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Black currants are grown in almost all summer cottages and garden plots. After all, the burgundy-black berries are a real storehouse of vitamins. The fruits have not only culinary purposes, but are also an indispensable means for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.
Black currant Dobrynya is a relatively young variety from Russian breeders. But today you can already see positive reviews from gardeners and farmers growing this berry bush. The characteristics of the variety are such that it is considered the best achievement of breeders.
History of the variety
The author of the new currant variety is A. I. Astakhov, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences at the All-Russian Research Institute of Lupina. Thanks to interspecific crossing of our own variety Izyumnaya and the variety linear hybrid 42-7, black currant Dobrynya was obtained. From the Izyumnaya variety, the new hybrid plant has adopted the sweetness of the fruit.
Dobrynya currant has been on the State Register since 2004. The plant was recommended for cultivation in the middle zone and in the south of Russia. But gradually the number of regions expanded. Today, bushes of this variety, according to reviews from gardeners, have taken their rightful place in plots in almost all regions of our country.
Description of the variety
Despite the fact that black currant of the Dobrynya variety is a relatively young berry plant, it confidently “walks” across the Russian expanses.
Features of the bush
According to the description of the originators, as well as reviews from gardeners, Dobrynya black currant is a compact plant with erect shoots. That is why it forms a neat and compact crown. The height of currants is within 170 cm. This parameter directly depends on the region where the bushes are grown.
The hybrid differs from other cultivated plants in the unusual color of its young shoots. The bark on them has an olive-violet tint and a faint sheen. The shoots are not too thick with slight pubescence.
Dark green leaves with five lobes, with noticeable wrinkles. Leaf blades are different in size, aligned. Each leaf has small, tooth-shaped cuts.
Fruit
Currant variety Dobrynya blooms with large, pale yellow flowers. Up to 10 berries are tied in a thick green brush with small twists. The cluster is not dense, but rather loose. Brushes are formed mainly in the middle and upper part of the branch, and not at the base.
The fruits of the hybrid black currant variety Dobrynya are large, weight varies between 4.5-7 grams. Oval berries with thick and elastic skin. That is why cracking of fruits is not typical for the plant.
Currants are aromatic, rather sweet, since they contain little acid. The taste properties were highly rated by tasters, receiving 4.8 points.
Blackcurrant variety Dobrynya:
Advantages of a hybrid
Based on the description of the variety, reviews from gardeners and photos sent by them, we can conclude that there are clear advantages of Dobrynya currants:
- The bushes are straight-growing, compact, not spreading, therefore, there is space for planting other crops.
- Large fruit and early ripening are another important advantage in the description and characteristics of the Dobrynya variety. The next year after planting, the plant begins to bear fruit.
- Stable harvest of sweet berries regardless of weather conditions. Just look at the photo, how large the berries are.
- The versatility of using berries: preserves, compotes, jams, marmalade. Frozen fruits of the Dobrynya variety retain all their vitamins and beneficial properties.
- Due to their high winter hardiness, currant bushes without shelter can be grown in regions where the thermometer does not fall below 25 degrees. In the rest of Russia, plantings are covered for the winter.
- Spring frosts or drought in summer do not adversely affect Dobrynya black currants. The plant does not shed either flowers or ovaries.
- Productivity is average, from 1.6 to 2.4 per bush. But this does not stop farmers involved in the crop, since the hybrid berries are in high consumer demand.
- Currant bushes of the Dobrynya variety are practically not affected by powdery mildew.
How I would like to meet a garden culture that I could talk about admiringly ad infinitum. Unfortunately, Dobrynya has some disadvantages, as gardeners write about in reviews:
- not too high yield for a modern variety;
- transportability, according to gardeners, is low, since the berries cake and wrinkle;
- serious problems with seedling survival due to slow root formation;
- susceptibility of the black currant variety Dobrynya to the bud mite.
Landing Features
As already noted, the Dobrynya currant variety has problems with reproduction; seedlings do not always take root. Let's take a step-by-step look at how to plant blackcurrants correctly.
Stages:
- The hole is dug in advance. It should be 40 cm deep and 50-60 cm wide. Seating should be located at a distance of about one and a half meters to ensure sufficient air circulation. Row spacing is left within 2-2.5 meters. With this scheme it is convenient to care for the bushes. In addition, plants get sick less often.
- Blackcurrant is demanding on the soil. It must contain enough nutrients, so about 150 grams of wood ash and up to 5 kg of compost or humus are added to each hole.
- Before planting, be sure to inspect the root system of the bush. If there is damage, it is better to discard the seedling. The roots need to be distributed throughout the hole.
- It is better to plant currants together. In this case, it will be more convenient to hold the bush at an angle of 45 degrees. An assistant fills the seedling with soil. The root collar should not be deeper than 8 cm, and the fruit buds should be flush with the surface.
- The soil around the Dobrynya currant seedling is trampled down to release air from under the roots.
- 10-15 liters of water are poured under each bush.
- Immediately mulch the plantings to retain moisture. You can use compost, dry grass, rotted sawdust.
Planting care
Further care for planting currants of the Dobrynya variety is traditional: watering, fertilizing, loosening, removing weeds, pruning and preparing for winter.
Features of watering
It should be understood that the yield and taste of black currants depend on proper and regular watering.
In addition, excess water leads to rotting of the root system and death of the bush.
Water the bushes in circles near the trunk so that water does not flow out, make circular grooves with high sides. Watering is performed once every 14-21 days. Up to 20 liters of water are poured under the root.
But at some stages of the growing season, currants require more moisture, up to 4 buckets per bush:
- in mid-May, when the Dobrynya blackcurrant berries begin to set;
- in June, when the filling begins;
- before winter, when there are no leaves left on the bushes of the variety, when performing moisture-charging irrigation.
Top dressing
Black currant Dobrynya, like other varieties or hybrids, needs nutrients. The fertilizers added when planting seedlings are only enough for one season. A decrease in soil nutritional value negatively affects the harvest and the formation of the bush itself.
When and what to feed:
- In the spring, dry urea up to 50 grams is scattered into the tree trunk circle. Before this, abundant watering is necessary so that the fertilizer does not burn the roots.
- When the currants begin to produce tassels, the bushes are watered with an infusion of mullein and bird droppings.
- During the flowering period, you need to feed the Dobrynya variety twice with organic matter: mullein, chicken droppings or an infusion of green grass and nettle.
- When flowers appear on the bushes of the variety, foliar feeding is carried out to stimulate the ovaries. To prepare it, take 10 grams of copper sulfate, 2 grams of boric acid, 5 grams of potassium permanganate per 10 liters of water. 2-3 liters are consumed per bush. After feeding, the berries will be larger and sweeter.
- When green berries form on the tassels, Dobrynya blackcurrant bushes are watered generously with clean water along a groove located in a circle and fertilized with chicken droppings.
- Before wintering, chicken manure or compost (2-3 kg per plant) is placed under the bushes, but is not incorporated into the soil. Over the winter, this fertilizer will decompose and prepare the currants for the new growing season.
Some gardeners write in reviews that they feed black currant bushes using unconventional methods:
- For watering all summer long, use 2-4 liters of bread kvass per plant or bury soaked and fermented bread.
- Potato peels are laid around the perimeter of the Dobrynya bush.
- Planted legumes are excellent green manure, which are buried in the ground in the fall. These plants feed the root system with nitrogen and activate beneficial soil microflora.
Pruning rules
In order for the blackcurrant harvest to be stable from year to year, the bushes need to be rejuvenated. The shoots bear fruit for no more than 5 years, then the yield decreases sharply. That is why every year an audit is carried out and old branches are cut out at the root.
Each bush should have shoots of different ages. Young shoots are shortened by 15 centimeters so that side branches appear on them.
The root growth of black currant variety Dobrynya, if it grows strongly, is cut out all summer, leaving only powerful replacement shoots. In the spring, pruning is done before the sap begins to flow, as soon as the soil thaws.
