Growing And Varieties Of Remontant Raspberries: Apricot, Hercules, Augustine, Indian Summer

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Novelties - remontant varieties of raspberries, fruiting on annual shoots

The standard technology for the cultivation of raspberries, including new regionalized and promising large-fruited and highly productive varieties bearing two-year-old stems, is very laborious and energy-intensive.

Large costs of manual labor are associated with the following operations performed annually:

• cutting of fruiting stems;
• formation and pruning of shoots (normalizing them in a tape and a bush, removing weak growth, pinching shoots in August for better ripening and preparing them for winter, pruning frozen tops in spring);
• garter shoots to the trellis;
• bending them down for the winter for better wintering;
• pest and disease control;
• harvest.

An original alternative to the generally accepted technology, designed for a two-year cycle of raspberry crop formation, is a new technology using remontant varieties that bear fruit on annual shoots in late summer and early autumn. This technology radically changes the way raspberries are grown, making it easier and cheaper.

For the first time, the sign of remontant raspberry was noticed in the USA 200 years ago. Plants (young shoots of replacement) in the first year of life began to bloom and form a small crop at the tops of the shoots. During the winter, the tops froze out, and on the rest of the next summer, the harvest was formed again, as on ordinary varieties, i.e. such remontant varieties belong to the group with double fruiting.

Abroad (USA, Bulgaria) a number of remontant varieties have been created - September, Heritage, Lyulin, Redving, Zeva, Ott Bliz and others. The first domestic variety of this type was Progress, created by I. V. Michurin. However, full ripening of their harvest requires a frost-free period of at least 150-160 days and the sum of active temperatures over 3000 ° C.

In the conditions of central Russia, most foreign varieties of the remontant type are of no practical value, since their harvest has time to ripen before the onset of autumn frosts by only 15-30%. For the central part of our country, raspberry varieties with a shortened growing season are needed, which require no more than 130 frost-free days for the full ripening of the crop with a sum of active temperatures of at least 1800-2000? С.

In order to achieve the desired results, it was necessary to change the plants so that they had the ability to start early and quickly grow shoots, quickly pass dormancy (or differentiate buds, bypassing dormancy), early flowering and fruiting on all lateral branches formed in the year of shoot growth (and not just at the top of a one-year shoot).

All this was quite successfully achieved by breeding on the basis of interspecific hybridization by the famous Russian breeder, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences I. V. Kazakov and Professor V. V. Kichina, who bred varieties Indian Leto, Indian Leto-2, Hercules, Apricot, Augustina, Nadezhnaya, Elegant, Kalashnik and others.

The development of shoots of these varieties from the beginning of growth to ripening of the crop fits in one season, flowering and fruiting in them occurs once on the entire shoot that has grown during a given growing season, which significantly distinguishes them from varieties with double fruiting.

For the name of remontant varieties with single fruiting, the term rushbush is proposed - a swift, branching bush or a rushberry - a swift berry.

The new technology using remontant varieties with single fruiting is different and has a number of advantages over the conventional one. Its essence lies in the fact that after harvesting, ripe on an annual shoot, and the onset of autumn frosts, the entire aerial part of the raspberry is mowed with a scythe or cut with a pruner.

From the spring of next year, new shoots grow, which at the beginning of autumn will again give a crop, and again after fruiting they are cut off.

Thus, a one-year crop formation cycle is maintained annually.

This eliminates the need for:

- formation and pruning of shoots; - installation of trellises and garters of shoots to them; - the need to protect plants for the winter is eliminated, which will expand the area of cultivation of large-fruited, but insufficiently winter-hardy varieties; - the use of chemical means of protection is excluded, since the removal of cut shoots from the plantation allows you to get rid of the main diseases and pests, and therefore, to get an ecologically clean crop

In addition, the advantage of this technology is the quality of the berries: autumn berries are larger and cleaner (they are not wormy), since the phenophases of the development of the raspberry beetle and the formation of autumn berries do not coincide.

Cultivation of remontant type varieties allows to extend the period of consumption of fresh berries by 1.5-2 months, and together with summer varieties - up to 5 months. At the same time, the sale of berry products of remontant varieties during the "off-season" time for raspberries at higher prices than in summer stimulates the creation of raspberry plantations in all categories of farms.

At the same time, when growing remontant varieties with a single fruiting, negative aspects are not excluded: - annual shoots can be affected by spiderweb, raspberry mites, shoot gall midge, purple spot, therefore, in order not to risk the harvest, it is necessary to plant plantings with healthy planting material; - the absence of the aboveground part of the plants on the plantation can affect the freezing of the soil, so you need to take care of the root system, covering it for good snow retention.

However, these minor negative aspects cannot diminish all the advantages of the new technology using remontant varieties that give a one-time yield on annual shoots.

Below is a brief description of remontant varieties of raspberries with single fruiting on annual shoots.

Apricot

The variety was created by I. V. Kazakov at the Kokinsky support point of VSTISiP (Bryansk). Berries are medium (weight 2.8-3 g) blunt-conical, dessert, golden-apricot color. Productivity: actual - up to 2 kg, potential - up to 3 kg per bush. The beginning of ripening in central Russia is the first decade of August. The bush consists of 4-7 upright, strongly branching shoots, the zone of their autumn fruiting exceeds half of their length, and the potential of the variety has time to be realized by 65-75%. Fruiting continues until frost.

Advantages: high yield, original attractive color of berries and their high taste.

Disadvantages: tender, poorly transportable berries. Recommended for harvesting only on annual shoots in the Central and Central Black Earth regions.

Augustine

The variety was obtained by I. V. Kazakov at the Kokinsky support point of the VSTISiP. The State Variety Test is undergoing. Recommended for the Central and Central Black Earth regions.

Berries are medium-large, weighing 3-3.5 g, round-conical, dark raspberry color, sweet and sour taste, universal purpose. Productivity 1.2-1.7 kg per bush. The variety is resistant to major diseases and pests. Ripening of berries begins in the first half of August, fruiting is long, until the onset of autumn frosts. The potential yield is realized by 60-70%. Recommended for only autumn harvest.

The bush is medium-sized, slightly spreading. The shoots are erect, the fruiting zone is up to half their length.

Advantages: high yield, resistance to fungal diseases. The berries can hang on the stalk for a long time without decay.

Disadvantages: a prolonged period of flowering and ripening of the crop.

Indian summer

The variety was obtained by I. V. Kazakov at the Kokinsky support point of the VSTISiP. Recommended for the Central and Central Black Earth regions.

Berries are medium-large (up to 3.5 g), round-conical, universal, bright red, sweet and sour taste, indispensable for making autumn "raw" jam, which is stored for a long time in a normal cellar without hermetic sealing. The berries begin to ripen in the first half of August, fruiting continues until frost, the potential yield is realized by 50-70%, the yield is up to 1-1.5 kg per bush. Recommended for obtaining only late summer - early autumn harvest.

The bush is medium-sized, slightly spreading, the number of shoots is medium or small. Shoots are erect, strongly branching, the fruiting zone exceeds half their length.

Advantages: productive variety, resistant to low temperatures and fungal diseases.

Disadvantages: weak shoot-forming ability.

Indian Summer-2

The variety was obtained by I. V. Kazakov at the Kokinsky support point of the VSTISiP. Recommended for the Central and Central Black Earth regions.

Berries are medium-large (3-3.5 g), broadly blunt-conical, raspberry color, sweet and sour taste, universal use.

The yield is 2-2.5 kg per bush, begins to ripen in the first decade of August, fruiting is long, the potential yield in the conditions of Central Russia is realized by 80-90%.

The bush is medium-sized, slightly spreading, the shoot-forming ability is moderate (4-5 replacement shoots). Shoots are erect, strongly branching, not lodging under the weight of the crop, the fruiting zone is 2/3 of their length. Resistant to raspberry mites and fungal diseases.

Advantages: high yield, almost complete ripening of the crop before the onset of autumn frosts, resistance to fungal diseases. Recommended only for autumn harvest.

Disadvantages: strong spine of the shoots, insufficient shoot-forming ability.

Hercules

The variety was obtained by I. V. Kazakov at the Kokinsky support point of the VSTISiP. Recommended for the Central and Central Black Earth regions.

The berries are very large, average weight 5-6 g, maximum - 10 g, truncated-conical shape, ruby color, sweet and sour taste, universal purpose. The yield in central Russia is 1.5 kg per bush. It is resistant to raspberry mite, slightly affected by fungal diseases.

It begins to ripen in the first half of August, fruiting continues until frost, the potential yield is realized by 60-70%.

The bush is medium-sized, slightly spreading. Shoot-forming ability is low (3-4 replacement shoots). Shoots are strong, erect, do not need a trellis. The fruiting zone takes up half of their length.

Advantages: high yield, very large, dense berries with increased resistance to decay.

Disadvantages: weak shoot-forming ability, prolonged fruiting period.

Kalashnik

The variety was obtained by V. V. Kichina at VSTISiP (Moscow). Recommended for the Central region of Russia.

The berries are medium-sized (2-3 g), the berries of the first harvest reach 4-5 g. They are red, dense, well separated from the fruit. The taste is sweet and sour, dessert. The beginning of fruiting is the first decade of August, the main harvest is at the end of August. Productivity - 2 kg per bush, potential - up to 2.5 kg.

The bush is medium-sized (1.3-1.5 m), spreading. Shoot-forming ability is good (7-12 replacement shoots). Shoots are well developed, prickly, resistant, strongly branching. The potential of the variety is already being realized in September.

The variety is distinguished by increased survival rate under adverse conditions.

I. V. Kazakov at the Kokinsky support point in recent years has developed a number of new remontant varieties of raspberries that bear fruit on annual shoots: Nadezhnaya, Elegant, Bryanskoe Divo, Golden Domes, Monomakh's Hat, etc.

Naturally, in the conditions of the Northwest, the potential of all remontant varieties will be different, however, for our region they are of great interest.

We have practically already studied the variety Babe Leto, which is grown in summer cottages and in the Pushkin fruit and berry nursery. This variety will be published in subsequent issues of the journal. In 2004, remontant varieties of raspberries Abrikosovaya, Augustina, Hercules, Nadezhnaya, Elegantnaya were planted in the Pushkin nursery for study and reproduction. A publication will also be prepared on the results of their study in the conditions of the Leningrad region.