The aim of the study was to breed highly adaptive pear varieties that combine high ripeness, nutmeg flavor, as well as long-term fruit keeping during storage. In the Research Institute of Horticulture and Medicinal Plants «Zhigulevskie Sady», work on breeding pear varieties with nutmeg flavor was started by S. P. Kedrin in 1934 with the use of the Williams summer variety in breeding work, and later in 1985, this breeding work with the use of qualitative characteristics of the Williams red variety as a donor the work was continued by A. A. Kuznetsov in order to obtain varieties of pears with a nutmeg flavor. In addition to obtaining varieties with the desired taste qualities, the breeding work of the Institute is aimed at obtaining varieties with high adoptive qualities for use as a garden crop in the conditions of the Middle Volga region. In 2021, the Yakhontovaya variety (Volozhka x Williams red) bred at the institute is included in the State Register for the 7th region. The article also provides a brief description of 4 promising varieties of pears with nutmeg flavor well adapted to local conditions. Three varieties: Dar Zhiguley, Muskatka, Yakhontovaya were obtained as a result of distant crosses with the participation of the Ussuri pear (P. ussuriensis M.), and the fourth variety Volshebnitsa is an intervarietal hybrid. All of them belong to the group of early-fruiting varieties. A long period of fruit consumption (1.5-2 months) was observed in Muskatka and Dar Zhiguley varieties. The Yakhontovaya variety has high commodity and consumer qualities. The varieties have a complex of biologically and economically valuable traits and can be used in breeding. The creation of pear varieties with high-quality fruits capable of competing with foreign ones seems to be quite a possible task for breeders.

The research was carried out in order to assess the winter hardiness of apple varieties of the Oryol and Michurinsky selection, as well as the elite hybrids of the selection of the Scientific Research Institute of Horticulture and Medicinal Plants Zhigulevskie Sady in the conditions of the continental climate characteristic of the Samara region. Freezing of annual branches taken from trees of 1011 years of age was carried out in the laboratory under controlled conditions of a freezer at extreme negative temperatures for the 2nd (40C) and 4th (35C after thaw) components of winter hardiness. After freezing, their damage was assessed in April, the results were compared by years of research. Simultaneously with the assessment of winter hardiness in the laboratory, the general condition of trees of these varieties and elite hybrids was assessed in the field conditions of the experimental garden of the Scientific Research Institute of Horticulture and Medicinal Plants Zhigulevskie Sady, in August 2020 and 2021. The general condition and adaptation to low temperatures of the objects of the study were compared with dependence on the agro-climatic conditions of the growing season on the basis of meteorological data of the Samara GMC. During the study, varieties and elites of apple trees of various breeding with high winter hardiness were identified, surpassing control varieties such as Antonovka obyknovennaya, Kutuzovets, Severniy Sinap and others in this indicator. It is quite logical that winter-hardy apple trees, in the absence of winter damage, may have stronger immunity to diseases and resistance to pests. Therefore, the widespread introduction of new varieties and hybrids into industrial gardening will contribute to the creation of a more favorable agroecological environment in the gardens of the Samara region and the Middle Volga region.