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Among the various varieties of grapes, a new one appeared not so long ago - Preobrazhenie, thanks to the breeding work of V.N. Krainova. While the variety has not yet been officially included in the State Register, however, it is of increased interest among gardeners, since the hybrid form has taken the best characteristics from the base varieties: high yield, short time to harvest, excellent taste.
Description of the Preobrazhenie grape variety
The Preobrazhenie grape variety is most suitable for cultivation in the southern regions of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. However, many gardeners grow this variety in central Russia, not without success, and they are not afraid that agricultural technology becomes more complicated, because the plants need to be covered for the winter. But it's worth it.
Preobrazhenie grapes ripen in record time: from 3 to 3.5 months pass from the moment the buds open to the ripening of the first clusters. The timing varies slightly in one direction or another, depending on weather conditions and the location of the Preobrazhenie variety.
When describing the Preobrazhenie grape variety, the first thing to note is the size of the berries and clusters.
In the photo, coins or matchboxes are placed next to the berries for comparison. The grape berries are very large, up to 5 cm long, elongated oval in shape. The weight of one berry can be from 17 to 20 g.Ripe berries of the Preobrazhenie variety have a light pink color and a sweet, slightly sour taste. The skin is of medium thickness, covered with a whitish waxy coating. They tolerate transportation well and have an attractive presentation.
The weight of a bunch of grapes is from 1.7 to 3 kg, the shape is often conical. Good productive indicators make Preobrazhenie grapes suitable both for fresh consumption and for processing into wine and juices.
Other notable technical characteristics of the Preobrazhenie variety are:
- The mother bush forms a large number of stepsons. In the southern regions they get a second harvest;
- Cuttings can be grafted onto any other varieties; they have a high survival rate;
- However, the Transfiguration grape bush itself grows large in size without grafting;
- High yield up to 20 kg per bush does not depend on the vagaries of nature;
- Resistance to viral and fungal diseases and damage from insect pests;
- The Preobrazhenie variety is not capricious in relation to soils; it is enough to place fertile soil in the planting hole;
- Preobrazhenie grapes are not prone to peas, regardless of weather conditions;
- Suitable for growing in the middle zone, tolerates frosts down to -20°C;
- It is important that it is pollinated without the participation of insects, since the flowers are bisexual. Pollination occurs whenever the wind blows. Artificial pollination of the Preobrazhenie variety brushes is not required.
The Transfiguration grape variety has a lot of advantages that will manifest themselves fully if the crop is properly cared for.
For more information about the Transfiguration variety, watch the video:
Features of growing grapes
The purchased planting material should be carefully inspected upon purchase.There should be no obvious defects indicating that the seedling of the Preobrazhenie variety was frozen or overdried or damaged by disease. A healthy seedling should have white roots and shoots should be green in cross section.
Landing
To plant Transfiguration grapes, you need to determine the right place. Grapes, after all, come from the southern regions, so to plant them, choose southern, well-lit areas of the garden; for rows, choose the direction from north to south. Planting holes should be located at a distance of 2 m from each other.
The Preobrazhenie variety is undemanding to soil quality. However, if the soil in the garden is not very fertile, with a low ability to form a humus layer, then humus or compost, wood ash and nitrogen fertilizers must be added to the planting hole. This nutritious dressing is made for Preobrazochenie grapes for the next 3-4 years. The results for growing crops will be significantly higher.
The planting site should be well-drained, without stagnant moisture; it is better to place it at some elevation. The planting hole is dug to a depth of 0.5 m. All additives are mixed in it along with the soil, and watered well so that the soil settles. And a seedling is planted. This planting method is suitable for lignified seedlings of the Preobrazhenie variety, which will already produce a small harvest next season.
The time for planting is chosen taking into account the climatic characteristics of your area. In spring, choose the time when it is already warm enough, the air temperature is at least +15°C, and the ground has warmed up by +10°C.
Care
Further care of the grape crop consists of watering, fertilizing, pruning and protection from pests and diseases.Care must be taken to ensure that the plant will reward you with a good harvest.
The peculiarities of watering include the fact that Preobrazhenie grapes love water, however, a large amount of it can destroy the plant. Take into account the structural features of the grape root system. It goes deep into the earth, and in order for all the roots to have enough moisture, it should be watered in large volumes.
So, a seedling of the first year of life is watered for the first time after planting once a week with 2 buckets of water, then after about a month they switch to watering once every 3-4 weeks, however, up to 4 buckets of water are spent on watering.
Autumn water-recharging watering is carried out after the leaves have fallen. It is necessary for the plant to better withstand the winter cold, since dry soils freeze more strongly than wet ones. Moisture-charging irrigation is carried out despite the presence of rain, since the root system of the plant is very powerful and the moisture from the rain may not be enough to penetrate deep into the plant.
In spring, moisture-charging irrigation is carried out to activate the buds. Watering is necessary, especially if the winter had little snow.
For Transfiguration grapes, you can use various types of watering. If the underground irrigation system was not installed immediately, then surface watering is carried out. To do this, make a furrow up to 20 cm deep around the plant, departing about 30 cm from the root collar. Water is poured here.
Excess moisture affects the taste of the fruits of the Preobrazhenie variety. The taste deteriorates, the berries become excessively watery and tasteless. Therefore, if the summer is too rainy, it is worth making drainage grooves through which excess moisture will flow away from the tree trunk circle.
Trimming
Pruning grapes Transformation is the main agrotechnical technique for growing, which allows you to:
- Regulate the Transfiguration grape harvest, since a large number of bunches impairs their quality;
- Form a grape bush by removing fruit-bearing vines;
- Rejuvenate the plant, as pruning stimulates the growth of grape shoots.
For more information about pruning grapes, watch the video:
Pruning is carried out in the spring, before the buds open or in the fall. For the Preobrazhenie variety, according to reviews from winegrowers, fan pruning of the bush in the fall is preferable. Trimmed shoots are much easier to cover, and they will withstand frost without damage. In spring, dormant grape buds will bloom much earlier, which will reduce the period before harvest. Let us consider in detail how to form a bush.
In the first year of life, 2 shoots are left in the fall, which are shortened to 2 buds. Next year, a shoot will grow from each bud, in the fall they are shortened, one will become a replacement shoot, 2 buds will be left on it, the other will be a fruiting vine, up to 12 buds will be left on it.
For the winter, the vines are bent to the ground, covered with soil and covered with sheets of slate or roofing felt. In spring, the cover is removed, and the vines are bent and tied horizontally to the ground on a trellis.
At the next pruning, the fruit-bearing grapevine is cut out completely to the very knot. There are only 2 shoots left, 1 is made a replacement shoot, shortened to 2 buds, the second will bear fruit in the next season, its length is formed by 12 buds. This pruning system is repeated year after year.
It is preferable for the Preobrazhenie grape variety, grown not only in the temperate zone, but also in the southern regions.Allows you to cover the plant, form 2 or more sleeves, which leads to high yield of the variety and excellent taste of grape berries.
Problems when growing the Transfiguration variety:
- Ability to form a large number of shoots. They will need to be removed. Each shoot is capable of producing one cluster, however, this is too much load for the bush. The clusters of the Transfiguration grapes are very large, it will be difficult for them to ripen;
- Fungal diseases can also be a problem. To prevent diseases from affecting the grape bush, preventive spraying with Bordeaux mixture is done at the beginning of the growing season and after autumn pruning.
Grapes can transform your summer cottage if you spend time growing and caring for this interesting and rewarding crop.
Conclusion
Viticulture is a complex but fascinating process. The main goal is to obtain a decent grape harvest, which can only be achieved with careful attention to the crop and the correct implementation of agricultural technology. An equally important role in the successful cultivation of grapes is a well-chosen variety. According to reviews from winegrowers, the Preobrazhenie variety has excellent characteristics in terms of yield and marketability of fruits, has bisexual flowers, which is convenient for pollination, and is frost-resistant, which makes it possible to grow it in the middle zone.
The Preobrazhenie variety is stunning... Krainov created a masterpiece... in Astrakhan, it is the earliest... it is affected by oidium if you do not ration watering... I advise you not to water at all after flowering... that is, before harvesting...