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It is difficult to imagine a garden without black currants. This tasty berry is consumed raw, used for various confectionery products, and stored for the winter.
At the moment, there are about 200 varieties of black currants of different ripening periods, unequal resistance to diseases, and requiring different care. But for consumers of home-grown berries, probably the most important thing is their taste and benefits. In the Belorusskaya sweet blackcurrant variety, these two qualities are happily combined.
The benefits of blackcurrant berries
The average sugar content in 100 g of this berry is 7.3 g. It is not constant and varies depending on the variety. The record holders have a sugar content exceeding 10 g per 100 g of product. Despite the name, according to this indicator, the Belarusian sweet black currant is in the middle and does not reach the leaders in sweetness. But its benefits are no less.
- The amount of vitamin C is much higher than that of the vast majority of fruits and berries. Moreover, it is present not only in berries, but also in all parts of the plant: buds, leaves and twigs.In Belarusian sweet currants, the ascorbic acid content reaches 239 mg for every 100 g of berries, which is a very good indicator; in many other varieties it is much lower.
It is enough to eat just 20 delicious berries to get your daily requirement of vitamin C. - There are other vitamins in this variety of currants, but their quantity is small.
- It has a very good content of pectin substances - almost one and a half percent. Their role in the human body is difficult to overestimate. By cleansing the intestines, they strengthen the human immune system and rid the body of all harmful substances.
- A large amount of anthocyanins, which give the berries a dark color, allows them to be considered an excellent preventive and therapeutic agent for viral diseases. Anthocyanins improve human vision and are cancer protectors.
- Tannins, which cause the peculiar spicy taste of berries, help improve the functioning of the upset intestines.
- Essential oils, of which there are so many in various parts of the plant, give them a unique aroma and have pronounced anti-inflammatory properties. The phytoncides they contain also act.
Surveys and reviews from gardeners indicate that Belarusian sweet is one of the most common cultivated varieties of blackcurrant. To understand why it is preferred, let’s look at the varietal characteristics and make a detailed description; a photo of the variety is given below.
How the variety was created
When a scientist from the Belarusian Institute of Fruit Growing A.G.Voluznev created this currant variety; he crossed the 2D and 4D forms, which combined the European and Siberian subspecies, with selected Far Eastern seedlings. Genes from natural species gave the Belarusian sweet stamina and frost resistance. Even during flowering, slight frosts do not harm it.
Soon after its creation, the Belarusian sweet was included in the State Register of the Republic of Belarus, and it entered the State Register of Russia in 1979. This berry bush is suitable for cultivation in almost all regions, with the exception of West Siberian.
Varietal features
The ripening period for Belarusian sweet currants is average. The yield of the berry bush is very high; approximately 5 kg of selected berries can be harvested from it.
What does it look like
- The bush of this currant is tall, the branches are spread out in a medium distance.
- Young shoots are pubescent, lack shine, at the top they are colored pink-violet, while adults are gray and heavily pubescent.
- The buds are medium in size, have an elongated shape, ending in a sharp tip, greenish in color with a pinkish-gray tint. The middle part of the bud deviates slightly from the shoot.
- The leaves of this black currant are medium in size, have 5 lobes, and the leaf color is light green.
- The heavily wrinkled leaf blades have a horizontal arrangement and small sharp teeth.
- The long petiole is green in summer and turns red-violet upward in autumn.
Generative organs
In the Belarusian sweet currant variety, self-fertility approaches 72%, this ensures good pollination and berry set, and, therefore, a significant harvest.
- Hanging racemes up to 7 cm long consist of flowers that have a yellowish-green color and pink streaks. Possible cluster fruiting.
- The berries of the Belarusian sweet are medium to large in size. Their weight ranges from 1 to 1.5 g because they are not one-dimensional.
- The crop does not ripen at the same time; the berries hang on the bush for a long time and fall off over time.
- Their taste is very good, rated at 4.6 points.
- The use of berries is universal.
The description and characteristics of the variety should be supplemented with information that Belorusskaya sweet, like many other varieties of black currant, is affected by fungal diseases: leaf spot, powdery mildew, but to an average degree. It is relatively resistant to kidney mites.
What other advantages can be noted in the Belarusian sweet:
- begins to bear fruit very early, two-year-old seedlings produce berries;
- does not suffer from periodicity of fruiting;
- The round oval berries have good consumer qualities;
- bushes age slowly, giving the largest harvest in 5-6 years and without losing productivity up to 12 years.
Currant agricultural technology
In order for the berry harvest to please you with its size and quality, caring for the Belarusian sweet currant variety must be carried out according to all the rules.
How and where to plant
The further successful life of the planted bush depends on choosing the right place for planting.
What are the requirements for place and soil for Belarusian sweet currants:
- It is better if the planting area is illuminated all day, but partial shading is quite possible; this variety does not reduce the yield in such conditions.
- Choose a site that is well-supplied with moisture, but without stagnant water in the spring; groundwater should be low.
- It is advisable to protect plantings from strong winds.
- Currants prefer neutral or close to it soil; when planted in acidic soil, they feel very bad. Such soils need to be limed.
- A good harvest can be obtained on loam or sandy loam with a high humus content; other soils will have to be improved.
It is best to plant young bushes in the autumn, but so that they have time to take root before frost.
Since the Belarusian sweet blackcurrant variety is distinguished by its great growth vigor, it is better to maintain a distance of 1.5 m between bushes. In this case, each plant will receive the necessary nutritional area, and it will be convenient to care for them.
Large holes for currants are not needed - its root system is superficial, a depression measuring 40 by 40 cm is sufficient. The top layer of soil is mixed with a bucket of humus, adding superphosphate - 100-200 g and a half-liter jar of wood ash. Plant the bush, deepening the root collar by about 10 cm.
The bush needs to be watered using a bucket of water. The shoots are cut to a height of about 10 cm above the ground, leaving up to 4 strong buds on them. The area around the bush is mulched with organic material.
More information about planting black currants can be seen in the video:
Care
It consists of watering, especially necessary during the formation and filling of berries, fertilizing: during flowering - with nitrogen fertilizers, during filling of berries - with complex fertilizers, and after harvesting with phosphorus and potassium. Currants respond well to foliar fertilizing with mineral fertilizers with microelements and to the addition of organic matter.
The soil under the bushes must be kept clean; if it is mulched, the mulch must be renewed over time.
Without updating and thinning the currant bush, you will not get good harvests. Therefore, pruning and pinching shoots is a mandatory operation. We have already carried out the first pruning when planting the bush. The second occurs a year later, you need to leave up to 4 of the strongest shoots. In the third and fourth years of life, from 3 to 6 of the strongest zero shoots are left. An important operation is shortening the branches for better branching. It is carried out after harvesting, cutting them off by about a third. Starting from the sixth year of life, it is necessary to gradually replace old shoots with zero shoots. Since the Belarusian sweet currant variety is quite durable, and the largest harvest is produced by 6-year-old shoots, such replacement begins later by about 2-3 years, depending on the condition of the bush.
Due to the average resistance to fungal diseases, the Belarusian sweet currant variety needs preventive treatments against them. Even before flowering, the bushes are treated with copper-containing fungicides, following the instructions. In wet years, treatments will have to be repeated.
Reviews
Conclusion
If you want to collect delicious vitamin berries for a long time and in considerable quantities, without renewing the bush, plant Belarusian sweet. The time-tested variety will not let you down and will provide an excellent harvest every year.
