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Breeders of all countries where grapes are grown are working hard to create delicious varieties – seedless. One of the brightest successes of American winegrowers was the Century variety. In Our Country, it is also known under the English name Centennial Seedless. The variety was bred in California back in 1966, crossing several vines: Gold x Q25-6 (Emperor x Pirovano 75). The variety received its place in the US registry only 15 years later. We have been actively distributing sultanas since 2010.
Mid-early grapes Kishmish Century, according to the description and reviews of gardeners, is extremely popular due to its high commercial performance and excellent taste. When the international festivals-competitions “Solar Bunch” were held in Yalta, the variety was repeatedly awarded prizes as one of the best examples of seedless grapes.
Description
In medium-sized grape bushes Century, the vine is dark brown, strong, powerful, fully ripens in a season. Grapes are not afraid of a productive load. Young shoots are greenish-brown. Five-lobed, medium-dissected leaves are intense green, large, with long petioles. Variety with bisexual flowers, well pollinated.
Kishmish grapes Century pleases with numerous large, not quite dense clusters, weighing from 450 g to 1,5 kg. In good conditions, the mass rises to 2,5 kg. The average weight is 700-1200 g. The shape of the bunch of grapes is cone-shaped.
Medium-sized oval berries, 16 x 30 mm, light yellow or with a soft green tint. The weight of the berries of this sultana grape is uniform – 6-9 g. The berries of the Century are covered with a thin but dense skin that does not crack even when overripe. Smooth, crispy skin is easy to eat, and sweet and juicy flesh gives pleasure in harmony of taste and light nutmeg aroma. The taste of Muscat in this grape variety is more intense from the beginning of ripening, and then it can be lost. This feature also varies depending on the composition of the soil where the vine is grown. In the south, according to local gardeners, delicate notes of tea roses are felt in grapes.
Winegrowers in reviews compare the taste of Century grapes with the more famous Kishmish Radiant variety. The level of sugars and acids is 15-16% and 4-6 g/l, respectively. Even small seeds are not found in the berries of this grape.
Characterization
Attractive bunches of kishmish grapes ripen in 120-125 days from the beginning of the growing season, if the sum of the average daily temperature reaches 2600 degrees. The berries of the Century can be enjoyed immediately, from the beginning of September, or left for some more time. The dense shell does not crack even under heavy rains, and the berries stay on the bunch until frost. Grapes acquire a rich amber hue and accumulate sugar. Clusters of the century variety are not subject to pea.
Prolonged exposure of bunches of grapes to direct sunlight does not damage the berries, but affects the skin, which is covered with brown spots or brown tan on one side.
Century grapes are suitable for drying – making sweet raisins. The variety is grown on a significant scale for this purpose, because the vines require minimal maintenance with an excellent grape harvest.
The vine does not form stepchildren, and after flowering the shoots grow slowly. The southern variety is not particularly winter-hardy, withstands frosts down to -23 0C. Kishmish variety Century is sensitive to some fungal diseases.
Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages of sultana grapes Century allow it to be grown in mass plantings in the southern regions of the country.
- Pleasant taste and versatility: fresh consumption and preparation of raisins;
- Stable high yield due to good pollination, volume and number of bunches;
- Excellent commodity properties and transportability;
- No need to normalize inflorescences;
- resistance to gray rot;
- High survival rate of cuttings.
Among the shortcomings of the raisin variety Century are called:
- The need to thin out the berries to increase them;
- Short shelf life;
- Sensitivity to mildew and oidium;
- susceptibility to phylloxera;
- Low frost resistance.
Cultivation
Century grapes are planted in autumn and spring in a place protected from the north winds, preparing a planting hole in advance. Northern and eastern slopes should be avoided, rows should be planned in a southerly direction. Groundwater should lie deep, spring flooding of the site is excluded. The southern hybrid kishmish is sheltered for the winter.
- On the sandy loam, a hole measuring 0,4 x 0,4 x 0,6 m is enough;
- On heavy soils, the depth is up to 0,7 m, the hole is 0,6 x 0,8 m;
- Drainage is laid below, then a thoroughly mixed top layer of earth with humus, compost and fertilizers: 500 g of nitroammophoska and wood ash;
- You can use another version of minerals for planting: 100 g of potassium sulfate and 150-200 g of superphosphate;
- After planting, you need abundant watering and mulching of the hole.
Watering
Grapes Centenary, as gardeners indicate in reviews, watering is required in autumn and spring to saturate the soil with moisture. During the flowering period, the grapes are also watered abundantly. Moisture after irrigation is preserved with mulch, the earth is regularly loosened, weeds are removed.
Feeding
In order to obtain stable harvests, winegrowers necessarily apply top dressing with organic and mineral fertilizers for the Century variety: bird droppings solution, wood ash, the Crystallon complex or other multi-component products. Accelerate the ripening of the vine “Plantafol”.
Trimming
For raisin grapes Century, it is better to carry out a long pruning – for 6-8 buds, because the eyes near the base of the shoots do not bear fruit well. The best harvest is observed with a load of 35-40 buds and no more than 24 shoots. After flowering, gardeners remove a few branches from the bunch, and thin out the berries before pouring.
Performing the shaping
The faded grapes of the Century are sprayed against diseases with the drug “Ridomil-gold”, and 3 weeks before ripening they use “Topaz”.
Although the Century Vine demands attention, its exceptional yield will warm the heart of the enthusiastic gardener.
A vine with a similar name
Gardening enthusiasts should know that New Century white table grapes are cultivated in the middle zone of the country. This is a completely different variety, in no way connected with the vine of the American selection, which gives sultanas. The grapes are almost namesakes, but, according to the description of the variety, the early ripe hybrid New Century was bred in the Ukrainian city of Zaporozhye. It is characterized by frost resistance, large-fruitedness and unpretentiousness, having inherited the best features from crossing the well-known varieties Arcadia and Talisman. This variety also has the names New Century of ZGTU and FVA-3-3.
Vine of the New Century vigorous, with male and female flowers, fruitful. Ripens in 4 months. The average weight of a bunch is 700-800 g, up to 1,5 kg. The berries are round, slightly oval, of a soft green-yellow hue, when fully ripe they acquire an amber tint and a tan on the skin. The pulp is sweet, contains 17% sugars. Clusters endure transportation.
On the shoots of New Century grapes, as gardeners write in reviews, they leave 1-2 clusters, without cutting off all the leaves for shading. The frost resistance of the vine is low: -23 degrees, with a light shelter it takes out -27 0C. Grape cuttings grafted onto winter-hardy grapes withstand prolonged frosts. A grape hybrid resistant to gray rot, it is affected to a small extent by mildew and oidium, especially during the rainy period. Requires additional spraying at this time.
