Black Currant Exotic: Description And Characteristics Of The Variety, Advantages And Disadvantages, Planting And Care Features + Photos And Reviews

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

Black currant Exotic: how to grow a large-fruited variety on your site?

Black currant is a well-known and very popular berry not only in our country. There are many varieties, but every summer resident will certainly want to try something new. For example, Exotic currants. Having familiarized yourself with the description of the variety and the rules of agricultural technology, you can easily grow this high-yielding plant.

Content

• 1 Description of black currant Exotic
• 2 Table: Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

• 3 Landing features

  • 3.1 Optimal timing
  • 3.2 Site preparation
  • 3.3 Selecting a seedling
  • 3.4 Disembarkation process

• 4 Nuances of plant care

  • 4.1 Cropping
  • 4.2 Watering
  • 4.3 Fertilization
  • 4.4 Shelter for the winter
• 5 Table: Diseases and pests
• 6 Harvesting
• 7 Reviews of gardeners

Description of black currant Exotic

Blackcurrant Exotic belongs to modern varieties. It was created by pollination of the Seedling Golubki variety with a mixture of pollen from seedlings obtained from free pollination of the Bradthorpe variety. The plant belongs to the varieties of Siberian selection. Exotic was included in the State Register in 2001. This currant is ideal for growing in the climatic conditions of central Russia.

The variety is a tall (sometimes exceeding average human height) and upright, not too dense bush. Young shoots are not pubescent, light green in color. The mature branches are strong, lignified, thick and straight. They do not bend under the weight of large berries. The internodes are long, and the bark is shiny, gray. The shoot tip is gray-yellow. The buds are large, asymmetrical, pink in color. They grow, deviating from the escape.

The currant has a five-lobed leaf, large, corrugated, with fine wrinkles. It feels rough to the touch. The edges of the leaf plate are decorated with large non-sharp teeth. Exotic flowers are large, pale in color. The brush is drooping, of medium size, with a straight axis without pubescence. It is quite thick, it can hold from 8 to 10 berries.

The berries of the Exotica variety are round, very large - from 2.5 to 5 g. They are distributed evenly along the entire length of the brush. The color of the fruit is black, the skin is thin and shiny. The currant pulp tastes sweet and sour, refreshing and tonic.

Exotic berries are not small at all

Table: Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Advantages	disadvantages
High yield	Susceptibility to anthracnose, septoria, terry and kidney mite
Large berry size	Poor drought tolerance
Excellent winter hardiness (withstands frosts down to -26 ° C)	Tendency to defeat by spring frosts
Manufacturability grade	High crumbling during full maturity
Resistant to fungal diseases, including powdery mildew and columnar rust	Damage to berries (they can also lose juice during transportation)
Early maturity	Fruit spoilage if ripening occurs in too humid weather

Landing features

Optimal timing

The best time to plant Exotics is autumn. It is advisable to be in time before the first frost, therefore the end of September - the beginning of October, when the temperature is in the range of 8-15 ° C - the most favorable period. During the winter, the earth will settle well and compact around the root system, and in the spring the currants will give good growth after awakening.

Site preparation

Blackcurrant Exotic prefers moist soil. Therefore, choose an area on the north or northwest side of the garden. The main thing is that the place is protected from strong winds. The area where black currants are supposed to be planted should be spacious and well-lit, otherwise the bush will begin to stretch, and the berries will begin to shrink.

Exotic is undemanding to the soil, if you dig the planting hole correctly and add the necessary fertilizers. The main thing is that the earth is not sour. But this can also be corrected by liming. If black currants are grown in sandy loam soil, good watering is required.

Two-year-old seedlings have a very high survival rate

Disembarkation process

1. We dig a hole 2 weeks before the planned landing date. Its volume should be 2 times larger than the root system of the seedling. Usually these are the following dimensions: width - 50 cm, depth - 40 cm.
2. We bring in useful substances and fertilizers: 1 bucket of rotted manure, 300 g of ash and 200 g of superphosphate. Stir in with the added riding earth.
3. We plant the plant at an angle, 8-10 cm deeper than the seedling grew in the nursery. This is necessary to create a sufficient supply of basal buds.
4. Pour at least 10 liters of water under the seedling and mulch with peat to exclude moisture loss.

The pit should be about half a meter wide

The nuances of plant care

Pruning

Pruning is one of the most important steps in the formation of the Exotic black currant bush, helping to renew the shoots and, therefore, affecting the yield.

Pruning is done twice a year. In the spring, branches damaged by the winter or frozen are removed, too dense thickets are thinned out. Such pruning is carried out only before the start of sap flow. In the fall, fallen or diseased branches are removed. The rules of procedure are as follows:

1. For seedlings of autumn or spring planting, each shoot is shortened with a sharp pruner, leaving no more than 4 buds on it. This pruning helps to form the bush and induces the development of strong side branches.
2. In the next 3 years, root weak shoots and diseased branches are removed. For the further formation of the bush, 4–5 strong shoots are left, which grow without interfering with each other.
3. Formative pruning ends by the fourth year. As a result, there should be from 10 to 15 branches of all ages (2-4 pieces each year of the plant's life). Moreover, there should be 1–2 more branches for annuals than for four years.
4. Subsequent pruning frees the bush from weakly fruiting five- and six-year-old branches. It is supposed to leave 5 young and strong shoots for further rejuvenation of the bush.

Blackcurrant Exotic loves abundant watering

Fertilizer

Correct feeding is the basis of the future harvest. In the first two years after planting, the bush receives the necessary trace elements from the fertilizers introduced into the planting pit.

Fertilize Exotics begin in the spring, with the onset of the growing season. First, up to 50 g of urea is introduced for digging. The older the bush, the less nitrogen it needs. In the summer, mulching with a mixture of peat and rotted manure will become a good top dressing and protection from weeds and moisture loss. Autumn feeding includes the introduction of organic matter (up to 6 kg of compost, horse manure), 50 g of superphosphate and 10–20 g of potassium sulfate.

Shelter for the winter

The preparation of Exotic black currant for winter begins around October, before the onset of frost. This process includes the following steps:

1. Removal of diseased, old and damaged branches.
2. Top dressing of the bush, cultivation of the land around the currant. You need to dig up the soil shallowly so as not to damage the roots.
3. Mulching the trunk circle. For these purposes, sawdust, hay, sunflower husks, dry leaves are used.

When frosts of more than -25 ° C are predicted, the bush is wrapped with a rope to avoid friction of the branches. It is allowed to use cardboard, special covering materials (for example, SUF) as a shelter. If the winter is very snowy, and the currants grow in a secluded place, you can hide the bush under a snowdrift.

Table: Diseases and pests

Diseases and pests	Typical symptoms	Control measures	Prevention
Anthracnose	The disease manifests itself in May. Leaves, petioles, fruits are affected. First, small brown spots appear, which then grow. The leaves turn yellow, curl and fall off. Shoots are stunted and do not have time to ripen.	During the growing season, the bush is sprayed 4 times with 1% Bordeaux liquid (100 g of copper sulfate, 100 g of lime per 10 L of water): during bud break after flowering is complete 2 weeks after flowering after harvest Also, at the first symptoms, you can apply fungicidal drugs: Fitosporin, Previkur, Skor.	Collection and destruction of fallen leaves. Destruction of weeds. Digging land between and under the bushes. Spring pruning and thinning.
Septoria	Brown spots appear on the leaves, which then brighten. Often this disease is confused with powdery mildew, but with septoria, white bloom does not appear. With severe damage, currants can completely lose their foliage. Shoots stop growing.
Terry	A viral disease that affects flowers and leaves. Flowers become double and do not give ovary. The leaves take on an elongated shape and become three-lobed.	Spraying with insecticides 2 times: in early spring; in the first half of summer.	It is required to remove and destroy the affected branches (they can be easily distinguished by swollen buds). For reproduction, you need to choose only healthy branches.
Kidney mite	A harbinger of terry, hibernates inside the bud. In early spring, it takes on a rounded and swollen shape.	In the period from the beginning of the opening of the buds and until the end of flowering, spray 10% karbofos (75 g of the drug per 10 l of water) at least 2 times. The air temperature during spraying should be at least 20 ° C.	If the lesion is weak, the damaged kidneys must be manually collected and destroyed. In case of severe damage, it is necessary to remove diseased shoots and destroy. It is good to spray currant bushes with infusion of garlic, tobacco or walnuts.
Gooseberry fire	The butterfly lays its eggs in currant buds or flowers. Caterpillars emerging from them damage ovaries and leaves. The damaged berry rots and dries up.	Spraying before and after flowering with karbofos (5 g per 10 l of water).	It is recommended to pick damaged berries and caterpillars by hand, destroy them. In autumn, you should dig up the earth and mulch it with peat or humus (a layer of at least 8 cm).
Currant leaf midge	The larvae feed on the pulp of young leaves. The leaves are curled, poorly developed. The next year, the affected plants may not bear fruit.	Before flowering, after flowering and when the crop is harvested, spray with a solution of karbofos.	During the ripening period of the crop and after harvesting, the affected branches should be removed and burned. It is supposed to water and fertilize the currants in a timely manner. It is necessary to mulch a trunk circle with a radius of at least 50 cm.

Harvesting

Exotic blackcurrant jam is not only tasty, but also very healthy

Exotic black currant ripens in early July. It is not worth delaying the harvest, because, as already mentioned, the variety has a tendency to shedding. Exotics are harvested by hand, although mechanical harvesting is also quite acceptable.

If you want to keep the berries in the refrigerator for as long as possible, give preference to manual harvesting. This is a more gentle way. Harvesting is done in dry weather. For storage, only whole berries are selected, not picked separately, but with a brush. Collect them in small boxes, baskets or boxes.

If the berry is stored at a temperature of 10-12 ° C, it can last up to 10 days. Currants packed in plastic bags at temperatures from 0 ° C to -1 ° C are stored for up to 1.5 months. Deep freezing involves storage for up to several months.

Blackcurrant Exotic is a storehouse of vitamins and microelements. Therefore, the most correct choice is to eat fresh berries. A good way to replenish vitamin reserves in the winter is to make jam, compote, berries, mashed with sugar, juice, puree. Which of the proposed methods of storage and processing to give preference - the choice is yours.

Gardeners reviews

Easy care and very large berries attract gardeners in Exotic black currant. In addition, this early variety will allow you to enjoy healthy fruits in early July. Correct agricultural technology will extend the life of the currant up to almost 20 years. All this time, it will be possible not only to maintain health with fresh berries, but also to delight yourself and loved ones with delicious preparations.