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Currant Yoshta is an interesting hybrid of blackcurrant and gooseberry, combining the advantages of both cultures. It is quite easy to care for him at their summer cottage, the nutritional value of the plant is high.
History of breeding
The Joshta hybrid was bred in the 1970s by the German breeder R. Bauer on the basis of the common gooseberry, blackcurrant and splayed gooseberry. At the same time, attempts to cross fruit crops were made for about a hundred years before that. The scientists wanted to create a plant that would simultaneously have a high yield, good immunity to diseases and pests, and smooth shoots without thorns.
The new crop was brought to Our Country in 1986, and three years later it began to be grown on an industrial scale. Despite the fact that the Yoshta currant has not yet been included in the State Register, there are several varieties of this plant on the horticultural market at once.
Description of currant Yoshta
Currant Yoshta is a medium-sized shrub up to 1,5 m tall with sprawling and strong smooth shoots without thorns. The roots of the plant are long, they go about 50 cm deep into the ground, while they almost do not form shoots near the surface of the earth. The leaves of the Yoshta hybrid are dark green, shiny, whole with a carved edge, with a faint aroma of currants, able to stay on the branches until the onset of cold weather. The crown of the plant can reach 2 m in diameter.
The fruiting of the shrub lasts a very long time – up to 30 years
In mid-April, the Yosta currant brings very bright flowers with red petals and a light core. In summer, fruits appear in their place – large rounded berries of a black-violet hue, collected in a brush of 3-5 pieces, weighing up to 5 g. Yoshta has a dense and crispy skin, the flesh is juicy and sweet, with a slight sour note and nutmeg aroma.
How to distinguish Yoshta from golden, blackcurrant
The differences between Yoshta and golden currant make it possible not to confuse the hybrid with an ordinary plant:
- Leaves. The Yoshta hybrid has convex and textured plates, the usual currant is smooth and flat.
- Flowers. Golden currant brings very large yellow buds. Yoshta produces smaller flowers with red petals. This hybrid is similar to blackcurrant, but the last buds are not so bright.
- Fruit. Yoshta brings very tasty sweet berries with a light refreshing note. Golden and black currants have much lower dessert qualities, the sourness is more pronounced.
The difference between the cultures lies in the shape of the bush; in the hybrid, the shoots do not depart arcuately from a single center, but are arranged randomly. Yoshta differs from golden currant also in that it almost does not give root shoots.
During the flowering period, golden currant looks more spectacular than Yoshta, although its berries are less tasty.
Features
To understand whether Yoshta is suitable for planting in a summer cottage, you need to carefully study the basic qualities and requirements of the plant. In general, the hybrid is considered quite interesting to grow.
Drought resistance, winter hardiness
One of the advantages of Yoshta is the increased frost resistance of the shrub. The plant tolerates cold down to -30 degrees and hibernates without shelter in the southern regions and central regions of Our Country. In Siberia and the Urals, it is better to cover hybrid currants, especially if cold months are foreseen with little snow.
Yoshta has a weak drought resistance, the plant prefers well-moistened soil. With a lack of water, the hybrid slows down its development and begins to bear fruit worse.
Pollination, flowering period and ripening period
Currant-gooseberry hybrid Yoshta belongs to the category of partially self-fertile shrubs. This means that even without pollinators, the plant will produce berries, but the yield will be very low. To get a large number of fruits next to Yoshta, you need to plant blackcurrants of any variety or gooseberries of the Kolobok and Pink varieties.
Yoshta flowering begins in April
In the photo of the hybrid of currant and gooseberry Yoshta, it can be seen that the plant blooms with compact, but bright red-yellowish buds. The fruits ripen by the end of July and beginning of August.
Yield and fruiting
For the first time, Yoshta brings berries in the second year of life, and reaches its maximum yield only by the fourth season. With proper cultivation and good conditions, the plant can annually produce 7-10 kg of fruit from one bush. The berries ripen gradually, but the currants are kept on the branches for a long time, so you can pick them at the same time.
Disease and pest resistance
The Yoshta hybrid has strong immunity and rarely suffers from fungi and insects. Of the ailments, the danger for the shrub is:
- rust – the disease leaves reddish and brown spots on the leaves of the culture, which gradually spread wider, increase and merge with each other;
Hybrid currant rust occurs against the background of waterlogging of the soil
- mosaic – the disease has a viral nature, you can recognize it by the appearance of patterned yellow spots around the largest veins of the leaves.
Mosaic pests are aphids and mites.
The fight against diseases of the hybrid currant is carried out with the help of fungicidal preparations and Bordeaux mixture. Heavily affected shrubs are removed from the site so as not to infect neighboring plantings.
Of the insects, Yoshta reacts most sensitively to the vitreous, a white caterpillar that feeds on the young leaves and shoots of the hybrid. When holes appear on the greenery of the plant and characteristic passages on the branches, it is necessary to spray with insecticides.
Glassware can be difficult to spot as the pest lives mostly under the bark.
Advantages and disadvantages
Currant Yoshta has important benefits. These include:
- high frost resistance;
- partial self-fertility;
- resistance to diseases and pests;
- endurance and unpretentiousness;
- dessert sweet taste of fruits;
- high productivity;
- good keeping quality and transportability of berries;
- preservation of fruits on the branches after full ripening.
At the same time, Yoshta has some disadvantages. Among them:
- the need for good hydration;
- sensitivity to soil composition;
- low yields in the absence of pollinators nearby.
In general, gardeners speak positively about the hybrid and note that, compared to ordinary currants, it is more convenient to grow.
Varieties of Yoshta
In the horticultural market, Yosta is represented by several popular varieties. They have common features and notable differences.
EMB
The hybrid currant of British selection reaches 1,7 m in height, has a semi-spreading crown and, in general, is very similar to the black variety. At the same time, the berries of the plant are more like gooseberries – they are quite large, oval, from 5 to 12 g in weight. The taste of currants of this variety is sweet and sour, pleasant and dessert.
Yoshta EMB is characterized by good drought tolerance and immunity to mites and fungi
Kroma (Kroma)
The Swiss hybrid grows up to 2 m, has a high immunity to diseases and pests. The berries bring small, on average up to 6 g by weight, but they stay on the branches for a very long time, do not fall to the ground and do not crack.
With good care, Yoshta Kroma allows you to collect up to 5 kg of fruit
Yohelina
One of the best varieties of hybrid currant is characterized by high yield and good immunity to spotting and anthracnose. The disadvantages of the plant include dense shoots, which have to be thinned out regularly. The hybrid variety Yochilina has very sweet fruits, in which sourness is almost indistinguishable.
From one Yochilin bush you can collect up to 10 kg of berries
Rext (Rext)
The variety of selection grows up to only 1,2 m, but at the same time it is distinguished by good spreading. Suitable not only for harvesting, but also for decorative garden decoration. The berries of the hybrid are small, up to 3 g by weight, but they have excellent taste. Yoshta Rekst is used to create hedges.
Subject to the growing conditions, the Rekst variety can bring about 10 kg of fruit per bush.
Moro
Yoshta Moro reaches 2,5 m in height and has a compact columnar crown. Produces small glossy berries, very similar to cherries, almost black in color with a purple bloom. The fruits are sweet to taste, but with a pronounced sourness, have a pleasant nutty aroma.
Yoshta Moro is suitable for landing in northern regions
Krondal (Crandall)
The American variety Krondal has broad, currant-like leaves. Brings black berries, similar in shape to gooseberries, with very large seeds inside. Unlike most varieties of Yoshta, it blooms with yellow buds.
The height of Yosta Krondal does not exceed 1,7 m
Features of planting and care
Currant Joshta prefers open areas with good lighting, nutritious and moist, but breathable soils enriched with potassium. Planting is carried out in the spring with the onset of the growing season or in autumn until mid-September in the southern regions. Before rooting currants, the selected place is dug up and humus and chicken droppings are brought into the ground, and a hole about 60 cm deep is prepared.
A layer of pebbles or broken bricks is laid at the bottom of the planting pit for drainage, fertile soil is poured from top to half and a seedling is placed on it, gently straightening the roots. Then Yoshtu currants are sprinkled with earth to the end, leaving the root neck above the surface, and watered abundantly. Immediately after planting, hybrid currants should be mulched with straw or peat to slow down the evaporation of moisture. If several plants are located on the site at once, a space of about 1,5 m is left between them.
Plant care comes down to simple procedures:
- In the warm season, in the absence of rain, Yoshta requires watering twice a week with three buckets of water. After the procedure, you need to loosen and re-mulch the soil.
- Top dressing is carried out four times per season. In spring, currants are fertilized with saltpeter or urea to increase foliage, after flowering – with potassium monophosphate, and in the middle of summer with bird droppings or mullein. In autumn, shortly before the onset of cold weather, superphosphate is added to the soil along with irrigation or humus is scattered under the plant.
- Yoshta does not require decorative pruning, as it grows very slowly. But every spring and autumn, you need to carry out a sanitary haircut and remove old, dry and diseased shoots.
Currant Yoshta has good frost resistance. For the winter, the shrub is not wrapped up; it is enough to insulate the roots of the plant with a layer of peat about 10 cm to prevent them from freezing.
Collection, storage and keeping quality of berries
The first fruits of the Yosta currant ripen in mid-July, but it is recommended to harvest the crop no earlier than mid-August. Berries ripen unevenly, within two to three weeks.
Yoshta berries do not fall from the bushes, so they are usually picked at the same time on a warm, dry day.
Hybrid currant has a dense skin that does not crack when ripe. Due to this, Joshta demonstrates good keeping quality and is suitable for transportation over long distances while maintaining an attractive presentation.
The fruits of the hybrid are suitable for fresh consumption and for preservation; jams, compotes and jams are prepared from them. For long-term storage, currant berries can be frozen at a temperature not higher than -16 ° C, in which case they will remain usable throughout the year.
Methods of reproduction
Hybrid currant Yoshtu is propagated in several vegetative ways. The survival rate of the plant is high, it is possible to increase the population of the crop on the site without much effort.
Cutting
Several shoots up to 20 cm long are cut from the Yoshta hybrid bush and immersed in water at room temperature for several hours. After that, the cuttings are wrapped in a film and removed until spring in a cool and warm place. With the onset of heat, shoots can be planted directly into the ground.
It is best to cut cuttings from a bush in the fall, although this can also be done at the end of winter.
Layering
In early spring, one of the lower young shoots of the hybrid currant is bent to the ground, pinched, deepened into the soil and fixed so that the branch does not straighten. During the summer, layering should be watered simultaneously with the mother plant until full rooting.
If you root the layers in the spring, then by September it can be separated and transferred to a new place.
Division of the bush
Adult currants are carefully dug out of the ground and divided with an ax into several parts along the rhizome. Each seedling should have strong young shoots and healthy underground shoots. Delenki are immediately transferred to a new place and carry out a standard landing.
The division of the bush for currant Yoshta is carried out in early spring
Yoshta grafting on currants
Yoshta can be grafted onto golden or black currants to increase frost resistance and crop yields. The procedure is carried out at the end of March or mid-April, depending on the region, but in any case before bud break. Yoshta cuttings can be cut immediately before grafting or harvested in the fall.
When grafting Yoshta on currants, the copulation method is most often used.
The stalk of Yoshta and the currant shoot are cut at an oblique angle and tightly connected, and then fixed with a strap. Below the vaccination, all processes are removed and the places of cuts are covered with garden pitch. After about a month, the winding can be removed.
Conclusion
Currant Yoshta is a very interesting hybrid for growing with high yields and dessert sweet fruits. The plant makes modest care requirements, so it usually does not cause problems for gardeners.
Reviews with photos about Yoshta currants
