- Authors: Voronchikhina Alexandra Yakovlevna (Rossoshanskaya zonal experimental gardening station)
- Year of approval: 2000
- Barrel type: wood
- Growth type: medium-sized
- Crown: panicle, medium density
- Escapes: straight, yellowish green, glabrous
- Leaves: dark green, matte, double serrated edge
- Fruit size: large
- Fruit shape: oval
- Fruit color: black
Cherry Black large - the extremely tasty berries of this culture have attracted and continue to attract many gardeners, both domestic and foreign. The reason for this is also the large-fruited culture, and its unpretentious nature.
Breeding history
This cherry, belonging to an ordinary species, having a universal purpose, was bred by A. Ya. Voronchikhina, an employee of the Rossosh zonal experimental gardening station. Culture has been approved for use since 2000, with a recommendation for cultivation in the North Caucasus region. Nevertheless, its indicators turned out to be so productive and convincing that it is now cultivated in many other regions of Russia.
Description of the variety
The culture is medium-sized (3-4 m), with a paniculate, pyramidal configuration with a spreading crown of medium thickening. The bark is gray, darkish, slightly rough, with a silvered coating, practically does not crack. Shoots are upright, elongated, slightly thickened, yellowish-green in color, have large internodes. In young shoots, it is greenish, with age it changes color somewhat. Lentils without pubescence, reddish, not very often located. The buds are rather large, rounded, with sharp tips, not adjacent to the shoots.
Leaves are large, dark green in color, oval in shape, with double-serrate edges and pointed tops, glossy, without stipules. Petioles are thickened, elongated, without pubescence. The flowers are large, formed in 2-3 pieces in inflorescences, with wide and white petals, which darken somewhat at the end of flowering. Large buds.
The culture cannot be called a long-liver - the approximate life span is 15-17 years. The more mature the tree becomes, the lower the degree of its yield becomes. By the age of 15, the yield of trees drops significantly.
Of the advantages of culture, it is worth noting:
high degree of frost resistance;
comparative ease of care;
a reliable level of resistance to many diseases;
abundance of crops.
Minuses:
short periods of fruit bearing;
relatively short life span;
relative susceptibility to moniliosis and coccomycosis.
The berries of the culture are universal in their application, they are perfect for fresh consumption, as well as for various types of processing. In refrigeration units, they can be stored for up to 2 months.
Fruit characteristics
Berries are formed large, weight 4.1 g. Rounded in configuration and slightly flattened on the sides, they are not prone to falling off. The peel is thin, dark, almost black. The dark red consistency of the pulp is very tender and rich in juice, with a memorable dessert taste. The seeds are small in size, freely separating from the pulp. The separation of berries is dry.
By chemical composition, berries include: dry compositions - 14.5%, sugar - 9.7%, acids - 1.5%, vitamin C - 11.3 mg /%.
Taste qualities
By their taste, the berries are sweet and sour. Tasting assessment of ripe fruits in points - 4.1.
Ripening and fruiting
Effective fruiting begins from the 3rd year of the seedlings' life. The ripening period is early-average. The dates for harvesting fruits are from the end of June.
Yield
The yield is good - an average of 12-25 kg per tree. The first berries begin to be removed without waiting for full ripening. At the same time, it is more convenient to cut them off with brushes in the area of attachment of the stalks to the branches. With stalks, berries can be stored longer.
Self-fertility and the need for pollinators
The culture is self-fertile, for this reason, pollinating cherries are often planted next to it, Spectacular, Kent, Turgenevka, Griot Ostgeimsky, Zhukovskaya, Rossoshanskaya black.
Landing
In open soil, the culture is planted only in the spring, while the buds of the plants have not yet opened. For planting, it is better to use light soils with a neutral degree of acidity, since redox processes adversely affect the absorption of nutrient compounds by trees. The ideal acidity index here would be 7.0 pH. Small deviations of this value in one direction or another are permissible.
If you are forced to plant trees in slightly acidified soils, then you should first prepare them by liming (300-400 g of lime are added per 1 m2 of plot).
The planting recesses are prepared ahead of time, adding to them, with weekly breaks, first lime, and then organic matter (composts). For 1 m² you will need about 400 g of lime and about 10 kg of compost. The dimensions of the planting grooves are selected based on the parameters of the plant root systems. The standard dimensions of the recesses are 80x80 cm, and about 60 cm in depth.
During planting of seedlings, the root collars of plants should rise 6-7 cm above the soil level.
Growing and care
The procedure for caring for a culture contains some nuances. Due to its high susceptibility to diseases of a fungal nature, the trees should be irrigated carefully, not flooding the roots. It is drought-resistant, so some underfilling will be more useful than overflow, which can destroy the tree.
The first irrigation is performed immediately after flowering, adding immediately and top dressing. The second is in the initial period of fruit formation. In dry periods, additional irrigation will not harm the culture, therefore, irrigation is increased up to 1 time in 14 days. For each plant, 20-30 liters of water are consumed.
In rainy weather, the near-stem space is carefully loosened to a depth of 15 cm, fearing of touching and damaging the roots. During the season, this procedure is carried out up to 3 times. Regular mulching of the crop is a must.
Black large painfully tolerates thickening of crowns, and therefore shoots exceeding 40 cm in length are cut off. It is also important to remove the branches growing into the crowns. A single tree leaves no more than 10 main shoots.
The initial pruning procedure is carried out immediately after planting the seedlings. Up to 7 strong and thickened shoots are left on the trees, intended for forming crowns. All subsequent pruning is carried out from the beginning of the spring period, about 3 weeks before the first buds appear.
Trimming is carried out systematically in order to rejuvenate and sanitize, which greatly reduces the likelihood of fungal diseases. We shorten one-year-olds to 80 cm, laying up to 3 main branches. Next year, we shorten the central part of the trees by about 60 cm, measuring the distance from the highest branch of the first tier.
We start feeding from the time when the trees begin to bear fruit. Organic matter is applied no more than 1 time in 2 years, and mineral fertilizers - twice a year. In the fall, for digging, phosphorus and potassium supplements are useful, and in the spring - nitrogenous ones. Approximately once every 5 years, the soil is additionally limed with dolomite flour or ash.
Disease and pest resistance
A significant drawback of culture is considered its susceptibility to coccomycosis and moniliosis. In the first case, the leaves are strongly affected, less often the fruits.
Getting rid of such serious diseases is the removal of the affected branches and the treatment of the sections with the composition of copper and iron sulfate. The fallen leaves are burned. At least twice a season, trees are treated with a 3% composition of Bordeaux liquid.
Requirements for soil and climatic conditions
The culture is sufficiently frost-resistant, it easily keeps temperatures down to –30 degrees Celsius. She copes well with droughts - moisture deficit has practically no effect on the quality of the fruits removed.