized and open, russet and half-bent, with small and pointed sepals. The basin is roundish and large, finely wrinkled, russet. The skin is smooth, thin, glossy, adhering tightly to the flesh. The ground color is greenish-yellow taking on lemon-yellow with ripening, slightly red blushed on the sunny side. The flesh is whitish-yellow, juicy and melting. It has sweet-subacid flavor and pleasant aroma with no grit cells. It contains 14% soluble solids, 0.15% acids and 11% total sugars. The core is small, oval, placed in the middle of the fruit. The seeds are medium large to large, oval, brown. The stalk is medium large and rather stout, grey-brown. The stem cavity is small and shallow, slightly ribbed. The fruits do not transport well due to their smooth and thin skin.

It ripens in the first decade of September, 10-15 days after 'William's Bon Chrétien'.

Owing to its large and superior quality, suitability for both industrial processing and dessert consumption Šampionka deserves to be grown more widely in pear plantings.

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