Black currant Bagheera

Black currant is a fairly popular shrub in our country, which has long been in demand among gardeners. The fruits of this culture contain a very large amount of vitamins, and have a pleasant pronounced unforgettable aroma.
In addition, scented blackcurrant leaves can be safely brewed into tea. Black currant shrub can be found in almost any area during the first plantings. Every gardener dreams of getting a harvest of these tasty and healthy fruits. However, a plant variety that has certain characteristics and is adapted for a specific region is of great importance.
Therefore, before buying planting material for a shrub, you should familiarize yourself with the main characteristics of the variety in order to choose a currant that has tasty fruits, undemanding to care for, and at the same time abundantly fruiting. The Bagheera berry bush variety has proven itself well. This culture has been popular for a very long time, and to this day it occupies a leading position among black currant varieties. In this article, we will talk in more detail about this particular plant.

History

The culture was obtained at the Institute of Horticulture named after I.V. Michurin in the Tambov region, by crossing two varieties of currants. This is Bradtrop, whose homeland is Sweden and the Belarusian variety Minai Shmyrev... Experienced professional breeders K.D. Sergeeva and T.S. Zvyagina. For almost 10 years, the plant underwent various tests, and in 1994 it was officially registered in the register.

The hybrid was bred with a recommendation for growing for the following regions of Russia: the Ural region, West Siberian, East Siberian, Volgo-Vyatka, Middle Volga and North-West. Such a large number of regions, and, consequently, a variety of climatic conditions, are suitable for the cultivation of this variety, since the culture has good resistance to the frosty winter period, as well as to hot dry summers.

Black currant Bagheera - description and characteristics

The shrub is of medium height and fairly compact. The height of the stems can reach 2 meters, while the branches have a fairly large number of leaves. Outwardly, the bush seems thick. The shoots here are straight and small in size. The shade of the bark is light green. Older shoots are lignified and have a yellow bark. Sometimes a brown tint can be observed at the top of the shoots. The buds grow here singly and have an elongated egg shape. Sharpening is characteristic at the end. The shade of the kidneys is brown. The leaf plates are characterized by a five-lobed shape and have a wavy edge. The size of the leaf plates is average. The color of the leaves is light green. On the surface, the leaf plate is smooth without a characteristic shine. A small number of villi can be observed on the petioles.

The leaves of this variety are distinguished by their special strength of attachment to the petioles, so they do not fall off for a very long time before the winter period. It so happens that the leaves remain on the shrub and even during the winter months. This is an indisputable advantage for people, since very tasty and fragrant healthy tea can be prepared from the leaves throughout the spring, summer, autumn and winter. Some gardeners add black currant leaves when preserving various vegetables. As a rule, harvesting is done in the fall, so fresh leaves on the bushes will be very useful.

The shape of the glass is characteristic of the flowers. The flower length can be up to 8 cm.Up to 6-7 berries ripen on each brush, and several brushes are formed in each node.

The Bagheera variety is considered a mid-late variety in relation to the harvest time. So, ready-made ripe berries can be harvested at the end of July. The shrub enters fruiting early enough - already in the same year when the plant is planted, the first fruits can be harvested. The currant reaches its peak fruiting in another 2-3 years.

The crop is considered fruitful, since one bush is capable of producing up to 4 kg of berries on average. With industrial planting, 12 tons of currant berries can be removed from one hectare. A great advantage is the variety's suitability for machine harvesting.

The plant has good resistance to common currant diseases such as anthracnose and powdery mildew. Sometimes the culture is affected by rust. From insect pests, a kidney mite is isolated, which often attacks currant bushes. The Bagheera variety has sufficient resistance to spider mites and is unpretentious, not requiring special care. Moreover, the plant is able to adapt to any climatic conditions.

Fruit

Currant fruits of this variety are universal. They can be consumed both fresh and used for preparations. Berries contain a large amount of sugars, so both adults and children love them. Currant berries can be frozen, dried. Very tasty jam, wine, and also liquor are obtained from currants.

The fruits are quite large, despite the fact that there are currant varieties that have a larger berry size. Here the weight of each fruit is about 2 grams. The inside of the fruit contains a small amount of seeds. The berries are black and round. The crop ripens evenly. The peel of the fruit has a glossy surface, they taste very delicate, with a lot of juice. The separation of the berries remains dry, so the fruits are capable of long-term transportation. Berries have a great keeping quality if they are collected with brushes.

Each currant fruit of this Bagheera variety contains a large amount of dry substances, sugars, vitamin C, pectins and P-active substances. The fruits of the shrub ripen at the same time, while the berries are able not to crumble for a long time, retaining their external and taste qualities. The harvested crop can be stored for a long time, so you should not rush to processing here.

Black currant Bagheera: advantages and disadvantages

This plant is very popular among gardeners and has been grown on plots for a long time. The main advantage of the plant is considered to be high adaptation to various climatic conditions and undemanding culture. Sufficiently large size of berries and high external and taste properties, a large amount of harvest and a long shelf life, suitability for transportation.

Among the disadvantages are low plant resistance to insect pests and some diseases caused by the fungus. However, taking timely preventive measures, as well as using various preparations for plant protection, it is possible to solve this problem.

Black currant Bagheera: reviews

Gardeners who have already grown this culture on their site note that, despite the fact that the culture already has a very long history, it is still in great demand and occupies a worthy place on every site. Over time, the culture has established itself only on the positive side. Particularly pleasing is the self-fertility of the culture, the rapid ripening of fruits, as well as dry separation. At the same time, summer residents claim that the plant is often affected by a tick.

Other gardeners are dissatisfied with the small size of the fruit, the lack of yield compared to other varieties, and the vulnerability to pests. As a result, you have to pay great attention to the treatment of plants with insecticides.

Alexandra from Ufa notes that the bush shows itself only from the best side. If you follow all the rules of planting and care, then you can collect a fairly large crop, characterized by high taste. In addition, the plant is undemanding to watering, and even dry summers bear fruit well. Also, the summer resident notes the long storage of the leafy crown of the shrub - until the most severe frosts.

Conclusion

Bagheera black currant is the best option for growing on the site, since it is distinguished by abundant fruiting and high external and taste qualities of fruits that have a large amount of useful substances. In addition, the long-term preservation of the leaves on the shrub allows them to be used for brewing tea almost all year round.