Black currant Prestige

Such a berry culture as black currant is currently considered one of the most popular and widespread shrubs grown in the backyards of our country and not only. Moreover, this is not at all surprising, because this bush has collected not only the simplicity of cultivation and caring for it, but also a whole range of useful and healing substances. Due to its qualities and the huge popularity of this berry culture, there are a large number of subspecies. In this article, we will consider one of its most worthy and beautiful varieties, which has the name Prestige, because it has not only excellent taste characteristics, but also a number of other distinctive features. Below we will analyze what black currant Prestige is endowed with qualities and disadvantages, how to grow it and care for it, all the pros and cons of its cultivation.

Black currant Prestige: variety description

Currant Prestige: photo of the variety

The external characteristics of this bush and its berries are of course very important when describing this subspecies of currant, but first of all I would like to note its high level of hardiness to frost and dry season, its early maturity, as well as excellent immunity to such dangerous and common diseases and pests as mealy dew, hazel-grouse, gall aphids and other harmful insects. The final ripening of the fruits of this variety occurs in the first half of August, although they are allowed to be harvested a little earlier, especially those shrubs that grow in the southern territories of our country. The ripe fruits of this subspecies of black currant are used for a variety of purposes: even for fresh consumption, although in the form of ingredients for preparing preparations for the winter, such as jam, jam, compote, jam.

It is worth mentioning one interesting fact: in ancient times this berry culture was popularly called the monastery berry, since it was on the territory of the monasteries that this bush was actively grown. This culture was mentioned a long time ago, in the 11th century, in the chronicles of the Novgorod and Pskov monks. And the plant began to be cultivated in the form of a berry culture only after five centuries.

The currant variety Prestige appeared in the Scientific Research Institute of Horticulture of Siberia named after V.I. M.A. Lisavenko, thanks to the works of breeders such as Z.S. Zotova, I.P. Kalinina, N.I. Nazarnyuk, M.A. Pershina and I.L. Tesley, by crossing the varieties of Seedling Dove and Lepaan Musta. Since 203, the subspecies has been on the State Test of Varieties.

Black currant Prestige: characteristics and features of the variety

Black currant Prestige is a representative of tall plants, has a semi-sprawling nature and well-developed shoots. Stems at a young age are endowed with an average indicator of thickness, they are erect, fawn and with a little pubescence. Lignified shoots have a pale brown tint and the least dense pubescence. The kidneys have a rounded elongated shape, a relatively large size and a slightly sharp tip. Such processes have a slight deviation to the sides in relation to the shoot itself, often located one at a time, while the upper bud is in a free position.

The leaves of this shrub have five lobes. They have an intense green color and medium size. The surface of the leaf plate is matte, has no pubescence.The upper leaves are convex and leathery; venation is clearly visible on them, which cannot be said about the leaves below.

All the blades that make up the leaf plate are slightly elongated, sharp at the end. The middle part of the leaf plate is endowed with additional protrusions, and the side blades have a direction to the sides, or are directed upwards. Near the base of the sheet there is a notch, covered by the edges of its parts of its constituents. The petioles are of medium length, green in color and quite pubescent. They have the smallest saturated shade at the edges and have a deviation with respect to the shoot at almost right angles.

During flowering on this shrub, goblet-shaped and medium-sized flowers are formed. Sepals have a rich pink hue, they do not have the peculiarity of closing together, therefore, they look outwardly slightly bent back. The stigma of the pistil is at the same level as the anther. The brushes have an average length, a little loose, the axis is sinuous and thick, green in color, with a light color.

After a period of flowering, quite large fruits are formed on this shrub. One such berry can reach a mass of 1.6-3.3 grams. They are round and black in color. The surface of the fruit is covered with a fairly dense skin. The inside of the fruit contains relatively few seeds, which is undoubtedly considered another distinctive advantage when using these berries.

These fruits have a dry separation when removed. They taste sweet, with a small amount of sourness; during tasting, they received an assessment of 4.5 points out of five possible. It should be noted that the ripening of these fruits occurs almost simultaneously, from the middle of the summer season to August. Ripe berries of this subspecies of black currant have a fairly rich chemical composition, which includes: soluble solids from 13.3 to 14.3 percent, sugars 7.6 percent, vitamin C (ascorbic acid) 72.6 milligrams per 100 grams of product, pectins (wet weight) 2.3 percent. Consider in more detail the composition of these berries (from the daily allowance): calorie content 44 kcal, proteins 1 gram, fats 0.4 grams, carbohydrates 7.3 grams (per 100 grams of product); vitamin C 200 milligrams (222 percent), potassium 350 milligrams (14 percent), magnesium 31 milligrams (7.8 percent), vitamin B6 0.13 milligrams (6.5 percent), vitamin H 2.4 milligrams (4.8 percent), vitamin E 0.7 milligrams (4.7 percent), phosphorus 33 milligrams (4.1 percent), vitamin B4 12.3 milligrams (2.5 percent), vitamin B2 0.04 milligrams (2.2 percent ).

With its first harvest, this shrub can please you only two years after planting. The yield indicator averages from 10 to 13 tons per hectare, if you adhere to a planting scheme of 3 × 1 m.

It should be noted right away that this subspecies of currants has a rather negative attitude towards the thickening of the plantings. Therefore, if you have a rather limited space, then it is better to place the shrub in the corners of your personal plot.

Black currant Prestige: advantages and disadvantages

To finally decide on the choice of a subspecies of currant, for growing on your site, you need to find out all the positive and negative features of the variety. Blackcurrant Prestige has the following advantages:

• Self-fertility of the bush (it does not require the presence of a number of other shrubs of this culture for pollination).
• A high level of productivity, even with private cultivation, even with cultivation on an industrial scale.
• The large size of the fruits when ripe, which sufficiently increases their commercial characteristics.
• Rich chemical composition of the fruit.
• Good immunity to a large number of common and dangerous diseases, as well as harmful insects.
• Dry separation of berries when picking.
• Excellent indicators of keeping quality of the crop.
• Excellent frost and dry season tolerance of the plant.
• The universal purpose of the fruit.
• Few seeds in the inside of the fruit.

The most important disadvantages of this subspecies are:

• - Weak resistance to kidney mite attack.
• - A relatively late ripening period when grown in the central regions of our country (often the crop is harvested only in the first half of August).

Having considered all the advantages and disadvantages of this subspecies of black currant, we can say with confidence that this variety is rightfully on a par with the best subspecies of the berry culture in question.

Black currant Prestige: growing and care

Currant Prestige: photo of the variety

Black currant Prestige is considered a rather unpretentious plant, therefore, when cultivating it, you just need to adhere to the generally accepted rules and actions for this culture. There are, of course, differences, but very few, so remembering them will not be difficult even for a novice amateur gardener.

Choosing a place of growth and planting

When growing absolutely any subspecies of this berry culture, you should first of all start with the correct choice of a site for its further growth, as well as the correct implementation of all actions during planting. To grow the subspecies in question, it is worth choosing a place with sufficient lighting, or with a little shade, and also with fertile, moist loamy soils. This plant can also be planted in sandy loam soils, but it is worth remembering that in either case, a good drainage layer is required, which will help to avoid stagnation of moisture near the rhizome of the shrub.

When planting a seedling in the spring, a planting place for it is prepared in advance, even in the fall. To do this, you need to dig up the area and add about 5-6 kilograms of humus (per square meter) to the ground. During this period, you can buy the seedling itself, but first carefully examine it, it must be well developed and not have signs of infection with diseases and pests.

It is worth noting that before planting this purchased seedling, it should be stored in a place with moderate air humidity and temperatures from 0 to +2 degrees.

After warm weather sets in with the arrival of the spring period and there is no likelihood of return spring frosts, you can start planting a seedling of this subspecies. To do this, you need to follow a number of such actions:

• On a site prepared in advance, it is required to choose the most illuminated place located on a hill. At this place, a landing hole is dug, the depth of which should be at least 30-40 centimeters, and in the circumference of the hole should be 50-60 centimeters. But in any case, the planting hole is dug out in such a size that the root system of the plant is not cramped there.
• A drainage layer is poured at the bottom of the planting hole, which can be expanded clay or broken brick, a mixture is poured over it evenly, consisting of humus and fertilizers based on potassium and phosphorus, at the rate of 11-12 kilograms of humus, 40 grams of potassium sulfate, 100 grams superphosphate per square meter. On top of such a nutrient layer, you can also pour a layer of clean garden soil (15 centimeters), while forming a small mound.
• Next, the prepared young plant is placed in the center of the planting hole, while making a small slope of the seedling at an angle of 45 degrees.
• Carefully fill the rootstock of the seedling with soil, filling the entire space of the planting hole, leaving no air voids at the roots of the plant.
• The soil is carefully compacted, after which it is watered abundantly.

If you are going to plant several copies of these bushes at once, then a distance of about one meter or a little more should be left between them, and the distance between the rows should be at least one and a half to two meters.

Care features

Blackcurrant Prestige requires the performance of several actions, and they do not present any difficulty at all, this is the irrigation procedure, top dressing, soil care. Each such event has its own specific features along the way, and you definitely need to know them:

• Watering procedure. This procedure is considered quite important for this plant, especially for shrubs at a young age and bushes of mature age during the formation and ripening of berries. In this case, the best option would be a root watering procedure, but this should be done carefully and using warm (heated by the sun) settled water. The volume of water for irrigation of one bush should be on average 10 liters. Watering is done in the evening hours of the day, after sunset, otherwise water drops falling on the foliage of the bush during watering during the day can cause burns.
• Top dressing. Throughout the growing season for this berry culture, top dressing is applied three to four times: with the arrival of the spring period, during the swelling of the buds (for top dressing, they take 60 grams of urea, or the same amount of ammonium nitrate per plant); two weeks after making such a top dressing, 12 kilograms of humus are added (per shrub); during the period of filling and ripening of fruits, mineral complex additives are introduced, intended for berry crops. Four years after planting, an autumn fertilization based on potassium and phosphorus is applied for this plant (one bush takes 50 grams of potassium sulfate, 85 grams of double superphosphate).
• The procedure for loosening and mulching the soil in the peri-stem circle of the plant. The first time the soil is loosened with the arrival of the spring period, just before the introduction of top dressing. Loosening is carried out to a depth of 12 centimeters, but it is worth noting that the closer you loosen the soil to the main part of the crop, the more carefully you need to deepen the rake. Moistened and fertilized soil, which provides good air permeability of the nutrient soil, should be covered with mulch (with a layer of 6-8 centimeters), this will help retain moisture in the soil and slow down the growth of weeds. Subsequently, this procedure should be repeated, but no more than three times in one season, while replacing the layer of sawdust or peat mulch.

Correct and timely implementation of all these activities will guarantee that the plant will develop well and produce a decent, abundant harvest of tasty and healthy berries.

Diseases and pests

To obtain a positive result in the fight against diseases and harmful insects of this shrub, measures for prevention and treatment should be carried out in a timely and correct manner. The following actions are used as preventive measures:

• Collection of fallen leaves and other plant residues in the autumn.
• Moderate watering procedures on a regular basis and dosed fertilization.
• Treatment of the bush for the purpose of prophylaxis with a solution of Bordeaux liquid, or copper sulfate, and also an excellent option would be to use the drug Karbofos with the arrival of the spring period.
• Digging deep soil before the winter arrival, as a result of which the larvae of pests found on the surface of the soil will freeze.

If preventive measures did not help, and your shrub was nevertheless attacked by pests such as aphids, moths, kidney mites, or the plant struck one of the diseases (powdery mildew, gray rot, anthracnose), then you will have to use special chemicals ... The best insecticides now include such drugs as Actellik, Fufanon, Kinmiks, and if we consider fungicidal compositions, then experienced gardeners advise making a choice in favor of Fundazol, Topaz, Topsin-M. The main thing when using these products is to follow the instructions attached to them on the package.

Folk remedies can also be applied with these troubles. For example, to combat aphids, a shrub needs to be treated with a soapy solution with the addition of wood ash, and for diseases, a soap solution with the addition of soda is often used. But such methods are effective at a certain level of plant infestation, as well as the type, rate of development of the disease.

The procedure for pruning and shaping a bush

The pruning procedure for this subspecies of the shrub is carried out in the spring or autumn season, immediately after the end of the harvest. In each case, there are some peculiarities of the implementation of such a procedure. In the spring, it is required to cut off all frozen shoots, as well as those shoots that have been affected by pests. You should also cut out the stems that have an irregular growth, entangled with other stems. The branches should be cut at the very base of the soil, using a sharp pruner. If necessary, these measures are repeated in the autumn, while cutting off annual shoots, which have already passed the fruiting period.

During the choice of the method and period for the pruning procedure, one should also focus on the age of this shrub, while adhering to the following scheme:

• During the planting of a seedling of this subspecies of currant, the upper parts of all the stems are immediately cut off, leaving only two or three buds on them. You should not regret and worry at the same time, since by the first year of life on a young plant, up to 6 new shoots are formed.
• The next year after planting, the youngest shoots are cut off, only 5-6 of the strongest and healthiest shoots remain. In the future, these stems will serve as the skeletal base of the shrub. When carrying out the pruning procedure, you should not leave weak, thin, shaded and interfering stems. At the beginning of the second half of the summer season, you can cut off young shoots a little, while at the same time pinching the apical parts into two or three buds. This will help to increase the number of small fruit shoots on old stems and at the same time stimulate the growth of new, young shoots from the underground part of the shrub. With the correct implementation of all these activities, it is possible to obtain a double result: to correctly form the crown of the plant and achieve an increase in yield.
• Three to four years after planting, all actions are repeated again: on zero stems, only three to six of the most developed and with the correct growth are left, the rest are completely cut off, together with weakened and underdeveloped stems from the center of the bush. You can also remove the tips of the shoots from the previous year.
• After five to six years from the beginning of growing this bush, they begin to carry out the pruning procedure in order to rejuvenate, because this plant is considered aging. Shoots that are five to six years old should be removed at the base of themselves, along with the stems that come from the base of the old branch. At the same time, all dried, broken, frozen, drooping stems and those affected by diseases and pests are cut off. In general, in such shrubs, the pruning procedure is carried out according to the general scheme: in shoots 2-4 years old, each branch is shortened (only 2-4 buds remain), in the stems of the last year, the apical parts are cut off, and only 3-5 are selected from the stems of this year. the strongest and healthiest, for future growth, the rest are cut off.

After any pruning procedure, remember that you should process the cuts with garden varnish.

Preparing for the winter period

When cultivating this subspecies of black currant in central Russia, these bushes do not need any additional shelter. The most important thing is to cut off excess shoots in a timely manner, water and fertilize the plant.Immediately after the snow cover appears, a snowdrift should be heated on this bush. In the northern regions of our country, you can use the additional shelter of the bush with spruce branches, or artificial material.

Harvesting and storage

Taking into account the rather dense structure of the skin of the fruits of this subspecies of this berry culture, as well as the dry separation of the berries during harvesting from the stalk, the transportation of such a crop will not be a problem, even if it will be transported over sufficiently long distances. The most important thing is not to crush these fruits at the time of picking them and these berries should be collected in low containers. After collection, before transportation, they should be kept in a cool place, where the temperature regime is about +5 degrees.

Under these conditions of stay, the berries of this subspecies will retain their taste and market characteristics for up to 4 days. After that, this crop needs to be processed into jam, jam, preserves or juice. You can also freeze a small part of the crop.

Conclusion

In general, judging by the reviews of numerous gardeners in our country, the Prestige currant is a wonderful option for cultivation in most regions of Russia. In addition to its excellent taste characteristics of berries, the culture is also considered a rather unpretentious plant, thanks to which the Prestige currant variety can even be a beginner in gardening.