Every summer resident wants to decorate his plot with bright flowers, various shrubs, conifers, stately ferns. This can be done in numerous ways. Particularly interesting is the possibility of harvesting delicious berries on a beautiful, powerful, strong site that serves as a green fence. Among them, now you can see ribelaria (yoshta) - in the common people is called a hybrid of currants and gooseberries, which we will talk about.
Description of a hybrid of black currant and gooseberry
The plant cannot be found among wild forest thickets, near the banks of rivers, lakes, and other places of wild nature. As, for example, Karelian golden currant, other shrubs. It was obtained as a result of the complex work of breeders from different countries. The first results of obtaining a fruiting yoshta variety became known in 1959 from the works of German breeders... Hence the name, including the German meanings of the words currant, gooseberry.
Attempts to obtain a hybrid that does not contain thorns, like on a gooseberry, to be resistant to the appearance of common currant diseases, have been carried out for a long time. The mechanism of the process is described in detail in the works of Michurin. But only specialists from the Max Planck Institute in Germany, using methods of radiation, chemical effects of distant hybridization, after forty years of painstaking work, managed to cross gooseberries and currants and get the first varieties of yoshta with stable fruiting, pronounced signs of a new plant. The period of formation of the first fruits begins in the second year of development.... The maximum yield is typical for most varieties in the fourth year of growth. In Russia, a mixture of gooseberries and currants appeared in the early 1980s.
A shrub covered with dark green leaves resembling a gooseberry leaf reaches two meters in height. They lack a strong currant smell. Leaves fall from the bush in late autumn. The stems are long, without thorns. The average number of adult plant stems is 12... The roots reach a depth of 50 cm. The crown diameter reaches two meters. Blooms early with bright yellow racemes. In addition to self-pollination, it is recommended to plant currant and gooseberry bushes nearby. Fruiting brushes are short, decorated with large black berries, shining in the sun, with a purple tint. The beginning of the arrival of the first berries occurs in July.
The berries do not ripen at the same time, which requires careful multiple harvesting, which prolongs the useful life.
The duration of the active life of the yoshta bush is up to 30 years at the selected planting site. The number of new shoots growing from the roots is not large. Their number can be increased by means of regular hilling. Ribelaria has immunity to numerous pests, diseases typical of parent plants... Yoshta varieties are frost-resistant.
Famous Yoshta varieties
Yohini
Yohini is called one of the first varieties of the long-awaited hybrid. The tall bush looks more like a currant. The leaves do not have a currant smell, they do not fall off for a long time. The variety has very sweet large fruits. The yield from one bush can be up to 10 kg... This is considered a high indicator among other varieties.
EMB
English plant variety. Semi spreading bush. It grows up to two meters in height. The berry tastes like gooseberries. The variety is characterized by a long, alternating type of berry ripening.reaching two months.
Crown
Erect Swiss Yoshta variety. The berries are small, dense, black, reminiscent of currants. Low-yielding variety... Its advantage is the long presence of berries on the stems without shedding.
Rext
The variety obtained by domestic breeders is highly resistant to tick infestation and severe frosts. The berry yield is average. Recommended by specialists for planting in cold zones of Russia.
Moreau
A tall, not very sprawling bush gives a good harvest of berries the size of a cherry... Every year, new varieties of plants appear on the seedling market, making the choice more varied.
When choosing a variety of yoshta for specific planting conditions, remember that the more sunlight falls on the plant, the sweeter, tastier, and more abundant the harvest will be.
Landing
The plant is planted in early autumn, in spring. In any case, yoshta takes root well, it grows quickly. The planting material must have a developed root system. It is not allowed to use dried seedlings with shriveled bark, dry weak roots... It will grow slowly and will not yield.
Before planting, the roots are recommended to stand for about 2 hours in a prepared solution of fertile soil, soaking them well, straightening them. Having lowered them into the hole, they are well spread, watered. Compost, humus, mineral fertilizers are added to the planting hole. The difference in the planting process from currants is a higher need for potassium, which is applied before planting. The following set of fertilizers for one plant is considered optimal, which is necessary in the initial period of growth: about 5 kg of organic matter, 40 g of potassium sulfate, 60 g of superphosphate. The soil in the planting pit, around the plant is well watered, mulched. The distance between plants is planned to be about 1.5 m. Between rows it increases to 2 m.
The planting pit for yoshta should be larger than for currants, gooseberries. The amount of fertilizer applied during planting is also greater. This is determined by the need to increase the feeding area, which determines the future harvest.
Reproduction and care
The principle of growing a shrub differs little from the methods of caring for currants and barberries. You need to know that yoshta requires mandatory mulching of the trunk under the crown... This prevents the evaporation of moisture, which is very necessary for the development of the bush. The plant must be watered abundantly.
A mound of earth made of peat, humus, fertile soil under the bush helps the emergence of shoots, which are used for reproduction.
The bush does not require special pruning, which serves as an agricultural technique for crown formation. It is enough to perform it in the role of sanitization, getting rid of dry, damaged stems.
The plant is responsive to fertilization, starting from spring days in the form of solutions from chicken manure, mullein.
Cuttings
Suitable for cutting are annual shoots cut in winter. Immediately after harvesting, they are immersed in water for three hours. Then they put them in a bag, refrigerator until spring arrives, when they are planted in a greenhouse. The plant is transferred to the place in the fall. The versatility of the propagation method by cuttings is associated with the ability to engage in the process at any time of the year.... For example, in spring, in August, you can cut off the tops of lateral branches about 20 cm long. Tear off the lower leaves, keeping the upper ones after shortening them by a third of the length. Make a slight incision over each kidney. At the bottom of the cutting, also make several cuts to stimulate the rate of root growth. Having processed the stalk with a growth stimulant, plant it obliquely in a greenhouse or under a plastic volume. Water abundantly. When working in early spring, a strong seedling will be ready in the fall.
Lignified cuttings, cut from ripe stems, are often used for propagation. There must be at least six strong buds on 20 cm pieces... Planted obliquely, leaving two buds above the soil surface. A bed with cuttings is often watered abundantly so that a powerful root system can form in just one season.
Layers
This type of propagation can be carried out by vertical, horizontal layering of the stems. In the first case, in the spring, the entire old bush is cut off., stumps up to 25 cm high remain. With regular watering, care, like a real bush, young shoots appear on them, which are used for reproduction.
The second method is the simplest and most convenient. For the rapid formation of new plants in the spring, two-year, strong annual shoots growing in the lower part of the bush are pressed to the ground and covered with fertile soil. The top of the branch is slightly shortened. A large number of shoots grow from the buds located under the top layer of fertile soil... They are hilled several times a season, fed, watered, and weeds removed. Strong seedlings are ready for planting in a permanent place in the fall, next spring.
By dividing the bush
The method is effective from the point of view of quick obtaining of planting material. It is recommended to use it if you need to transfer the plant to another place, if you want to increase the number of yoshta bushes. For this, bushes are used, which are at least six years old. In the spring, in the fall, the bush is completely dug up, freed from the earth, weak roots. With an ax, they are divided into parts that have at least three strong roots, several stems with good buds. Places of damage are covered with coal. Planted immediately to a permanent place.
Any breeding method requires careful care, timely abundant watering, feeding for the formation of a powerful root system. This is the key to the rapid growth of the bush, the formation of a rich yoshta harvest.
Transfer
The justified reason for transplanting a fruiting yoshta bush is the following reasons:
- The bush is old.
- Bad choice of locationfor example, a lack of solar heat, which reduces the annual harvest.
- Bush sizeinterfering with other plantings, buildings.
- Strong depleted soil in a place of continuous growth.
The order, the list of agrotechnical techniques during transplantation corresponds to meeting the needs of the growth of the shrub. Fertile soil, the size of the planting pit, an abundance of light, the possibility of regular watering, top dressing should be maintained as in the initial planting. Carefully prepare the transplanted bush for moving to a new place... Old branches are removed, young ones are shortened. After carefully removing it from the ground, it is advisable to divide the bush into parts, planting them in separate pits, not forgetting to feed, water abundantly.
In the northern regions of residence, it is better to transplant in the spring after the establishment of a positive average daily temperature. When transplanting in the fall, it is important to observe the development of the bush, insulate it for the winter.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, industrial cultivation of yoshta is still poorly developed... You don't often have to try and see beautiful berries. Growing technology in the near future will make it as affordable and compulsory as currants.
Moreover, yoshta berries are a storehouse of vitamins and other numerous useful elements that are necessary at any age. And kids can calmly, without fear of pricking themselves with thorns, pick ripe berries from the bush during the summer months.