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

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-17 22:26

Huge Pygmy

The black currant variety Pygmy was bred less than twenty years ago, but its huge sweet berries, enviable yield and ease of cultivation do not leave anyone indifferent. Currently, the variety has spread throughout the country, including Karelia, Siberia and the Far East.

Content

• 1 Description of Blackcurrant Pygmy

• 2 Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

  2.1 Table

• 3 Planting currants

  • 3.1 Landing dates
  • 3.2 Selection of seedlings
  • 3.3 Site preparation

  • 3.4 Step by step planting process

    3.4.1 Video: Landing

• 4 Care

  • 4.1 Watering

  • 4.2 Weeding, loosening and mulching

    • 4.2.1 Fertilization
    • 4.2.2 Video: fertilization with potato peels
  • 4.3 Preparing for winter
• 5 Cropping

• 6 Diseases and pests

  • 6.1 Table: currant diseases
  • 6.2 Photo: diseases
  • 6.3 Table: pests
  • 6.4 Photo: pests of currants
• 7 Harvesting
• 8 Reviews

Description of black currant pygmy

The height of the Pygmy bush reaches 2 meters

Pygmy can be considered a great success of the South Ural Research Institute of Horticulture and Potato Growing. In 1999, it was included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements and approved for use in the Volga-Vyatka, Ural, West Siberian, East Siberian and Far Eastern regions.

The variety is self-fertile, annually gives a bountiful harvest of up to 6 kg from an adult bush. It copes well with frosts up to 35 degrees. Plant height up to 2 meters, compact with bright green five-lobed leaves. Fruiting better when the Bagheera, Yadrenaya, Treasure, Lucia varieties are adjacent. The harvest is annual, abundant. With age, the berries do not become smaller, and their weight is very solid, on average 4–5 grams, but up to 8 grams can be found.

The flowering of the variety is long. In the south, up to 45 days, in the middle lane up to 25. Accordingly, the harvest is delayed for the same period. The berries begin to ripen in late June or early July. Maturation takes place in several waves. And that is great. Usually they rejoice at a friendly harvest, but in the case of the Pygmy, long-term fruiting is only welcome. It's all about the taste of the berries. They are sweet. They are simply sweet, without sourness, and children eat them like strawberries. Therefore, the opportunity to have such a wonderful fresh dessert on the table for a long time cannot be upset. Tasting grade 5.

Pygmy rarely suffers from most currant diseases. He is not sick with powdery mildew, anthracnose and downy mildew, but is susceptible to septoria. Of the pests, the kidney mite is especially dangerous.

The black currant of the Pygmy variety has abundant fruiting

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Some characteristics of the Pygmy cultivar are rated positively or negatively.

Table

Advantages	disadvantages
Great taste	Uncooked ripening
Large berry	Susceptibility to certain diseases and pests
Annual fruiting
High yields
High degree of adaptation to frost, heat, drought, cold rainy summer
Unpretentious care
Self-fertility

Planting currants

Landing dates

The best time for planting currants is September. Before the cold weather, the seedlings root well, and in the spring with the first warmth they grow. You can plant them in the spring, preferably before bud break. Seedlings rooted in buckets, containers or in a clump of earth wrapped in foil can be planted throughout the growing season.

Selection of seedlings

According to accepted standards, a currant seedling with an open root system, put up for sale, should be shortened to 25–30 cm, without leaves. Root 10–15 cm, stem diameter 0.8–1 cm in two-year-old seedlings, 0.6–0.8 cm in annual. The plant should look alive: with shiny bark, no visible damage, thickenings, cracks, sagging, spots. The root is flexible, not overdried without swelling, rot.

Seedlings can also be grown from cuttings and cuttings.

Healthy currant seedling ready for planting

Site preparation

Currants grow and bear fruit best of all in well-lit places. The Pygmy variety is not particularly capricious with respect to the soil, however, too light sandy, swampy and very acidic areas will not work.

The earth is dug up, leveled, weeds are removed, especially perennial ones, rows are marked. The Pygmy bushes are quite high, so the distance between the bushes is 2 meters, and between the rows - 2.5 meters. Currants are planted in pits 40–45 cm deep and 60 cm in diameter. Pits are prepared at least a month before disembarkation.

While digging a hole, the top layer of soil 20–25 cm is laid out in one direction, and the bottom in the other. To the fertile surface soil add 2 buckets of compost or rotted manure, 1 glass of superphosphate and potassium sulfate in the amount of 2 tablespoons. If the soil is acidic, you can add 0.5 liters of ash. The enriched soil is mixed well and poured back into the pit. The finished pit is left before planting. Excess soil is scattered over the site.

Pits for planting currants are prepared in 1-2 months

Seedlings are prepared before planting. A day or two before the planned planting date, the roots of the plants are placed in a solution of a stimulator of growth and root development. Suitable preparations are Epin, Effekton, Kornevin, Heteroauxin, potassium humate. Add a pink solution of potassium permanganate to the solution. A few hours before planting, "transplant" the planting material into a clay talker. This is a creamy mass of clay half and half with earth, well mixed with water and manure. When planting, you can use a hydrogel from 5 to 10 grams per bush. They put it in a hole and fill it with water.

Step-by-step planting process

1. Remove the top layer of the nutrient mixture from the pit.
2. Place the seedling at an angle of 45 degrees, and deepen the root collar by 7-10 cm.
3. Gently spread the roots without kinking or twisting.
4. In small portions, fill the hole up to half, making sure that there are no voids under the root.
5. Pour about 5 liters of water over the roots to compact the soil and fill the hole to the top.
6. Slightly compact the soil around the seedling and form an irrigation circle (circular furrow 40-50 cm in diameter).
7. Carefully pour 1-2 buckets of water into the groove.
8. Cut off the trunk 20 cm above the surface, making sure that 2-3 buds remain on the trunk.

Video: landing

Care

To grow a crop of currants, you should regularly perform simple agrotechnical care measures: watering, weeding, mulching, fertilization, prevention of diseases and pests, preparation for winter.

Watering

After planting, the seedlings are watered every day, making sure that there is no stagnation of water. Water less often as it takes root.

Adult plants are watered 4 times per season:

• after flowering at the beginning of the formation of the ovary,
• during the period of growing berries that are pouring, before they begin to turn black,
• after harvest,
• pre-winter watering at the end of September.

The watering rate is 2–5 buckets per adult bush. But you need to take into account the weather and soil. If there is a drought, water more frequently. To correctly determine the watering, you need to dig a hole 25 cm deep under the bush, take the soil from the bottom and squeeze it into a lump. Watering is necessary if the lump will disintegrate.

Watering should be done around the bush so that the soil does not erode and the water reaches the periphery of the root system

Currants are watered along the periphery of the root system

Weeding, loosening and mulching

These procedures are carried out repeatedly during the season as needed. Loosening is desirable to carry out a few hours after each watering or rain, when a crust forms on the surface of the earth. This crust blocks the way for air to enter the soil, so the roots do not receive the necessary amount of oxygen necessary for normal nutrition.

Weeding is needed because weeds create an environment suitable for the development of pathogenic microflora and serve as a shelter for insect pests. It is convenient to carry out it together with loosening.

Mulching the soil retains moisture well, and if the mulch is of plant origin: compost, sawdust, just cut grass, then as it decays, it serves as an additional fertilizer. Instead of mulch, you can use green manure plants. They loosen well, fertilize and disinfect the soil. It can be mustard, rye, oats, phacelia or other green manure plants. They can be sown under currant bushes and between rows, and when they grow, they can be mowed and embedded in the soil as fertilizer or left on the surface as mulch.

Lupine is used as a siderat plant

Fertilizer

In early spring, after the snow melts, currant bushes can be fertilized with a solution of urea or ammonium sulfate. On a bucket of water, take 1 tablespoon of this or that drug, dissolve and pour it under the currant bush. You can simply pour it into the trunk circle and cover it with earth.

During the flowering period, 40-50 grams of dry urea or in solution and applied at the root. It is better to combine with watering. If the bushes are over 6 years old, take half the dose, divide it into two portions and add one after the other with a break of two weeks. You can insist 0.5 liters of manure or half a glass of chicken manure in a bucket of water for 3 days. First, water the bush with water, then the infusion and water again.

The next feeding is carried out during the formation of the ovary in early June. It can also be mineral or organic. This can be watering with a solution of 10 grams of potassium sulfate and 20 grams of superphosphate per 1 bucket of water. You can take ready-made fertilizer for berry crops and apply according to the instructions. Fertilizer from potato peels is an option for organic farming. Potato peelings or small, sprouted, substandard potatoes are washed, dried and chopped. Then they rake the mulch under the bush, lay out the potato chips and water.

Video: fertilization with potato peels

The next fertilization period begins 3-4 weeks after the end of fruiting. You can pour half a bucket of compost mixed with half a liter of ash under each bush, or you can take a ready-made mineral fertilizer for berry crops that does not contain nitrogen.

Preparing for winter

In the first half of October, pre-winter watering is carried out. It should be abundant to soak the entire root system to a depth of 40 cm. After the leaves fall, they should be collected and removed from the site, and the soil should be dug up. To prevent the appearance of diseases and parasites, bushes and soil are sprayed. You can spray the currants with a solution of carbamide and copper sulfate. To do this, 700 grams of carbamide and 10 grams of copper sulfate are dissolved in a bucket of water.

The currant of the Pygmy variety has good frost resistance and there is no special need to cover it, however, in order to protect it from strong winds and in case of expectation of a particularly harsh winter, the bushes should be tied. The string is fixed on a thick branch near the ground and the bushes are tied upwards in a spiral, fixing the string at the top. The top is wrapped several times with agrofiber.

Pruning

For work on the formation of bushes, the autumn time is suitable, when the leaf has already fallen, and the spring time before the buds open.

They begin to cut the currants immediately after planting, when the stem is shortened to 20 cm, leaving 2-3 buds on it. A year or a year and a half after planting, 3-4 strongest shoots are left on a young bush, and the rest are cut out at the root. A year later, these shoots are shortened by one quarter, and the side branches are cut off, which are directed downward and towards the center of the crown. Of the lateral branches growing upwards, 3-4 pieces are left on each stem at approximately equal intervals. Of the new, annual shoots, 3-4 are again left. In the third and fourth years, pruning is carried out in the same way. By the fifth year, the Pygmy bush should be fully formed and consist of 12-15 branches.

There is also a sanitary pruning of currant bushes. It consists of removing diseased, broken branches, as well as those that grow down or in the center of the crown. You should also remove branches that rub against each other and damage the bark. Sanitary pruning is carried out as branches are found to be removed.

Diseases and pests

Table: currant diseases

Diseases	Description	Control measures
Septoria or white spot	Small spots of brownish or brick color on the leaves. As the disease progresses, the spots become white almost transparent with a dark, almost black border. Black dots, disputes appear. Leaves dry and fall off in the middle of summer.	If a disease is detected in the summer, treat with Skor, Previkur, Kaptan, Oksikhom, Abiga-Peak preparations according to the instructions for the preparations. In the spring, immediately after the snow melts, treatment with Nitrafen at the rate of 2 grams per 1 sq. meter. During the growing season, several copious treatments with 3% Bordeaux liquid during budding, berry setting and after harvesting. In case of severe damage to plants, treat bushes and soil with Trichodermin, Ravral according to the instructions.
Goblet rust	Bright orange flecks of villi form on the underside of the leaves. The spots can grow and take up the entire leaf.	Loosening the soil under the bushes. Treatment with Skor, Topaz, Mancozeb preparations according to the instructions. If rust occurs annually, a course of spraying with 2% iron sulfate or Hom should be carried out according to the instructions. The first treatment was around May, two more repeated after 10 days.
Terry	The leaves become small. The color changes. The veins thicken. The shape of the leaves changes: they become three-lobed. The flowers turn purple. The characteristic odor disappears.	It is impossible to cure a diseased plant. It should be rooted out and burned immediately. The place where the bush grew is treated with 3% copper sulfate and a solution of potassium permanganate: 1 gram per 1 liter of water.

Photo: diseases

Septoria is identified by characteristic spots

A massive invasion of rust can leave currants without leaves

Terry currants cannot be cured

Table: pests

Pests	Description	Control measures
Currant mite	The kidney mite lays the larvae in the kidneys. They look round and bloated. The bush grows poorly, bears fruit, development stops.	If there are few bloated buds, they are collected by hand. The place of cut or separation is treated with a 3% solution of ferrous sulfate. It is recommended to cover with powdered chalk. Anti-tick drugs (acaricides): Oberon, Neoron, Nissoran, Omite. Process according to the instructions.
Berry sawfly	Lays eggs in the fruit ovary and eats the ovary from the inside. Currants begin to turn black in early June, the berries acquire a ribbed shape.	Destroy damaged berries. Spray flowers and ovaries with Fitoverm or Agvertin preparations. After harvesting, processing by Aktellik, Ambush.
Gooseberry fire	The caterpillar is pale green with black. Eats leaves, leaving streaks. Berries are covered with cobwebs and eaten from the inside.	After the snow melts, treatment with Hexachlorane solution. The flower buds are sprayed with Kinmix. Ovary Leptocid. It is recommended to plant tomatoes next to the currants to scare off the smell.

Photo: currant pests

Kidney mite larvae

The currant sawfly eats the berries from the inside

Cobweb-covered berries are traces of a gooseberry fire feast

Harvesting

Fruiting in Pygmy begins in the middle zone in late June or early July and lasts for almost a month. All this time, sweet juicy berries are available to gardeners, but they have to be harvested for future use in small portions as they ripen.

Harvested in dry weather. It is advisable to sort the berries right away when picking, so as not to shift them especially. Fresh Pygmy berries are poorly stored in the refrigerator for up to a week, which means that the harvested berries should be processed on the same day.

The variety belongs to dessert, therefore it is better to eat fresh berries, and excellent preparations are obtained. Cooked from berries

• preserves, jellies and jams
• prepare compotes, juices, homemade liqueurs,
• grated candied berries,
• dried and frozen,
• used as a filling for baking,
• preparing desserts.

Blackcurrant pie a favorite summer treat

Reviews

The Pygmy currant variety is extremely popular due to its combination of excellent taste, unpretentiousness to soil and weather, resistance to diseases and pests. Its cherry plum-sized berries look exotic curiosities and do not allow you to pass by. And, despite the appearance of new varieties, interest in it does not diminish.