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Among the many varieties and hybrids of sweet pepper, there is a special variety – Ratunda. Gardeners often call these rounded peppers, as if divided into slices, gogoshars. In the international classification, they are usually called “tomato pepper” – a tomato-like variety of pepper. There are many varieties of Ratunda pepper, they differ in color: red or yellow, shape and taste.
Characterization
Sweet pepper Ratunda fell in love with vegetable growers for its excellent yield, dense structure, resistance to fungal diseases. There are many varieties and hybrids of Ratunda pepper, bred in Moldova and Our Country: Kolobok, Viscount, Merishor, Gogoshar local, Ruby 2, Sweet candy, Olenka, Ruby sweetness, Israeli Ratunda and others. In technical maturity, Ratunda is noticeable in a bright dark green color, in biological maturity it is saturated dark red or bright yellow, like the Sun or the Golden Jubilee.
Many varieties of Ratunda have fruits that look like miniature pumpkins with pronounced slices, but there are also varieties with smooth, rounded barrels. A common feature of the Ratunda sweet pepper pods is that they are not elongated, but flattened. The plant generates up to 12-15 pods. Up to 1 kg of fruits are harvested from 5 square meter.
Pepper Ratunda, according to the description of varieties, mainly produces fruits without bitterness. Its feature is that it is prone to cross-pollination. Close plantings of hot peppers will definitely affect the taste of any variety of Ratunda, as well as most other varieties of sweet peppers. It should be noted that there are varieties of Ratunda, which are inherent in bitterness. But the pulp of the fruit is sweet, only chamber partitions are burning. Then the semi-sharp taste of the fruits of Ratunda is obtained.
Ratunda pepper varieties are mid-ripening, up to 120-135 days, but there are also more early-growing ones. Ripe or even plucked green fruits of Ratunda pepper are stored for a long time. Peppers can also be transported over long distances without affecting the appearance of the fruit.
Description
Bushes of Ratunda are standard, compact, undersized, medium leafy, quite powerful to withstand the fruit load. The plant does not rise above 35-60 cm. The leaves are medium in size, on long petioles. Flowers grow between shoots.
The fruits of the Ratunda pepper, as they are described in the descriptions and reviews of vegetable growers, are large, rounded, flattened or with an elongated small top. Unripe green, but suitable for use in salads, as well as for stuffing and other dishes or preparations. Ripe fruits are cherry-colored or bright yellow, depending on the variety. Inside the Ratunda pepper pod are several seed chambers where many seeds are located. The average fruit weight is 90-100 g. There are large-fruited varieties – up to 150-180 g.
Wall thickness from 6 to 10 mm. The partitions of some varieties of Ratunda are burning. The skin is thin, dense, with a wax coating. The pulp is fleshy, juicy, crunchy, dense. The taste of the fruits of Ratunda is delicate, with a delicately pronounced peppery smell. Possible spicy sharpness in taste sensations.
Advantages
Ratunda pepper is popular due to its bright merits.
- High yield;
- Excellent taste bouquet of fruits;
- Unpretentiousness of the plant;
- Resistance to Alternaria, tobacco mosaic virus, verticillium wilt;
- Commercial attractiveness;
- Keeping quality and transportability of fruits.
As with all varieties of pepper, a southern crop, Ratunda needs careful care on fertile soils.
Cultivation
Ratunda is propagated by sowing seedlings. Seeds are sown in such a way that by the time of planting in the greenhouse, the plants reach two months of age. Successful cultivation of Ratunda is possible on fertile soil.
Sowing
The best option for sweet peppers is to sow seeds one at a time in pots, because the root system of the plant suffers during transplants.
If the container for seedlings is homemade, you need to take care of the drainage system. First, holes are made at the bottom, and then a layer of medium fractions of agroperlite, crushed polystyrene from under packages of household appliances, and broken ceramics are laid down. Be sure to have a pallet where excess water will drain after watering.
Purchased soils need to be taken specialized, or pay attention to acidity. Ratunda prefers neutral or slightly alkaline soils (pH 7-7,2).
Care of seedlings
For good seedlings, the containers are placed in heat – up to 25 degrees. When sprouts appear, the daytime temperature is kept at first 18-20 degrees, then, after the first week, it rises to 25 0C. Night – it is necessary to reduce to 13-15 degrees so that the plants do not stretch, but the root system strengthens. Seedlings of Ratunda provide additional illumination – up to 14 hours. Use daylight ampoules or LED lamps. You can purchase special devices for lighting plants – phytolamps.
- The next important point in caring for sweet pepper seedlings is top dressing. Purchase ready-made mixtures in stores and fertilize according to the instructions or prepare them yourself;
- The first feeding of plants is carried out in the phase of the appearance of 1-2 true leaves. If sweet peppers need to be dived, the fertilizer is set aside for 10-12 days, after the transplantation procedure. In 10 liters of water dissolve a teaspoon of urea and a tablespoon with a slide of superphosphate. Each plant is given 100-150 ml of solution;
- The second top dressing of Ratunda is done a week before landing in a permanent place. A solution is prepared from two tablespoons of superphosphate and a tablespoon of potassium sulfate in 10 liters of water.
Pepper in the greenhouse
Sweet pepper Ratunda is planted when the first bud has already formed. Layout: 25 x 50 cm. Watering should be moderate, it is better to water more often, but do not overmoisten the soil. Plants need to be shaped.
- When the first branch is formed, all stepchildren are removed below it;
- Pluck the first flower;
- From the following paired shoots, the weak one is removed, leaving the stronger one to grow;
- At the end of August, pinch the tops of sweet peppers so that new shoots are not created, and the plant directs forces only for fruiting;
- The very first fruits are removed while still green in order to reduce the stress load on the plant. Cleaning is carried out after 5-10 days;
- Ripe pods are cut every week or more often if necessary.
You need to monitor the level of humidity, especially during flowering. High humidity will interfere with pollination. When pollen falls off, greenhouses are more often ventilated. Air currents contribute to the creation of ovaries. This process is very important for all types of pepper, since the number of seeds formed affects the size of the fruit. Hollow pods do not grow large.
Plant in the garden
Ratunda is planted in the southern regions at the end of May, early June, in the more northern ones later, when the threat of frost disappears. A fertile plot, sufficiently lit, without drafts, located in a cozy place protected from gusts of wind, is the best option for planting sweet peppers. In spring, the soil is fertilized: 35-40 g of phosphate and potassium compounds, 20-25 g of nitrogen agent.
- Peppers are watered with warm water, abundantly during the first week after planting, for better acclimatization of plants;
- A good solution would be to mulch the soil so that the moisture does not evaporate too quickly;
- Ratunda is fed with a solution of mullein, diluted in a ratio of 1:10, or with special complex fertilizers for pepper;
- Top dressing of pepper is required during the formation of buds, during flowering and fruiting;
- Removing the first flower contributes to the formation of more fruits;
- During prolonged heat, over 35 degrees, plantings of Ratunda pepper can be shaded with a net. Thanks to this method, plants avoid the stress of high temperatures and better fruit.
Plant protection
In a greenhouse, Ratunda peppers can suffer from aphids. They fight insects by applying foliar top dressing containing potassium and phosphorus.
From other leaf-eating and soil pests, preparations based on biotoxins are used – Lepidocid, Fitoverm and others.
Spicy fruits of the original form will be a beautiful addition to the table, and in preparations they will remind you of the summer riot of nature.
