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There are a great variety of grape varieties, among them there are table and wine varieties, as well as universal ones. In our article, we will talk about the variety from which the most delicious white wine is obtained – Citron Magaracha grapes. Although the berries themselves are no less tasty.
Grapes Citron Magaracha (description of the variety, photos, reviews of gardeners are presented below) has attracted winegrowers from various regions of Our Country in recent years. Many are interested in whether it is possible to cultivate the vine in risky farming areas. Let’s try to deal with this issue.
historical information
Grapes Citron Magarcha of origin. Gardeners need to thank the Crimean Institute of Wine and Grape Magarach. In the 70s of the last century, scientists crossed two varieties – Madeleine Anzhevin, the technical breeding form Magarach 124-66-26 and early Novoukrainsky table grapes.
The result was achieved for a long time, a titanic work was done, but the effect pleased not only the creators, but also gardeners. According to the description, the new variety Citronny Magarach fully corresponds to reality. The scale of its cultivation continues to increase at the present time.
Since Crimea was ceded to Ukraine in the 90s, the registration procedure was already carried out in the new state. The variety has been approved for industrial cultivation in Ukraine since 2002.
Variety properties
Citron Magaracha is a technical grape variety. From it prepare white aromatic wines of the highest quality.
Krasnodar Territory, Rostov Region, Stavropol Territory and the North Caucasus – these are the regions where Citron grapes are grown on an industrial scale and on private plots.
And now let’s move on to the description of the variety, and the photo will confirm our words.
Bush features
As a rule, the bushes are medium or vigorous. The leaves are medium, rounded. They come with three or five blades. The upper surface of the leaf plate is smooth, there are no hairs on the underside either.
The flowers are bisexual, there is no need to plant pollinating grapes. Fruit set is almost 100%, so there is no pea.
Clusters and berries
Conical or cylindric clusters are of medium density. Weight from 300 to 400 grams. The berries are medium, more round, weighing from 5 to 7 grams. Fruits are yellow or yellow-green in color with a whitish bloom.
The skin is thick but not thick. The berries themselves are juicy with a harmonious, pronounced flavor of nutmeg and citron. There are oval seeds, but there are not many of them, only 3 or 4 pieces.
Advantages of the variety
The popularity of grapes is given by such characteristic features of the variety:
- Stable yield: when grown on an industrial scale up to 200 centners per hectare. And from one bush they collect about 9 kg.
- Susceptibility to diseases such as mildew, oidium, gray mold is low. In relation to phylloxera, the resistance is average.
- The variety is winter-hardy, feels good at -25 degrees, so the cultivation of Citron Magarach grapes in the Moscow region is quite realistic, the main thing is how to cover the bushes for the winter.
- Citron ripens in 120-130 days.
- The berries are sweet, sugar ranges from 23 g / cm3, and acidity is around 8 g / l.
Variety Citron on a private plot:
Using
Champagne is also made from this variety. These are the amber notes of the wine in the photo below.
Citron raisin variety
There is another grape with a similar name – Citron Kishmish. It ripens earlier than Magarach, technical maturity occurs in 110-115 days.
Grape Kishmish Citron has bisexual flowers. Clusters with practically no peas, cylindric, medium density.
White fruits are oval or oval-ovoid. They are not too big, up to 4 grams, but there are a lot of them in a bunch, so it reaches a weight of 1 kg 200 grams. There are no seeds in the berries, although soft rudiments may occur. Look at the photo below, one berry is the size of a five-kopeck coin.
Characterization
Grape Citron Kishmish is also an excellent raw material for the manufacture of dessert and table wines, no less tasty fresh.
Bushes are vigorous, root-bearing. Pruning should be medium to 8 buds. Resistance to diseases such as mildew and oidium is estimated at 3 – 3,5 points. The variety is frost-resistant, lowering the temperature to -21 degrees endures steadily.
Features of planting and care
- To get good yields of Magarach Citron grapes, you need to think about proper planting. The place should be sunny, and protected from the cold north wind. It is best to plant bushes in a private area on the south or southeast side of the buildings.
- The Magarach Citron variety requires fertile, well-drained soil. Watering should be plentiful, but the water should not stagnate, otherwise the roots will begin to rot.
- Before planting, lime or wood ash is added to loamy soil. Re-feeding is carried out in a year. The landing pit should be voluminous, a depth of at least 60 cm, so that the roots are spacious. When planting, you need to give the root neck, it should be deepened by 5 cm. Landings are shed abundantly. The step between seedlings is about 2 meters.
- They feed the grape bushes in the spring, make rotted manure. Before the flowers bloom, you need to water. During flowering and filling of clusters, watering is not recommended: the bushes drop flowers, the berries crack.
- Grape varieties Citron Magaracha do not need to be overloaded with extra branches, it is demanding for timely pruning. As a rule, bushes are formed in the form of a four-armed fan, and the sleeves themselves are cut into 8-10 buds. On a bush for abundant fruiting, no more than 30 eyes are left. All work is carried out in the fall after the leaves are shed and the vines ripen. Pruning is subject to shoots and fruiting shoots, and those that are directed to the middle of the bush.
- It is not worth hoping that, according to the description and characteristics, the Magarach Citron variety is resistant to grape diseases. Especially if you also have bushes of other varieties. Preventive treatments are carried out necessarily several times during the growing season.
- In addition to diseases, the grapes of Magarach Citron and Kishmish Citron are threatened by wasps and birds. They really like sweet berries. It is recommended to cover the plantings with a net or hide each bunch in a bag, as in the photo below.
- And the last. After processing, feeding and pruning, the vine is covered for the winter at lower temperatures (-5 – -10 degrees).
