Content
Daikon is a Japanese radish, a product that occupies a central place in the cooking of the Land of the Rising Sun. The crop is grown in the countries of Southeast Asia, Europe, and America. Daikon appeared in Russia at the end of the 19th century and quickly gained popularity. Due to the absence of mustard oils, it has a delicate harmonious taste. Also known as “white radish” and “sweet radish”. With proper care, root vegetables grow large, juicy, with dense, crispy flesh. Daikon Sasha is a new variety that is loved by gardeners for its high yield, cold resistance, early ripening and ability to retain marketable qualities well and for a long time.
Photo of daikon Sasha:
History of variety selection
Daikon was developed in Japan in ancient times by breeding the Chinese loba radish. Most Japanese varieties are not suitable for cultivation in Russia; domestic scientists have created many improved analogues, adapted to the climatic conditions of the country.Daikon Sasha was included in the State Register in 1994; it is successfully cultivated in all agricultural regions of the Russian Federation, but feels more comfortable in the middle zone.
The originators of the variety are the Federal Scientific Center for Vegetable Growing (Moscow Region) and Intersemya LLC (Stavropol Territory). Daikon Sasha is named after the honored breeder Alexander Agapov. Recommended for growing in winter greenhouses, under spring film covers and in open ground.
Description of daikon Sasha
Daikon Sasha is a representative of the Brassica or Cruciferous family. The root crop has a smooth, round shape, which can be slightly elongated or flattened. Sizes range from 5.5 to 10.5 cm in length and from 5 to 10 cm in diameter in the middle. The skin is dense, smooth, white with a slight yellowish tint. The pulp is white, juicy, aromatic, crispy, dense in consistency, without voids.
The fruits of the daikon variety Sasha are characterized by a sweet-spicy taste and a pleasant faint aroma. Green leaves are lyre-shaped, slightly pubescent, 30-55 cm long, collected in an erect rosette. Petioles are 10-17 cm long, light green, also pubescent.
Characteristics of the variety
Daikon Sasha demonstrates the best qualities of his species. In order to grow a high-quality harvest and avoid annoying mistakes, you should know the distinctive features and basic rules for growing this variety.
Productivity
Daikon Sasha is an ultra-early ripening variety, ripens in 35-45 days; under favorable weather conditions, the period can be reduced to 1 month. Thanks to this quality, 2-3 crops can be grown per season. From 1 m2 It is possible to collect up to 2.5 kg of fruit in open ground and up to 4.5 kg in greenhouses.The weight of root crops is 200-400 g; when ripe, they almost completely rise above the soil surface, which makes it easier to remove them from the ground. Daikon produces good harvests on deeply cultivated, fertile, light neutral and slightly acidic soils.
Resistance to diseases and pests
The Sasha variety is susceptible to diseases that affect all representatives of cruciferous plants - blackleg, white and gray rot, clubroot, vascular bacteriosis, felt disease, powdery mildew, mosaic, fusarium. Has relative immunity to mucous bacteriosis.
The daikon crop is damaged by Sasha and pests - cruciferous flea beetles and bugs, cabbage fly larvae, click beetles, secretive proboscis, weevils, leaf beetles, cabbage moths and cutworms. To prevent infection, you should follow the rules of agricultural technology and crop rotation and weed out on time. weeds and loosen the ground.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
This variety of Japanese radish is loved by gardeners due to the good taste and commercial qualities of the fruit. In their reviews of daikon variety Sasha, they note the following positive features:
- unpretentiousness;
- stable yield;
- good keeping quality of daikon variety Sasha;
- possibility of year-round cultivation (if there is a greenhouse);
- high ripening speed;
- long shelf life of seeds (up to 8 years);
- undemanding to soil composition;
- unlike other varieties of radish, daikon Sasha is suitable for baby food;
- resistance to premature stemming.
However, the plant also has some disadvantages:
- requires stable watering, otherwise the structure and taste of the fruit deteriorates, and the risk of flowering increases;
- in case of temperature instability (for example, in autumn), the pulp thickens and becomes rough;
- heterogeneity of fruit in size;
- prone to cracking if not properly cared for.
Planting and caring for daikon Sasha
Daikon variety Sasha is planted using seedlings and sowing in open ground. The variety easily tolerates picking. Tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, beets, cucumbers, legumes, herbs, and onions are considered good predecessors for the crop. Daikon should not be planted after cruciferous vegetables - cabbage, radishes, turnips.
Landing dates
It is recommended to sow daikon seeds of the Sasha variety twice - in March and July. To ripen full-fledged juicy fruits, the plant requires a short daylight hours; with too much sun, the daikon begins to bloom, and the yield deteriorates. Daikon seedlings are transferred to a permanent place at established daytime temperatures of + 10 ˚С. The fruits of spring sowing are harvested in May, but they do not last long. They should be consumed within a short period of time. In April-May, Daikon Sasha is planted mainly for seeds. Summer sowing is the most effective. Daylight hours become shorter, daikon fruit growth increases, and the likelihood of flower shoots appearing decreases. Many gardeners in the middle zone advise postponing planting until August, claiming that this will help forget about the problem of flowering. Root vegetables collected in the fall can be stored for 2-3 months.
Preparing the bed
The site for planting daikon variety Sasha should be sunny; its preparation begins in the fall.The earth is dug up on the bayonet of a shovel, 1.5 kg of humus or compost, 40 g of superphosphate, 20 g of ammonium sulfate and potassium sulfate per m are added.2. Lime to deoxidize the soil should be applied two weeks earlier. Before sowing, the soil is leveled with a rake, furrows 3-4 cm deep are made at a distance of 60 cm from each other. You can form a bed 1m wide.
Landing rules
Daikon Sasha seeds should be planted in well-moistened soil to a depth of 2-3 cm. Sowing should not be dense, excess sprouts must be removed. When thinning, leave the strongest plants at a distance of 25 cm from each other. Before sowing, it is recommended to soak the seeds of daikon Sasha in a disinfectant solution of potassium permanganate in order to prevent the occurrence of diseases.
To obtain seedlings, it is preferable to place the seeds in separate paper cups or peat tablets - this will avoid picking and, consequently, injury to the roots. Young shoots are placed in the ground, observing the required interval, lightly pressed and covered with a layer of mulch. In case of probable night frosts, daikon Sasha plantings should be covered with polyethylene or agrofibre.
Aftercare
Daikon variety Sasha is undemanding in care, which boils down to weeding, regular watering, loosening the soil, and fertilizing. The soil should always be slightly moist, and during the period of formation and ripening of root crops, watering should be increased. If there is a lack of moisture, the radish shoots; irregular watering can lead to cracking of the fruit, which precludes its long-term storage. Loosening and weeding are necessary to aerate the daikon roots and prevent diseases. As the fruits grow, they need to be covered with soil.Daikon Sasha should be fed only once during the growing season - immediately after thinning the seedlings. The best solution is nitroammophoska - 60 g per 1 liter of water. As a natural alternative, you can use wood ash, a solution of chicken manure (1:20) and fermented grass (1:10).
Harvest and storage
The fruits of daikon Sasha are harvested as they ripen - a month and a half after planting. You cannot keep radishes in the ground too long; bolting may begin; if they become overripe, their taste will deteriorate. The work is carried out in favorable weather; in late autumn it is necessary to do it before the first frost. Root crops are removed from the soil by pulling the tops. If this cannot be done easily, they are pryed up with a shovel or pitchfork. Then the daikon variety Sasha must be dried, shake off the soil and remove the tops, leaving “tails” 1-2 cm long.
During harvesting, small, overgrown and diseased root crops are discarded. Daikon Sasha is preserved for the longest time in a cellar or basement when immersed in moistened sand. Air humidity should be 80-85%, temperature + 1-2 ˚С. In the absence of such premises, it is allowed to store radishes in the refrigerator in a slightly open plastic bag, on the balcony in boxes with ventilation and insulation. The balcony is the least favorable place, due to the fact that it is difficult to control the temperature there. It must be remembered that at temperatures below 0 ˚С. The daikon fruits will freeze and become unsuitable for eating; when the temperature rises above + 2 °C, the radish will begin to deteriorate.
The shelf life of daikon Sasha depends on the conditions.At room temperature it does not exceed two weeks, in the refrigerator - 1 month, in cellars - 3 months.
Diseases and pests, methods of control and prevention
In general, daikon Sasha rarely gets sick, and is sometimes affected by fungal, viral and bacterial infections. They are treated by spraying with Bordeaux mixture, cultivating the soil with lime milk (2 cups of fluff per 10 liters of water) or a solution of copper sulfate. It is important to detect the initial signs of infection in time and take immediate action. If the disease starts, you will have to destroy most of the Sasha daikon crop and completely change the soil. Causes of diseases:
- thickened planting;
- high humidity at temperatures above + 30 ˚С;
- fertilizers with a high content of nitrates leads to the formation of excess green mass";
- Parasitic insects not only damage plants, but also transmit diseases.
In the fight against pests of the Sasha variety, feeding the daikon with slurry is an effective deterrent. Spraying with infusions of tobacco, dope, black henbane, mustard, and dusting with ash are also effective. In extreme cases, insecticides are used, most often Intavir.
Conclusion
Daikon Sasha is an unpretentious crop that even a novice gardener can grow. The root vegetable is widely used in cooking - it is eaten raw, boiled, stewed, pickled. The vegetable contains vitamins B and C, fiber, and pectins. It has high nutritional value with a calorie content of 18 kcal, and is used for dietary nutrition. Daikon variety Sasha should be eaten with caution if you have diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and gout.
