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Few gardens are complete without a blackcurrant bush. Tasty and healthy berries of early ripening, like currant varieties Selechenskaya and Selechenskaya 2, are valued for the presence of vitamins and microelements. The culture is undemanding in care, frost-resistant, grows well in the regions of most of Our Country, Belarus, and Ukraine.
History of creation
Smorodina Selechenskaya has been included in the State Register since 1993. Its author A.I. Astakhov, a scientist from Bryansk. An early ripe variety quickly gained popularity among gardeners. But due to the increased demands of currants on soil quality and disease susceptibility, the breeder continued to work on the culture. And since 2004, the collection of black currants of varieties has been enriched with one more acquisition. Blackcurrant Selechenskaya 2 was bred in collaboration with L.I. Zueva. Both varieties give early fruits, which have a dessert delicate and sweet taste, but differ sharply in other indicators. Gardeners in different regions of Our Country continue to successfully grow them.
Comparative characteristics
Farmers prefer to plant blackcurrant bushes on plantations, adapted to local climatic conditions. These requirements are fully met by both varieties of currants. Harvesting is carried out from July to the second decade of August. In harmony of taste and usefulness, fragrant plants differ little.
Smorodina Selechenskaya
Thanks to the winter resistance of the bush – up to -32 0C, drought tolerance, early maturity and yield, Selechenskaya blackcurrant is grown from the northwestern regions to Siberia. Srednerosly bush with straight, medium thickness, not sprawling shoots, grows up to 1,5 m. Five-lobed leaves are small, dull. In the brush 8-12 light flowers. Round berries weighing from 1,7 to 3,3 g are covered with soft black skin. Sweet and sour, contain 7,8% sugar and 182 mg of vitamin C. Tasters rated the taste of Selechenskaya currant at 4,9 points. The berries are easy to tear off the brush, ripen together, do not fall off, keep on the bush.
From one bush, starting from mid-June, 2,5 kg of fragrant berries are harvested. On an industrial scale, the variety shows a yield of 99 kg / ha. Sweet and sour berries do not differ in astringency, they are consumed fresh, for various preparations and freezing. They will keep in the refrigerator for 10-12 days.
The bush is immune to powdery mildew, has an average sensitivity to anthracnose. For other fungal diseases, preventive treatment should be carried out. The blackcurrant variety Selechenskaya has a high susceptibility to bud mites.
Currant is demanding to care:
- Prefers fertile soil;
- Likes shady places;
- Needs regular watering;
- Sensitive to top dressing;
- Without compliance with agricultural technology, the berries become small.
Currant Selechenskaya 2
The improved variety has also spread widely over the years. A compact bush with straight shoots rises to 1,9 m. Medium-sized leaves are dark green, three-lobed. In the brush 8-14 purple flowers. Rounded black berries weighing 4-6 g. Black currant bush Selechenskaya 2 gives up to 4 kg of fruit. Berries with a characteristic aroma, pleasant, rich taste, without pronounced astringency. They contain 7,3% sugar and 160 mg of vitamin C per 100 g of product. Tasting score: 4,9 points.
Berries dry off the branch, transportable. The bush bears fruit for a long time, the berries do not fall off. Black currant Selechenskaya 2 is cold-resistant, but 45% of the flowers suffer from recurrent spring frosts. The bushes of the variety are unpretentious, grow in the shade, are highly resistant to powdery mildew, show an average susceptibility to anthracnose, bud mites and aphids. Spring preventive treatment is enough for the season.
The description shows how the Selechenskaya and Selechenskaya 2 currants differ.
- First of all, the yield increased due to the enlargement of berries;
- Having become less demanding on soils and care, the new variety has lost its resistance to sudden spring temperature changes;
- An improved plant is less susceptible to pathogens of fungal diseases.
Reproduction
Black currant Selechenskaya is propagated by layering and cuttings, like all other varieties of this berry bush.
Layers
Near a bush with long shoots, small holes break through in the spring.
- Large annual shoots are tilted to the recesses and covered with soil;
- The branch is strengthened with special spacers or improvised material so that it does not straighten;
- Layers are regularly watered;
- Shoots that are rooted are spudded with soil;
- Seedlings can be moved in autumn or next spring.
Cuttings
From blackcurrant Selechenskaya and Selechenskaya 2 cuttings are prepared in autumn or at the end of winter from lignified annual shoots, 0,5-1 cm thick. The rooting process lasts up to 1,5 months.
- Each piece of currant branch should be with 3 eyes;
- Cuttings are treated with growth stimulants in accordance with the instructions;
- Planted in separate containers in loose fertile soil. The lower kidney deepens;
- Organize a mini-greenhouse by covering the containers with a film or a transparent box. The seedlings are aired every day.
Cultivation
For the successful cultivation of Selechenskaya blackcurrant, seedlings must be carefully selected.
- 1- or 2-year-old healthy, elastic, without visible damage seedlings are suitable;
- Shoots from 40 cm in height and up to 8-10 mm in diameter at the base, with smooth bark and not withered leaves;
- The roots are dense, with two or three skeletal branches up to 15-20 cm, not dried;
- If the seedlings are spring – with swollen, large buds.
Site Preparation
Currant Selechenskaya 2 grows well in partial shade, develops better in a place protected from strong air currents. The culture is planted along fences, buildings, on the south or west side of the garden. Likes neutral or low acid soils. The distance to the occurrence of groundwater should be at least 1 m.
- Before planting the black currant variety Selechenskaya, the site is fertilized for 3 months with humus, potassium sulfate or wood ash and superphosphate;
- If the soil reaction is acidic, apply per 1 sq. m 1 kg of dolomite flour or lime.
Landing
Currant bushes Selechenskaya 2 are located 1,5-2 m apart.
- If a cutting is planted, or the soil is heavy, then the seedling is arranged so that it is inclined at an angle of 45 degrees to the ground;
- The hole is filled up, compacted. Along the perimeter, bumpers are made so that when watering, water does not seep beyond the projection of the hole;
- 20 liters of water are poured into the created bowl around the seedling and mulched.
Care
Blackcurrant bushes Selechenskaya and Selechenskaya 2 need regular watering, especially in the third year, at the beginning of fruiting. Then the soil is loosened no deeper than 7 cm, removing all weeds.
- Usually plants are watered 1-2 times a week or more often, focusing on the amount of natural precipitation, 1-3 buckets each;
- Watering is increased in the ovary phase, after harvesting and before the onset of frost, no later than the beginning of October.
Care provides for the mandatory shelter of young bushes for the winter.
Additional fertilizing
Currant Selechenskaya and Selechenskaya 2 need timely top dressing.
- In spring and autumn, the bushes are fed with a mullein solution diluted 1: 4, or 10 g of bird droppings are diluted in 100 liters of water;
- For the 3rd year of growth, 30 g of urea is added in the spring, and humus or compost is added to the mulch;
- In October, 30 g of superphosphate and 20 g of potassium sulfate are given under the bushes. Mulch with humus;
- If the soils are fertile, autumn mineral products can be abandoned by adding 300-400 g of wood ash under the bush.
Trimming
Forming a currant bush Selechenskaya 2 in spring or autumn, gardeners lay the future crop, which is created on shoots of 2, 3 years.
- Every year 10-20 zero shoots grow from the root, which after a season become skeletal branches;
- For the 2nd year of growth, 5-6 branches are left;
- To form branches in July, pinch the tops of young shoots;
- In autumn, the branches are cut in front of the outer bud for 3-4 eyes;
- Cut out branches older than 5 years, dry and diseased.
Bushes of northern dessert fruits, shimmering in summer with a black atlas of ripe berries, delight the owners of the garden for a long time if they pay attention and love working on the ground.
