Cydonia

Cydonia, Crete: see Khaniá.

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Cydonia 

a genus of plants of the family Rosaceae, subfamily Pomoideae. It is represented by one species, the common quince(Cydonia oblonga).

Quince grows on a small tree or shrub, 1.5–5 m tall, with simple, smooth-edged leaves and single white or pink flowers. The fruit is yellow, the pulp astringent with stone cells. Wild quince is common in the Caucasus, Middle Asia, and Iran. It is cultivated in the Mediterranean area, western Central Europe, North America, Japan, and elsewhere. In the USSR quince is grown in Central Asia, Transcaucasia, Moldavia, the Lower Volga region, the Ukraine, and the southern RSFSR.

The fruit contains 7.22–15.06 percent sugars, 0.24–1.26 percent organic acids, and 0.18–0.98 percent pectin. It is used to make jam, compote, jelly, candied peels, and marmalade. Quince is used as stock for pears. The best varieties of quince in the USSR are Samarkandskaia krupnoplodnaia, Khorezmskaia iablokovidnaia, Anzherskaia, and Maslianaia ranniaia. Quince grows in dwarf forms (1–2 m) with small fruit (30–40 g) and tall-growing forms (8–10 m) with large fruit (2–2.5 kg). Quince is propagated by slips and cuttings and by grafting and is cultivated in the same manner as other fruit trees. It is injured by such pests as the apple aphid and the apple worm and is subject to attack by rust and black rot.

REFERENCES

Deviatov, A. S. Aiva, 2nd ed. Stalingrad, 1960.
Gorin, T. I. Aiva, 2nd ed. Moscow, 1961.

T. I. GORIN