Contents
Often grapes are found under different names. So it happened with the Maradona variety. In various sources, the grapes are referred to as Taifi resistant or Chocolate. Because of the color of the berries, the variety is also called Maradona Red. The culture became famous for the good taste of berries, the beauty of the clusters and high yields. They will help to get acquainted with the description of the Maradona grape variety, photos, reviews of gardeners and summer residents.
Main characteristics of the variety
Considering the description of the Chocolate grape variety, photos, reviews, it is worth mentioning another name for the culture – PG-12. It is a hybrid in origin. Grapes belong to the table form. Ripening of berries is medium late, occurs after about 140 days.
The Maradona Red grape is distinguished by a branched, fast-growing bush. Bisexual flowers simplify the process of pollination without the participation of insects. The big bunches are very pretty. Red color with a chocolate tint creates an attractive presentation. The location of the berries is medium loose. The shape of the bunch is conical, often double. The average weight is from 0,6 to 1,2 kg. Subject to the conditions of agricultural technology, brushes weighing up to 2,5 kg can be grown.
Chocolate grapes are oval, slightly elongated, up to 3 cm long, about 2,3 cm wide. Thin and strong skin becomes red with a brown-chocolate tint when ripe. Juicy pulp contains 3 grains, up to 18% sugar, about 6 g/dm3 acid.
Variety Chocolate is easily propagated by cuttings due to rapid rooting. The vine matures during the season. Grapes are easily propagated by grafting due to good compatibility with rootstocks. For one bush of the Maradona variety, the maximum load of eyes should not exceed 45 pieces. During autumn pruning, branches of the vine with 8–12 eyes are left. From 1 hectare they harvest from 140 to 150 centners of the crop.
With regards to its merits, Maradona grapes are weakly affected by mildew, gray rot, and resist well to oidium. The vine withstands frosts down to -23оC. The grapes are transportable. Brushes can be stored for a long time in a torn state and on a bush.
On the video grape variety Chocolate:
Features of breeding varieties and planting cuttings
The Maradona variety has spread to many regions due to the unique ability to survive well in any climate. Even in the northern regions, the Chocolate grape variety manages to give fruit, despite the short summer.
Maradona grape seedlings are planted in a sunny place on the south side of the site. Shading is bad for crops. From a lack of sunlight, the berries may not turn red and remain white with a greenish tint. The variety likes nutritious soil with good drainage. In swampy areas, Chocolate grapes will not grow.
Planting seedlings of the Chocolate variety is practiced in autumn and spring. In cold regions, planting in early May with the establishment of heat is preferable. In a short summer, the seedling will have time to take root and survive the winter well. Autumn planting is practiced by gardeners in the southern regions.
In addition to propagation by seedlings, the Maradona grape variety is well bred by grafting. The stock is used by young and adult. For any method of reproduction, cuttings are harvested in the fall. During pruning, the upper part of the vine is discarded. She is usually immature. The rest of the whip is cut with secateurs into cuttings with 4-5 eyes. To preserve the juice, the sections are dipped in hot paraffin. The cuttings are wrapped in a damp cloth, sent until spring for storage in a cellar or refrigerator.
The simplest way to graft chocolate grapes is in a split. The process consists of the following steps:
- For the stock choose an adult bush. The vine is cut to form a stump.
- The lower part of the handle is cut off with a sharp knife from opposite sides. Should be a wedge.
- The rootstock stump is split in the center with a knife. A stalk is inserted into the split with a wedge, firmly pulled together with a fabric tape, and covered with clay on top.
Maradona grapes can be grafted to a young stock with an eye or in an overlay. In the second method, a stock and scion of the same thickness are selected.
The video shows a split graft:
To grow a seedling from a cutting, perform the following steps:
- In early February, the cuttings are taken out of the basement. Secateurs cut off the lower part, filled with paraffin.
- With the sharp tip of a knife, the bark of the cutting is scratched near a fresh cut about 2 cm long. It will be easier for the roots to germinate from the grooves.
- Cut cuttings are placed in water, wet soil or wrapped with moss, and on top with a film. In April, sprouted Maradona grape seedlings can be hardened outdoors. If germination was carried out in water or moss, after the roots appear, the cuttings are planted in pots with earth.
Planting seedlings of the Maradona grape variety begins in the first days or mid-May. Dates depend on weather conditions. Planting rules are the same as for other grape varieties:
- A pit for a seedling of the Maradona variety has been prepared since autumn or no later than a week before planting. The hole is dug deep and about 80 cm in diameter.
- About 50% of the pit is filled with a mixture of fertile soil with compost. Potash and phosphate fertilizers are added. If the soil is heavy, sand is added to loosen. Before filling, the bottom of the pit is equipped with drainage made of stone or broken brick.
- A seedling of Maradona grapes is carefully removed from the pot along with a clod of earth, lowered into a pit and covered with soil. After watering, the soil will settle. It needs to be topped up, and covered with sawdust or peat mulch on top.
In the market, seedlings of the Maradona variety are often sold with bare roots. When planting such grapes, a mound is formed from the ground at the bottom of the pit. The root system of the seedling is straightened on a hill, after which backfilling begins.
Vineyard care
When reviewing a detailed description of the Chocolate grape variety, photos, reviews of gardeners, it is worth paying attention to caring for the crop. There are no special requirements, but weeding, watering and top dressing must be done. In autumn, pruning is required, followed by shelter. The last action is necessary for cold regions.
The frequency of watering the Maradona variety depends on weather conditions. The soil is kept moist, but not waterlogged. Necessarily chocolate grapes are watered four times per season:
- before flowering;
- while pouring berries;
- at the end of the harvest;
- in late autumn before shelter.
To avoid the formation of a crust, after each watering, the soil is loosened with a chopper. To preserve moisture and additional feeding, the ground under the bushes is covered with a thick layer of mulch.
Top dressing helps the bushes develop, increase the yield and taste of berries. The vineyard of the Chocolate variety loves organic matter: compost, rotted manure, humus. The bushes are poured with a solution of chicken manure, fertilized with complex fertilizers.
It is advisable to feed the Chocolate variety at least 3 times during the season:
- immediately after flowering;
- when the grapes ripen;
- autumn before wintering.
The last dressing of Maradona grapes is carried out with potash fertilizer. The accumulated salts increase the vine’s endurance to severe frosts. Manure is applied in the form of slurry. Dry compost can be scattered instead of 10 cm thick mulch. Saltpeter, potassium chloride and superphosphate are used from mineral fertilizers. Apply top dressing at the same time as watering. Sometimes combined with spraying with preventive drugs against the fungus.
Variety Chocolate is characterized by strong bush growth. The vines are pruned in autumn. Each gardener has his own favorite way to form a bush. It’s easier to create a fan. If there is a lot of space on the site, two shoulders are formed from the bush. In the courtyard, you can put whips on the arch, organizing a place to relax under the Maradona grapes.
In the south, there is no need to cover the vine. Grow grapes Chocolate in standard form. Bushes in the form of a low tree remain to winter on supports.
In cold regions, Maradona grape bushes are covered after pruning. A shield of straw is organized on the ground. The vine is tied with ropes and laid on a bed. From above, Chocolate grapes are covered with dense material or mats are knitted from reeds.
Disease Prevention
The Maradona variety is rarely affected by phylloxera and oidium, but preventive spraying is required. Things are more complicated with fungi. Grapes are afraid of mildew – downy mildew. Spraying the bushes with fungicides before and after flowering helps prevent the spread of the disease. Preparations containing copper cope well with the fungus. If there were no fungicides at hand, a 1% solution is prepared from copper sulfate and plantings are treated.
Reviews
Concluding the review of Maradona grapes, variety descriptions, photos, reviews, videos, it remains to find out what gardeners say about this crop.