Content
Strawberry Allegro is a new breeding product that has shown excellent resistance to temperature changes and has proven itself well on the Russian market. The berries are the first to ripen in the garden beds, produce a high yield, and are practically not susceptible to disease. The quality of Allegro strawberry fruits is excellent; you can hear a huge number of positive reviews about the variety.
Allegro has high growth rates
History of selection
Strawberries of this variety are considered a new variety. It was created relatively recently, in 2010, in the Netherlands. The development belongs to the June Fresh Forward program (Holland). The species was obtained by crossing a pair of numbered hybrids E2003-097 and E2006-492.
Characteristics and description of Allegro strawberries
One of the main characteristics of Allegro is its early ripening period. Its berries ripen a couple of weeks earlier than other varieties. The variety is suitable both for open ground and for growing in tunnels and greenhouses.It is unpretentious in care, has an average forming ability, and is resistant to bad weather conditions and frost. Allegro, despite the juiciness of the berries, does not release juice during transportation, does not deform, has a long shelf life, and is therefore suitable for transportation over long distances. Most often, the berry is consumed fresh; it is also suitable for preparing preparations for the winter or freezing as a whole.
Allegro bushes are powerful, but do not take up much space and are compact. The peduncles are long, beautiful, forming up to nine buds. The inflorescences are sheltered from the sun by dense foliage. The root system of the crop is strong, well developed, and able to withstand common diseases found in strawberries.
Due to its high commercial qualities, Allegro can be grown for sale.
Appearance and taste of berries
Allegro fruits are large and medium in size, weighing about 30 g. Strawberries have an even ovoid or cone-shaped shape, there is no neck, and berries with a blunt tip can be found. The color of the fruit is bright red, the skin is glossy and shiny. The taste is pleasant, the sugar content is high, the sweetness is felt stronger than the sourness. Allegro pulp is juicy, aromatic, dense. The berries can be stored in the refrigerator without loss of quality for more than a week. Strawberries have a high yield of class A specimens.
Ripening period and yield of Allegro strawberries
The variety demonstrates high self-fertility and is classified as a short-day variety. It begins to bloom in the first week of May, the berries are ripe by June. In terms of yield, Allegro has an advantage over almost all strawberry varieties. From a bush, if you follow the rules for caring for the plant, you can collect up to 900 g of berries.The harvest is carried out once a season, the fruits ripen together, the fruiting period is 3-4 weeks.
The first berries from Allegro bushes can be picked by the end of May
Frost resistance
Allegro is a new development that has just begun to be tested. According to the originators, it has average resistance to frost, but it is too early to talk about the truth of this statement. Due to the structure of the bush and the location of the flower stalks under the dense foliage, it is highly resistant to return frosts.
Resistance to diseases and pests
The plant is characterized by good disease resistance. It is not afraid of late blight, powdery mildew, gray mold and verticillium wilt, but requires treatment against anthracnose. It is advisable to spray Allegro against pests with special preparations.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Over ten years of cultivation practice, the variety has demonstrated many advantages with minor disadvantages.
Advantages | Flaws |
Early ripening | Requirement for watering |
Balanced taste | High cost of planting material |
High yields | Susceptibility to anthracnose |
Lasting immunity to diseases |
|
Temperature resistance |
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Excellent transportability and keeping quality |
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The advantages of Allegro are still talked about in advance due to the relative youth of the variety
Landing
Allegro is planted in the ground in spring or autumn. In the first case, this is done after the earth has completely warmed up, in the second - a month before the arrival of frost.
The site for strawberries is chosen to be sunny, windless, with a groundwater level of 100 cm or more. The bed is prepared at least a month before planting:
- the soil is dug up;
- add wood ash and manure.
Planting scheme for Allegro strawberries 30 by 50 cm. It is better to place seedlings in a checkerboard pattern. After planting, mulch the bushes with sawdust, straw or agrofibre.
Care
The variety does not require special attention during cultivation and care; for good yield it is enough to follow standard procedures:
- Watering. The beds with Allegro strawberries are moistened using drip irrigation. It is done once every three days until the berries ripen. At the time of harvest, no watering is carried out.
- Loosening. Organize regularly to a depth of 30-40 mm. At the same time, weeds are removed.
- Mustache trimming. Strawberry rosettes should be removed in a timely manner. Otherwise, the garden bed will become overgrown, the berries will become small, and the amount of harvest will be sharply reduced.
- Fertilizer. Fertilizers are applied to the beds with Allegro several times a season. Immediately after removing the cover, it is useful to saturate the strawberries with nitrogen compounds: chicken manure 500 ml per bush or mullein solution (1:10). At the moment of formation of ovaries, the plants should be watered with potassium sulfate and nitrophoska. At the end of summer, feed with complex preparations or wood ash.
- Prevention of diseases. To prevent the crop from being susceptible to fungal diseases, it is sprayed with garlic infusion. Several times a year it is recommended to treat with anthracnose preparations.
- Preparing for winter. In autumn, I remove dry and old leaves from the Allegro variety.In the northern regions, bushes are covered with cardboard, spruce branches, straw or spunbond (laid on arches).
In the southern regions, the species overwinters without shelter
Reproduction
Reproduction of Allegro is carried out in three ways: by mustache, division, and seeds.
The method of propagating the crop using rosettes is considered the most effective and easiest. For them, peat pots are placed in the beds, and after the formation of 3-5 full-fledged leaves, the mustache is cut off. The division method also gives good results, provided that the bush is already mature (2-3 years). Strawberries are propagated by seeds less frequently; the process is quite labor-intensive. Planting material is sown in February in fertile soil, buried no more than half a centimeter. A couple of weeks after the emergence of seedlings, the seedlings are plucked. Closer to May, they begin to take it outside for hardening or put it under film.
Conclusion
Strawberry Allegro is a very promising variety with a great future. The ripening of the juicy fruits of the variety occurs quickly and smoothly, the taste characteristics of the berries are excellent, and the keeping quality is good. A big plus is that the plant is able to bear fruit in both cool and hot weather; with proper care, such factors do not affect the harvest. The variety is definitely worthy of gardeners paying attention to it.
Reviews from gardeners about Allegro strawberries
