Content
Kuibyshevsky gooseberry is a mid-season variety, known among gardeners for its productivity and resistance to adverse environmental factors.
Description of gooseberry Kuibyshevsky
The shrub is medium in size and acquires a spherical shape as it grows. The branches of the Kuibyshevsky variety are straight, growing upward and slightly to the sides. Young shoots have edges and single thorns. They are absent in internodes. The shrub is prone to excessive thickening, which requires additional and timely thinning. The plant blooms in the first half of May.
According to the description of the variety and reviews, Kuibyshevsky gooseberry can reach 1.7 m, crown diameter up to 1.5 m.
Drought resistance, frost resistance
The Kuibyshevsky black-fruited gooseberry is highly resistant to unfavorable environmental conditions: the shrub can withstand frosts down to -32 °C. This feature allows the crop to be grown in the northern regions of Russia.
The Kuibyshevsky variety tolerates drought well, but lack of moisture negatively affects gooseberry yields.
Fruiting, productivity
From one bush you can collect up to 7 kg of fruit. The productivity of the Kuibyshevsky variety is high and stable. The fruits begin to ripen in late July or early August.
Gooseberry berries, depending on care, ripen in medium or large sizes. The weight of each varies from 3.6 to 8.0 g. Kuibyshevsky gooseberries are oval-shaped, without edges, with thin, durable skin. Ripe fruits have a dark red, almost black color, and have decent taste: sweet, aromatic, 4.6 points according to the tasting rating.
Freshly harvested gooseberries are not suitable for long-term transportation: when stored in a refrigerator, the appearance and properties of the berries are preserved for a week.
The taste qualities allow the Kuibyshevsky variety to be used in cooking for making jams, compotes and desserts; it is recommended to consume the berries fresh.
Advantages and disadvantages
Gooseberry variety Kuibyshevsky has the following advantages:
- high concentration of vitamin C in berries;
- shade tolerance;
- aesthetically attractive appearance of the shrub;
- frost resistance of the variety;
- pleasant taste and aroma of the fruit;
- stable yield, self-fertility;
- immunity to septoria.
Among the disadvantages of the Kuibyshevsky gooseberry are the thickening of the bush and the presence of single thorns on the shoots.
Features of reproduction
For this gooseberry variety, the optimal propagation methods are cuttings or layering.
When using the first method, the procedure is carried out in the fall, while trimming excess shoots.Viable branches with 1-2 buds are isolated from the bush and carefully separated from the bushes. The shoots must be placed in fertile soil and regularly moistened so that the root system of the plant is formed. Viable cuttings are transferred to open ground before the onset of winter frosts or left in the same place until April.
After the snow melts, the plant must be treated with heteroauxin and planted in a trench maintaining an angle of 45 °. At the end of the procedure, it is recommended to cover the gooseberries with film and regularly water and ventilate. The appearance of fresh leaves is a sign of successful cuttings of the variety.
Kuibyshevsky gooseberries can also be propagated by layering: at the end of spring or beginning of summer, young shoots are bent to the ground and attached with spears so that they do not return to their original state. Their separation from the bush and transplantation into open ground is carried out after rooting of the cuttings (after a month).
Planting and care
Planting gooseberry bushes in open ground is possible both in the spring and in the autumn months. After the snow melts, the procedure must be carried out after the snow has melted, but the buds have not swelled. It is impossible to accurately predict weather conditions, so gardeners prefer autumn planting. The optimal time for its implementation is September-October, or 4-6 weeks before frost.
The variety grown in a lighted, non-wetland area bears fruit well. When purchasing a seedling, they are guided by its appearance: it should have strong branches 35-40 cm high with a well-formed root system.Before planting gooseberries, it is recommended to treat the variety with a special mash: mix 0.5 kg of clay and chernozem, add 1 package of Kornevin and 1.5 liters of water. The roots of the seedling are immersed in the prepared mixture for 3 hours.
Young shrubs must be placed on the site maintaining a distance of at least 1 m. The depth of the planting hole depends on the size of the plant.
Algorithm for transferring gooseberry seedlings to open ground:
- Add 0.1 kg of wood ash, 10 kg of manure or fallen leaves, 50 g of superphosphate and 40 g of potassium sulfide into the hole. Mix everything well.
- Remove dried twigs and leaves from Kuibyshevsky variety seedlings, trim the tops of the shoots. Leave at least 5 buds on each shoot.
- Place the plant in the hole at an angle, cover it with soil and compact it around the seedling.
- Water the gooseberries generously.
If there is a threat of premature frost, it is recommended to cover the Kuibyshevsky variety with a greenhouse or cloth.
Growing rules
To ensure good fruiting of the variety, care rules should not be neglected. Depending on the type of soil, it is regularly dug up or loosened. Dense soils require deeper loosening than loose soil.
Digging the soil around the bush involves “fluffing” it to a depth of no more than 7 cm. Outside the perimeter of the crown, radical processing is allowed.
It is important to promptly remove weeds around the gooseberries, which cause high humidity in the lower part of the bush.
Timely application of fertilizers increases the fertility of the Kuibyshevsky variety. The following fertilizing is required annually for one shrub:
- 10 kg of compost;
- 40 g of saltpeter;
- 20 g potassium chloride;
- 80 g superphosphate.
In the first year after planting, the variety does not require fertilization, and from the following spring, fertilizing is carried out after flowering, and then after harvesting. The procedure allows the plant to bear fruit abundantly and tolerate winter frosts well.
A young seedling of the Kuibyshevsky variety needs to be shaped, and from the fourth year of life, spring pruning should be carried out, aimed at eliminating thickening. Weak or dried shoots are completely removed. Cut on bushes and branches older than 3-6 years.
To increase productivity, summer pruning is carried out: the green branches are shortened, leaving 5-7 leaf blades on each, and the top is removed. The procedure allows you to get larger berries.
Watering gooseberries is carried out as the soil dries out, but waterlogging should be avoided: excess moisture provokes the development of diseases and a decrease in the plant’s immunity.
Pests and diseases
Kuibyshevsky gooseberry is attacked by moths, sawflies and aphids. The latter is characterized by living on the base of leaf blades and the ends of shoots. Aphids pierce the integument and drink the juice from the leaf cells, which leads to disruption of photosynthesis processes in the plant. As the aphids spread, the shoots become deformed and the leaf blades on the bush become smaller.
The moth larvae produce a web that entwines all parts of the plant. The pest's diet includes gooseberries, from which it gnaws the core.
The sawfly caterpillar goes through several stages of development. As they grow older, they destroy the gooseberry leaf blades within 7-14 days, causing deformation of the berries: they fall off prematurely, and the shoots grow poorly, which reduces the winter hardiness of the variety.As protection from unfavorable conditions, sawflies burrow into the soil, which allows them to infect more shrubs the following year.
To protect against insects, it is practiced to use Karbofos and ash infusion (1000 g of ash per 3 liters of water). The plant needs to be sprayed with a substance from a spray bottle at the end of flowering.
Kuibyshevsky gooseberry is practically not affected by septoria, but is moderately resistant to powdery mildew, characterized by gray spots on the leaf blades. As treatment and prevention measures, it is recommended to use a soda solution (5 g of powder per 1000 ml of water) or iron sulfate (3 g per 1000 ml of water). The affected plant is sprayed immediately after spotting.
Conclusion
Kuibyshevsky gooseberry is one of the most common varieties, known among gardeners for its frost resistance and good immunity. The harvested crop is not transportable, but is excellent for use in cooking and fresh consumption: 100 g of berries contains up to 30 mg of vitamin C.
