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Eat strawberry varieties, which have an amazing taste, but are usually very unstable and can only be tasted immediately after collection. Such berries cannot be transported - they quickly deteriorate and lose their presentation. It is better to grow strawberries of these varieties in garden plots or summer cottages. Industrial grades are designed for long-distance transportation. These berries must remain marketable for a long time and be attractive to buyers. Unfortunately, strawberries acquire all these properties at the expense of loss of taste. But there are varieties that have good taste and excellent transportability.
The Italian company “New Fruits” is a small breeding enterprise in northern Italy. Since its creation in 1996, the breeders of this company have set themselves the task of obtaining industrial varieties that meet the following requirements:
- productivity;
- disease resistance;
- keeping quality;
- transportability;
- good appearance and taste.
This task turned out to be up to them. Created from two Italian nurseries renowned for the traditional quality of their products, the company has already introduced excellent varieties: Roxana, Asia and Syria. But almost all of them prefer fairly warm climatic conditions for their successful cultivation.But the Alba strawberry variety is intended for growing in places with a continental climate. For successful growth, plants need a sufficient amount of negative temperatures in winter.
If there is not enough snow, throw it from beds not occupied by strawberries and from walkways.
Alba strawberries are a universal variety. It is suitable for both open ground and film tunnels, in which you can get the harvest 2 weeks earlier. The berries grow tastier and the overall yield increases.
Advantages of the variety
- Early variety - ripens 2 days earlier than the well-known industrial variety from America Honey.
- The flowering period allows you to avoid spring frosts.
- Harvesting quickly.
- The berries can be called large, their weight is almost 30 g.
- The berries are of standard size throughout the entire harvest period; they do not become smaller.
- Mechanized cleaning is possible.
- Excellent transportability and keeping quality.
- Great appearance.
- Dessert taste with a slight sourness.
- Not a bad harvest. In Italy they get up to 1.2 kg of berries from one bush. In our conditions, the yield is slightly lower - up to 0.8 kg.
- Good disease resistance.
- Good frost resistance.
Biological characteristics of the variety
This is a strong and beautiful plant. Powerful bushes have a height of about 30 cm. The leaves and peduncles are large. Under the weight of the berries, the flower stalks may fall to the ground.
A description of the Alba strawberry variety - in the photo above - would be incomplete without talking about the berries: reviews from summer residents say that they are special - they have a slightly spindle-shaped shape, beautiful color and shine. Absolutely identical and aligned berries attract the eye. The taste of the berries is controversial. Some people think it's sour. But the taste of strawberries of any variety is variable; it greatly depends on growing conditions, the number of sunny days and soil fertility. Given all the necessary conditions, Alba strawberries have quite a decent taste.
Care and planting of Alba strawberries
In order for the harvest to please, strawberries should be planted only in well-lit beds.
Predecessors for planting strawberries
Its predecessors should not be plants from the nightshade family: potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. It cannot grow on the site of a raspberry plantation. All these plants suffer from the same disease - late blight, although it is caused by different races of this pathogen. You should not plant this berry after corn and sunflower, as they greatly deplete the soil, removing a lot of nutrients from there. Legumes can carry the strawberry nematode, which is dangerous for strawberries, but they themselves do not get sick from it. Therefore, you cannot plant strawberries after them. Neither cabbage nor cucumbers are suitable as predecessors. They and strawberries have common diseases - stem nematode, verticillium wilt.
Soil for planting
Characteristics of the best soil for strawberries: fairly fertile, good moisture retention, breathable, slightly acidic soil reaction.
Well-prepared soil is an important condition for obtaining a full harvest. Strawberries will grow in the same place for at least three years. Therefore, it is so important to provide it with adequate soil for a good start. The best soils for strawberries are sandy or loamy with a sufficient amount of organic matter. Soil preparation begins with digging. Roots weed need to choose very carefully. It is better to prepare the soil at least 2 weeks in advance.
To prevent weeds from growing on it during the summer, it is sown with green manure before planting.
When digging, a bucket of humus and 50 g of complex fertilizer are added to each square meter, which can be replaced with half a glass of ash and 30 g of superphosphate.
If the beds for planting are prepared in advance, you can add half-rotted manure, but at the same time water the soil with EM preparations Baikal or Siyanie. The beneficial microorganisms they contain convert organic matter into compounds available to plants and generally make the soil healthy.
It is better to plant Alba strawberries on a flat surface, then they will not suffer from a lack of water during the dry period.
Planting strawberries
Most often, strawberries are planted in two lines. The distance between the lines is 30-40 cm, and between the bushes 20-25 cm. For strawberries of the Alba variety, this distance between plants is enough; for more intense varieties it should be greater, sometimes up to half a meter.
The technology for planting strawberries is as follows:
- dig holes 20-25 cm deep;
- add a handful of humus, a tablespoon of ash, a pinch of complete mineral fertilizer with microelements to each hole;
- half the amount of water is poured into the hole - 0.5 liters, the rest of the water is added after planting the bush to slightly compact the soil;
- For planting, choose young plants obtained from mustaches no older than one year;
- keep the plants in the shade for about 6 hours, placing the roots in the following solution: 0.5 tsp per two liters. humate, a tablet of heteroauxin or a bag of root, phytosporin, a little less than a tablespoon of powder;
- When planting strawberries, the roots should not be tucked in; they should be positioned vertically;
- The central growth bud-heart cannot be covered; it must be at soil level, the roots must be completely covered with soil.
Planting time is a very important point on which next year’s harvest depends. In spring it falls at the end of April - beginning of May, depending on the weather. Summer planting begins in mid-July and ends 2 weeks before the onset of frost, so that the bushes have time to take root before frost.
Each week of delay after this period takes away 10% from the future harvest.
Caring for Alba strawberries consists of feeding three times: in early spring, during budding and after harvesting. The beds must be free of weeds.Watering is carried out as needed.
Conclusion
Alba strawberries are an excellent industrial variety that can be grown in almost any region. If all growing conditions are met, Alba strawberries will delight you not only with a good harvest, but also will not disappoint with its taste.
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