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Strawberry Allegro (Allegro) is a breeding novelty that has shown excellent resistance to temperature extremes and has proven itself in the market. The berry is the first to sing in the beds, gives a high yield, is practically not exposed to disease. The quality of the Allegro strawberry fruit is excellent; you can hear a huge amount of positive feedback about the variety.
Allegro has high growth rates
History of breeding
Strawberries of this variety are considered a new variety. It was created relatively recently, in 2010, in the Netherlands. The development belongs to the June program “Fresh Forward” (Holland). The species was obtained by crossing a pair of numbered hybrids E2003-097 and E2006-492.
Characteristics and description of Allegro strawberries
One of the main characteristics of Allegro is its early ripening period. Her berries ripen a couple of weeks earlier than other varieties. The variety is suitable both for open ground and for growing in tunnels and greenhouses. It is unpretentious in care, has an average ability to form a mustache, and is resistant to bad weather conditions and frosts. Allegro, despite the juiciness of the berries, does not release juice during transportation, does not deform, has a long shelf life, therefore it is suitable for transportation over long distances. Most often, the berry is consumed fresh, it is also suitable for preparing blanks for the winter or freezing in general.
Allegro bushes are powerful, but do not take up much space, compact. Peduncles are long, beautiful, form up to nine buds. Inflorescences are sheltered from the sun by dense foliage. The root system of the culture is strong, well developed, able to withstand common diseases found in strawberries.
Due to the high commercial qualities of Allegro, it can be grown for sale.
Appearance and taste of berries
Allegro fruits are large and medium in size, their weight is about 30 g. Strawberries have an even ovoid or conical shape, there is no neck, berries with a blunt tip can be found. The color of the fruit is bright red, the skin is glossy, shiny. The taste is pleasant, the sugar content is high, the sweetness is felt stronger than the sourness. The pulp of Allegro is juicy, fragrant, dense. Berries are stored in the refrigerator without loss of quality for more than a week. Strawberries have a high yield of class A specimens.
Ripening time and yield of Allegro strawberries
The variety demonstrates high self-fertility, it is classified as a variety of short daylight hours. It begins to bloom in the first week of May, the berries are ripe by June. In terms of yield, Allegro has an advantage over almost all varieties of strawberries. From the bush, subject to the rules for caring for the plant, it will be possible to collect up to 900 g of berries. The collection is carried out once a season, the fruits ripen together, the fruiting period is 3-4 weeks.
The first berries from the bushes of the Allegro variety can be plucked by the end of May
Frost resistance
Allegro is a new development that has just begun to be tested. According to the originators, it has an average resistance to frost, but it is too early to talk about the truth of this statement. Due to the structure of the bush and the arrangement of peduncles under dense foliage, it is highly resistant to return frosts.
Disease and pest resistance
The plant is characterized by good disease resistance. He is not afraid of late blight, powdery mildew, gray rot and verticillium wilt, but requires treatment for anthracnose. From Allegro pests, it is advisable to spray with special preparations.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
For ten years of cultivation practice, the variety has demonstrated many advantages with minor drawbacks.
Advantages | Disadvantages |
early ripening | Need for watering |
Balanced taste | The high cost of planting material |
High yields | Exposure to anthracnose |
Strong immunity to disease |
|
Temperature resistance |
|
Excellent transportability and keeping quality |
|
The advantages of Allegro are still being talked about in advance due to the relative youth of the variety.
Landing
Allegro is planted in the ground in spring or autumn. In the first case, this is done after the earth has completely warmed up, in the second – a month before the onset of frost.
A plot for strawberries is chosen sunny, calm, with a groundwater table of 100 cm or more. The bed is prepared at least a month before planting:
- dig up the soil;
- make wood ash and manure.
The scheme of planting strawberries Allegro 30 by 50 cm. It is better to place seedlings in a checkerboard pattern. After planting, bushes should be mulched with sawdust, straw or agrofibre.
Care
The variety does not require special attention during cultivation and care; for a good yield, it is enough to follow the standard procedures:
- Watering. Moisturizing the beds with Allegro strawberries is carried out by drip irrigation. It is done every three days until the berries ripen. At the time of harvest, watering is not carried out.
- Loosening. Organize regularly to a depth of 30-40 mm. Remove weeds at the same time.
- Mustache trim. Strawberry sockets should be cleaned in a timely manner. Otherwise, the bed will overgrow, the berries will become small, the amount of the crop will be sharply reduced.
- Fertilizer. Top dressing in the beds with Allegro is applied several times per season. Immediately after removing the shelter, it is useful to saturate strawberries with nitrogen compounds: 500 ml of chicken manure per bush or mullein solution (1:10). At the time of formation of ovaries, plants should be watered with potassium sulfate and nitrophoska. At the end of summer, feed with complex preparations or wood ash.
- Disease prevention. So that the culture does not undergo fungal diseases, it is sprayed with garlic infusion. Several times a year, it is recommended to treat with preparations for anthracnose.
- Preparing for winter. In autumn, I remove dry and old leaves from the Allegro variety. In the northern regions, bushes are covered with cardboard, spruce branches, straw or spunbond (lay on arcs).
In the southern regions, the species hibernates without shelter.
Reproduction
Reproduction of Allegro is carried out in three ways: mustache, division, seeds.
The most effective and easiest is the method of breeding culture with the help of sockets. For them, peat pots are placed on the beds, and after the formation of 3-5 full-fledged leaves, the mustache is cut off. The method of division also gives good results, provided that the bush is already an adult (2-3 years). Strawberry seeds are propagated less often, the process is quite laborious. Planting material is sown in February in fertile soil, deepening no more than half a centimeter. A couple of weeks after the emergence of seedlings, the seedlings dive. Closer to May, they begin to take it out into the street for hardening or clean it under a film.
Conclusion
Strawberry Allegro is a very promising variety with a great future. The ripening of the juicy fruits of the variety occurs quickly and amicably, the taste characteristics of the berries are excellent, the keeping quality is good. A big plus is that the plant is able to bear fruit both in cool and hot weather, with proper care, such factors are not reflected in the crop. The variety is definitely worthy of gardeners turning their attention to it.
Reviews of gardeners about strawberries Allegro
