Content
A tasty, healthy and exquisite dessert is grape berries: shiny, juicy, as if radiating from the inside from the sunlight they have accumulated. One of the most popular table varieties is the Cardinal grape. It seems that these grapes have collected the best attributes that are expected from the fruits of a generous southern vine - visual attractiveness and unsurpassed taste. This is precisely what its creators, Californian breeders, strived for in the distant 30s of the last century. Two decades later, domestic scientists began to study the promising vine in order to develop more winter-hardy bushes.
Knowing the history of the creation of the Cardinal grape variety, it is strange to understand that it is by no means an Italian guest. Its bright, picturesque vines and leaves are strongly associated with the landscapes of the Apennine Peninsula. Despite the care that must be given to the grape bushes of this variety, in the south of Russia it still occupies a worthy place among table vines. Still, the original form of the Cardinal grape is inimitable and deserves increased attention from winegrowers.
Features and characteristics of the variety
A specific property of the massive clusters of black Cardinal is early ripening. The grapes reach ripeness 110-120 days after the start of the growing season, usually in mid-August.The heat-loving vine is characterized by strong and rapid growth under favorable conditions - up to 3 m. The bark of the Cardinal grape variety has a characteristic bright brown color, darker at the nodes. The large, five-lobed, serrated leaves are light green in the spring, then become a rich dark shade. The flowers of this variety are bisexual and are well pollinated.
The cylindrical-conical grape bunches are large - up to 25 cm, up to 15 cm wide. Loose, on a long stem, which is easily torn off the vine, with an average weight of 400 g. On old bushes, the harvest is greater than on young ones. One shoot can produce two bunches of 0.5 kg each. During tasting, the fruits of the Cardinal variety received a score of 8-9 points. They are transportable and can be stored for up to 3 months.
Dark purple or violet-red berries - the difference in description is due to the mineral composition of the soil - large, oval, sometimes more round, covered with a noticeable waxy coating. Sometimes they have a beveled top with a groove. The weight of one berry is 6-10 g with a size of up to 1.5-3 cm. The skin is dense, but it is easy to bite through. The pulp is fleshy, light, pleasant to the taste, with noble notes of nutmeg. Cardinal grapes are sweet, with a slight acidity: sugar to acid content is 2:1. The sugar level in the berries of this variety is up to 18.0 g per 100 ml.
Advantages and disadvantages of early ripening grapes
When choosing a grape variety for your garden, everyone thinks about the merits of the bush and decides whether the resulting harvest is worth the labor costs.
- The Cardinal grape variety has the advantage of early ripening and large fruit;
- The berries have increased sugar content and amazing taste;
- With good care, high yields are guaranteed;
- The berries are suitable for transportation and are stored for a long time.
There are also negative touches.
- Low winter hardiness up to -200C. In the conditions of the middle zone it needs special careful care;
- The Cardinal grape vine is susceptible to the rapid spread of diseases. In autumn, its tops are often affected by mildew, oidium, and bacterial cancer, so prevention is necessary;
- In rainy weather, the berries may become covered with gray rot;
- The berries in the clusters ripen unevenly. To solve the problem, it is necessary to carry out timely treatment with iron sulfate.
Spraying enriches the plant with iron. The shoots grow more often and become more powerful, which increases the yield accordingly. The berries will be large and healthy, without peas.
Planting and caring for grape bushes
The Cardinal grape variety reproduces well by grafting and layering. If the rootstock is powerful, the berries will be larger. Propagated by cuttings in the spring, using cut shoots. Autumn planting is preferable; care consists of careful shelter for the winter. You should seriously consider choosing a place for a Cardinal grape seedling. It can only be in a southern direction, sunny, with good soil. The bush of this variety prefers black soil, but also grows on other soils.
- Grape bushes are moisture-loving, but watering needs to be regulated: excess moisture leads to cracking and rotting of the berries. Timely drainage will come to the rescue. The vine needs moisture when buds and ovaries appear;
- In autumn and spring, it is mandatory to mulch the Cardinal grape bushes with compost or humus. Complex fertilizers are applied before and after flowering;
- Due to instability to diseases, valuable grapevines must be treated with fungicides (colloidal sulfur, Ridomil and others);
- The vine of this variety tolerates short pruning well. From three to six eyes are left on the shoot;
- In late autumn, before frost, Cardinal grape bushes are carefully covered with mulch, straw, and hay.
Family of a Californian guest
In many countries, masterpieces of table varieties have been created and continue to be created on the basis of early ripening Cardinal grapes. In Russia, it has acquired numerous relatives, thanks to the efforts of breeders, scientists and amateurs. First of all, we worked on promoting the valuable, tasty berry to the north. The famous and popular vines Arcadia, Anapa Cardinal, Crimean Cardinal, Nadezhda, Sofia, Preobrazheniya, Monarch and others have been developed.
Photo of Nadezhda AZOS bunches
Many of the new varieties are based on Cardinal material and the frost-resistant Criuliansky grape. This vine from Moldova with pink berries can withstand frosts down to -280 With no shelter and is resistant to rot, phylloxera and spider mites. The developed varieties triumphantly march through amateur vineyards under the name Cardinal: sustainable, AZOS and Lux. They were born at the Anapa Zonal Experimental Station (AZOS), where 16 hybrids based on the “American” were grown.
Selected vines
Clusters of Cardinal Sustainable weigh up to 900 g, the berries are dark pink, with a slight nutmeg taste. Withstands frosts down to -220 S. Cardinal Crimean is distinguished by the earliest ripening period - up to 100 days.But its pink berries with a distinct muscat taste per kilogram bunch received a reduced tasting score of 8.1.
The berries of the Cardinal AZOS or Lux grape variety (the bush has a double name) have a color ranging from dark pink or red-blue to dark, the weight of the bunch is stable - 0.5 kg, very often - up to 1 kg. For the table variety, the sugar content is significant; here it is increased to 22 percent. Accordingly, during the tasting it received 8.7 points. Vigorous, high-yielding bushes have increased both resistance to fungal diseases and frost resistance - up to -220 WITH.
Photo of bunches Cardinal Azos
The future lies with hybrid forms of grapes. Thanks to painstaking selection, amateurs are already growing this table grape in the Volga region. And, it is quite possible that in the 21st century its clusters - a source of endorphins, joy hormones - will appear in the gardens of the Southern Urals and Siberia.
