Black currant Rita

Modern summer residents may not worry about the meager variety of varieties and types of fruit trees and shrubs, especially black currants. Black currant Rita is not capricious in agricultural technology, it gives a good amount of harvest, but it is worth remembering that not all varieties have such characteristics. Further in the article, a variety of black currants will be considered, its description and characteristics, ripening time and features of agricultural technology.

Black currant Rita: characteristic of the variety

Black currant Rita: photo of the variety

Rita black currant most often grows large in size, has a strong growth rate, but does not take up much space on the site, the crown density is assessed as strong. The currant bush has branches that grow straight, without villi, at the time of abundant growth, the branches are distinguished by a light greenish color. Mature woody branches are brown in color. The buds on the branches are small, ovoid in shape, the color is bright crimson and brown at the same time, placed one at a time.

The foliage of the currant bush is small or medium in size, has five blades, a dark green color, with a shiny tint. On the surface of the foliage there are wrinkles, dense, no villi are observed. All the shoulder blades of the foliage are wide, pointed to the tip, the shoulder blades located on the sides look in different directions.

The leaf plate has small and short serrations at the edges, and the upper part is also pointed. In the process of flowering, the currant bush is completely covered with large, goblet-shaped flowers, the color is light pink. Sepals recede, slightly covered. The flower clusters are medium in size, rather dense, the axis is thick, hanging down.

The origin of this variety of black currant

Rita black currant is a relatively recent selection. It was developed in the early nineties of the twentieth century at the Research Institute of Horticulture in Siberia, thanks to selection specialists. It took breeding specialists a couple of years to acquire the persistent characteristics of this variety, and already in 2001 this black currant variety was added to the state register of breeding achievements. Nowadays, this variety is recommended for cultivation in the West Siberian and Volga-Vyatka regions of our country, as well as in countries with similar climatic conditions.

note! The first cultivation of black currants in Russia dates back to the eleventh century in the gardens of monasteries. Thanks to this, you can hear how this fruit variety is called the "monastery berry".

Description of the currant variety Rita

Black currant Rita: photo of the variety

Rita black currant is considered herbaceous with a common ripening time. Fruit ripening takes place at the same time and lasts about twenty to thirty days, which means that the harvest is carried out throughout July, approximately until its completion. The berries of this variety are distinguished by a deep black color, there is no shine on the surface. The berries contain a large amount of juice, there is more sweetness in the taste than sourness, the density of the peel is estimated as average. Berries with a characteristic spherical regular shape, the fruit stem is thin, light green.

The fruits are distinguished by their high taste, berries with a bright sweet taste and slight sourness, a fresh currant smell, they can be used for almost all heat treatments. The berries are quite large, most often the mass of one berry varies from one and a half to four and a half grams. This helps the variety to have an average yield of about thirteen tons per hectare, with a maximum yield of about fourteen to sixteen tons per hectare.

When assessing the qualities of black currant, Rita and most importantly find out the chemical constituents of the fruit. Berries have a record amount of vitamins of groups A, B, C, E, H, PP, K, and also calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, cobalt, iron, molybdenum, copper, chromium, selenium, zinc.

A hundred gram portion of a fresh crop accounts for about forty-five calories, one gram of protein, five tenths of a gram of fat, seven and a half grams of carbohydrates, two hundred milligrams of vitamin C, three hundred and fifty grams of potassium, thirty one milligrams of magnesium, fifteen hundredths of a milligram of vitamin B6, two c half a microgram of vitamin H, seven-tenths of a milligram of vitamin E, thirty-three milligrams of phosphorus, twelve and a half milligrams of vitamin B4, four hundredths of a milligram of vitamin B2.

Black currant Rita: pros and cons

Benefits of Rita Blackcurrant:

• large berries.
• amazing taste of berries.
• a good degree of resistance to some ailments and parasites.
• the highest immunity to subzero temperatures and drought.
• the ability to transport crops over long distances.

Imperfections of the Rita currant variety:

• unsatisfactory degree of resistance to most parasites.
• berries ripen at different times.

Blackcurrant Rita: care

Most often, Rita's black currant is ranked among the group of non-capricious herbaceous in terms of agricultural technology, which means that the cultivation of currants does not require a lot of energy, time and money from the summer resident. But in order to obtain a truly large amount of harvest, it is necessary to strictly follow the special cultivation technology of the variety: it includes special agricultural techniques for planting material, the correct planting procedure.

Rita black currant requires a sufficient amount of sunlight and moisture in the area, thanks to these parameters, a beautiful fruit bush can be cultivated. Grassy requires a lot of sunlight, which means that it is necessary to plant it only in sunny and open areas, remember that various structures and grassy ones should be located no more than three meters.

Currant Rita does not tolerate winds and drafts; to avoid them, shrubs are cultivated near fences on the more illuminated sides of the summer cottage, or a special garden fence is installed.

Note! The culture is not picky about the soil, but it grows more abundantly and yields a crop exclusively on fed loamy soils.

Also black currant Rita prefers moisture, but in moderation. In order to prevent waterlogging, planting material is cultivated exclusively in areas where groundwater is not less than one hundred centimeters. Shrubs also need to be endowed with excellent ventilation, it is recommended to plant shrubs on small hills or plains.

Black currant Rita: cultivation

Black currant variety Rita: variety photo

Most often, the generally accepted measures for agricultural technology behind a fruit bush are quite enough to endow it with the most comfortable conditions. We recommend paying special attention to timely moisture and fertilization.

The currant variety Rita is moistened during the entire growing season, approximately once every seven days; in case of prolonged droughts, two or three moistening is carried out in seven days.Moisturizing is carried out in the morning or at night, using for this procedure a purified and settled liquid of about five to twelve liters per one shrub.

Note! Immediately before planting, the territory needs to be well fed, for each square meter of soil, five kilograms of humus or mullein are used, and another hundred grams of superphosphate.

Fertilizers for black currant Rita are used exclusively when they reach the age of two, because in the first twelve months it is not advised to overload the herb with highly saturated components. Then the herbaceous one must be applied a systematic complex fertilizer. Every year at the beginning of the spring season, twenty five to thirty grams of ammonium nitrate are applied to all shrubs. Once every two years, immediately before the flowering process, the soil is fed with potassium and phosphorus, approximately one hundred and fifty grams of superphosphate and fifty grams of potassium nitrate are used for each square meter.

Elimination of various ailments and parasites

The selection experts endowed the black currant of the Rita variety with a high level of resistance to almost all parasites and diseases. But not a single herb is immune to rust infestation. It is possible to remove it from the plant by sprinkling the bush with Bordeaux mixture twice. This procedure is performed with a two week interval. And terry can not be eliminated, unfortunately, it is necessary to remove the infected plant from the site and burn it. The main thing is to carry out preventive procedures.

You can get rid of spider mites with the help of tobacco or onion infusion. One part of tobacco or husk is placed in ten parts of liquid for twenty-four hours, then the drug is filtered and five grams of finely chopped soap is used for ten liters, household soap is recommended.

You can get rid of aphids, kidney mites, narrow-bodied gall midges, and shoot gall midges with the help of special chemicals.

Pruning and shaping shrubs

Correct pruning and shaping of the shrub is considered the main guarantee of a large amount of harvest, these procedures apply to all fruit crops. Berries are formed on young and abundant branches, which means pruning must be done every year.

For the first time, the procedure is performed a year after planting, preferably at the beginning of the spring season: all skeletal branches are reduced by one third, the crown must be thinned out without touching three to four branches. Then the crown is thinned out with a uniform increase in the number of branches. In the fifth or sixth year, there will be about fifteen to twenty branches on the bush.

After about ten years of age, it is necessary to carry out a rejuvenation procedure. In the spring season, the shrub must be completely pruned without touching the root rosette. At about two years of age, the shrub will begin to produce abundant crops. This amount of herbaceous crop will not lose another five years, then it is advised to uproot old shrubs and plant young ones.

Preparation of fruit shrubs for the winter season

To ensure a long lasting and safe health condition during the winter season, herbaceous plants need to be prepared well in advance. Approximately seven to fourteen days before winter, clear the area of ​​dirt and weeds, then plow the soil well thirty centimeters deep. Then the beds are thoroughly moistened.

Rita black currant bushes are covered with a layer of mulch: the trunk and the soil near it are mulched with peat or humus, an approximate thickness of about fifteen centimeters. Then the whole currant bush is covered with a special material.

Harvesting and transportation of fruits, storage time for berries

The collection of the fruits of this fruit currant variety is not carried out at one time, starting from the second - third week of the first summer month and ending in the first week of the last summer month. The berries are harvested by hand in small containers made of plastic or metal. Then the berries are poured into one vessel, it is recommended to take a box made of wood or plastic.

Berries of the Rita currant variety differ in their long holding time, approximately fourteen days immediately after removal. But for this, the berries should be provided with special conditions. To do this, the fruits are placed in a refrigerator or space with a temperature of no more than five to fifteen degrees and a humidity of no more than eighty percent. For longer storage times, the fruits are placed in the freezer, where they can be stored for six to twelve months immediately after harvesting.

Interesting! In our country, the black currant Rita is cultivated in larger sizes than all over the world. Every year in Russia, approximately five hundred thousand tons of berries are obtained, which is fifty percent of the black currant harvest from all over the world.

Black currant Rita is an excellent option for amateur and industrial cultivation, according to the opinions of summer residents, the herbaceous one bears a large number of fruits, with excellent taste and a long keeping time. But during cultivation, the shrub asks for a lot of attention, because short-term droughts and a lack of mineral components in the soil will adversely affect the harvest and the black currant Rita itself.