Description of the best varieties of black currant

Classification of varieties

There are a lot of black currant species (about 150), and there are even more hybrid varieties, and in order to somehow streamline this long list, the culture should be classified into the following categories:

• by the ripening period (early, mid-maturing, late, very late);

• by the size of the fruit (large-fruited, medium and small-fruited);

• on resistance to diseases and external factors (resistant, medium-resistant and low-resistant);

• by yield (varieties with high yields, medium-yielding, as well as low-yielding);

• by sugar content or sweetness of berries (sour, moderately sour and sweet);

• by the method of pollination.

The best

It is clear that it is quite difficult to choose the best varieties of black currant among the whole variety. It should be noted that berries of any variety contain approximately the same composition of vitamins, microelements, have excellent medicinal and prophylactic properties. The only difference in composition is the glucose level: the sweeter the berries, the more glucose they contain.

As for the main characteristics, each gardener should choose a variety of currants based on their own preferences and climatic conditions. Climate and soil are of decisive importance - for example, out of almost two hundred varieties of this crop, only 50 are successfully grown in the climate of the central strip and the Moscow region. The vitality of the culture is also important: resistance to diseases, cold resistance.

Obviously, the greatest interest among gardeners is caused by early ripening crops with large (3-6 grams) and sweet berries. In addition, recently, new high-yielding varieties have been developed that do not require cross-pollination, as well as hybrids, for example, currants crossed with gooseberries - a high-vitamin product, outwardly similar to black currants, but much tastier and healthier.

According to gardeners, early and large-fruited varieties such as Black Boomer and Pearl are the best for growing in the climate of the Moscow Region. Legend is a very high-yielding early variety with sweet, albeit medium-sized berries (3-4 g). There are also interesting dessert varieties with a high content of glucose and pectins: Lydia, Temptation, Izolda, Minusinskaya sweet, Solomon, Kalinovka, Knyazhna, Ocharovanie. It should be noted that in recent years, Ukrainian breeders have also developed new varieties that have become very popular in Ukraine, and are also suitable for cultivation in the latitudes of the Moscow region: Sofievskaya, Vernissage, Suite Kievskaya, Kazatskaya, Amethyst, Chereshnevaya, Krasa Lvova.

Video "Tips for the care and cultivation of currants"

Demonstration video with useful recommendations for gardeners on the care and cultivation of currants.

Large-fruited

Varieties with large berries include the following:

• Vigorous - a high-yielding crop with very large (the size of a quail's egg) and sweet fruits, with proper care it gives up to 10 kg of berries from a bush, and branches under the weight of bunches already sag;

• Ariadna is a high-yielding mid-early variety with sweet and sour large fruits, the culture is very resistant to cold and disease, planted in a sunny area can yield 7-8 kg of yield per bush, according to gardeners, it grows well in the soils of the Moscow region;

• Gross - a mid-season variety resistant to disease and frost, high yield, large, fragrant berries with smooth skin, located 8-10 pieces per brush;

• Belarusian sweet - a culture resistant to cold and disease with good taste of berries, suitable for grown for industrial purposes in the non-chernozem zone of most regions of Russia, including the Moscow region;

• Venus is an early winter-hardy self-fertile variety, high yield, smooth, large fruits (5-6 g), with a high sugar content;

• Dobrynya - a high-yielding disease-resistant crop with smooth large (5-7 g) berries, is the most successful development of domestic breeders, suitable for growing in different regions of Russia: in the middle lane, southern regions and the climate of the Moscow region;

• Gulliver is a mid-season high-yielding culture of domestic selection with large berries, 10-17 pieces on each hand, resistant to disease and cold;

• Exotics is an early self-fertile variety with good winter hardiness, large fruits are sometimes larger in size than cherries, and a dense, smooth skin allows you to store and transport berries for a long time;

• Cossack - mid-season high-yielding variety, undemanding to soil, climate, disease resistant, fruit weight is 5-7 g;

• The effect is a high-yielding and fairly hardy mid-season crop with large sweet and sour berries, resistant to disease, cold and drought.

Of course, these are far from all varieties of currants with large berries. This list may number several dozen more, but it will be fair to note that some of the large-fruited varieties do not differ in high taste, while others are simply not suitable for growing in the climate of the middle and central zone.

Super sweet

If currants are grown not for industrial purposes, but for yourself and your family, it makes sense to choose not only large-fruited, but also sweet varieties. Sweet berries include berries in which the sugar content exceeds 10% - these are the fruits that are ideal for making jam and eating as a dessert. As a result of many years of research, the following varieties of currants fell under the description of "dessert":

• Excellent student (sugar content 11.1%) - mid-season and frost-resistant culture, fruits are medium, very fragrant, 4-5 kg ​​can be harvested from one bush;

• Nina (sugar 11%) - mid-season variety of selection of Altai biologists, medium-sized fruits, very juicy and aromatic;

• Bagheera (sugar 10.8%) is a winter-hardy mid-season crop, the berries are large and very fragrant, the yield is high - up to 5 kg per bush;

• Triton (sugar 10.6%) is a mid-season self-fertile variety, resistant to frost and disease, is valued for its high and stable yield, is universal for growing in soils of the middle, central zone, including the Moscow region;

• Green haze (10.1%) is a high-yielding dessert crop, bred at the V.I. Michurina, has a high resistance to diseases, is not demanding on the soil, therefore it is included in the State Register and recommended for cultivation in most regions of Russia;

• Selechenskaya (10.01%) is an early ripening culture with large (4-5 g), aromatic berries, resistant to cold and disease, and is universal for cultivation in many regions.

This rating was compiled by specialists from the All-Russian Research Institute for Breeding of Fruit Crops. However, there are other data, according to which the list of sweet varieties is much wider.So more than 10% of sugar contains the following varieties: Ladushka (10.5%), Labilnaya (10.4%), Pamyat Bordova and Vernissage (10.3%), Magnificent and Vladimirskaya (10.2%), Pamyatnaya and Black Stork (10.1%).

Early

Those who wish to enjoy healthy berries from the beginning of June, when some types of currants are just blooming, should pay attention to the early ripening varieties:

• Exotic is one of the earliest crops, the description of which is presented above, the ripening time is early June, it is resistant to cold weather, it easily survives spring frosts, regular watering is necessary to obtain a plentiful early harvest;

• Curiosity - early ripening currants (mid-June) with large and tasty fruits, self-fertile, cold-resistant, but susceptible to kidney mites;

• Vigorous - a very cold-resistant and high-yielding crop, the description of which was also presented above, the ripeness of the fruits occurs in mid-June, gives a bountiful harvest, but to some extent is susceptible to fungal diseases, which often affects the quality of the crop;

• The Little Prince - cold-resistant currants of early ripening (mid-June), small fruits (2-3 g), quite tasty (sugar content 10.7%), resistant to diseases, but can be affected by kidney mites;

• Overture - currants of a very early ripening period (early June), dense bunches, consisting of 10-15 small fruits (up to 2 g), resistant to cold and disease, brought to the VNIIR im. Vavilov as a universal highly productive crop suitable for cultivation in the non-chernozem zone;

• Nara - the time of full ripening occurs in mid-June, resistant to cold, drought, fungal diseases, mites, medium-sized fruits (2-3 g), juicy with a sweet and sour taste.

Whichever currant you choose, it is important to know that maximum productivity is maintained for the first 7-10 years. Then the fruits become small, and the bush itself gradually degenerates. In order to get a bountiful harvest of a useful product every year, you need to regularly prune branches that are more than three years old. Thus, the shoots will be regularly renewed and produce a high yield.

Video "Useful properties of berries"

Illustrative video with a list of beneficial properties for human health.