One of the oldest grape varieties is Amursky, whose main advantages are high frost resistance and resistance to fungal diseases. Many gardeners living in adverse climatic conditions use this particular variety for growing, because even in bad weather it is able to please a regular plentiful harvest. What are the other features of the Amur grape and how to grow it at home, let's figure it out.

Grade description

Grapes "Amur" is a representative of varieties with an average ripening period, in which the vegetative period lasts 130-150 days depending on the region. The variety received its amazing resistance to severe frosts, around - 40 ° С, from its genetic parent - Amur creeper. The "author" of the new plant was Russian breeder A. I. Potapenko.

Appearance

“Amur” grape, due to its origin, looks like a wild deciduous vine with a large number of clusters on the stem. The plant is vigorous, the vine can reach a length of up to 30 m, while in one season it is able to produce growth of 2–2.5 m.

The culture has large, about 30 cm in length, rounded or ovoid with a sharp tip leaves of a saturated green color. In early May, small flowers form on the grapes, which after 2 weeks form fruits - small rounded berries with a diameter of 1–1.5 cm of a dark blue, almost black color with a blue tint.

Did you know? In ancient times, grape harvesting was a very dangerous occupation, due to the fact that grapes were planted near trees and, growing, it reached their very peak, where they were clustered. All grape pickers wrote a will before starting work.

Grapes are collected in neat cylindrical or cone-shaped clusters, the weight of which can vary depending on the subspecies and growing conditions within 200–250 g. There are specimens weighing up to 1 kg. On the hands, the fruits are quite loose. Berries are pleasant, delicate, with a slight sour taste. The pulp is very juicy, in color - light with a slight greenish tint. The skin is thin, but dense, chewing well. The percentage of sugar in the berry is high and is 23%. The variety is characterized by high yields. From one hectare of plantation, in one season, subject to the rules of agricultural technology, 60–80 centners of fruit can be harvested. The percentage of shoot fertility is over 80%.

Grape application

Grapes of the Amursky variety are widely used fresh, as well as for preparing blanks for the winter, fruit drinks, desserts, and pastries. It is used for the production of tartaric vinegar and tartaric acid. Grapes have found application in folk medicine, cosmetology, in the pharmaceutical field for the manufacture of medicines. Amur grapes are considered the ideal raw material for making quality wine.

Advantages and disadvantages

• Amur grapes are characterized by a wide range of benefits, among which winegrowers note:
• high viability of the culture, the ability to quickly recover;
• excellent resistance to frost and adverse climatic conditions;
• resistance to fungal ailments and parasites;
• undemanding in care and cultivation;
• excellent taste properties of berries;
• stable harvest;
• ability to tolerate long-distance transportation;
• wide range of applications in the food industry.

• Among the few disadvantages of culture, there are:
• the inability to collect the entire crop due to the high height of the bush;
• the need for pruning shoots throughout the season;
• small sizes of fruits.

How to choose quality seedlings when buying

The quality of the future vineyard and its livelihoods will to a greater extent be determined by the quality of planting material. Experienced gardeners recommend buying seedlings of culture in special nurseries or from long-established sellers.

Important! The plant is rarely grown on an industrial scale. Grape growers prefer more elite varieties.

Before buying, you should conduct a visual inspection of the planting material and pay attention to the following aspects:

1. Root system. The seedling should have a good development, healthy, strong, not dry root processes, without the presence of rot, damage, pests. Rooted roots are a sign of poor planting material, which is better to refuse.
2. Shoots. A good seedling must have matured shoots and several fully formed buds. Moreover, the diameter of the handle should be at least 5 mm.
3. Leaves. A large number of leaves on the seedling, as well as a stiff trunk will take away moisture and nutrients from the plant, as a result of which the culture will not take root well and will not bear fruit well.
4. Graft. On the stem, the vaccination site must be visualized. Its absence indicates that the seedling was grown without observing the basic rules of agricultural technology.

Landing rules

An important role in the development of the Amur grape is played by the observance of the rules for its planting.

When to plant

In most cases, the plant is planted in open soil in mid-autumn - October. If the seedlings are planted in the spring, it is better to carry out the event in April-May, when the land warms up well and the risk of the occurrence of return frosts disappears. In the spring, gardeners recommend propagating the culture by layering. During the summer, the layering will take root well, sprout and root. Autumn is the best time for planting seeds.

Important! The lack of constant pruning of the plant will lead to the fact that it will become just decorative, with a scanty amount of fruit.

Where to plant on the site

For excellent fruiting for the Amur grape, it is better to choose a well-lit, open, slightly elevated area, where there are no drafts and cold gusts of wind. The variety prefers loose, drainage, acidic soil, with a groundwater table of no more than 2.5 m. Given the high intensity of vine growth, before planting, care should be taken to install special supports on which the vine will grow. Planting crops should be away from houses or trees, since it can “capture” neighbors and, thus, lose fertility.

How to plant

Since grapes are characterized by rapid growth and branching, it is necessary to plant bushes at a distance of at least 1–1.5 m from each other. In addition, in order to protect the root system from damage, the depth of the pit for planting should be 2.5 m.

As mentioned above, seedlings are planted in late spring, for this they follow this algorithm:

1. They dig a recess 60x60 cm in size.
2. A drainage layer 10 cm high is lined at the bottom, sprinkled with a small layer of fertile substrate and fertilizers on top.
3. So that the root system does not get burnt under the influence of fertilizers, they add a layer of ordinary soil.
4. Immediately before planting, the seedling is soaked for a day in warm water, the root system is cleaned of dry, damaged, weak roots.
5. The seedling is placed in the recess, sprinkled with soil, leaving the root neck on the surface.
6. After planting, the soil is a little tamped, 2–3 buckets of warm water are poured under the bush.
7. The soil under the grapes is mulched using straw, mowed grass, hay, sawdust.

Video: planting grape seedlings

Care work

The next few years after planting a seedling, he will need regular, timely care, which consists in good watering, quality top dressing, pruning.

Watering

A young plant up to three years old needs abundant and frequent watering. Under natural conditions, the Amur vine grows along the banks of rivers and reservoirs, therefore, loves well-moistened soil. Mature crops that have a fully formed root system are not afraid of drought, but moisturizing for them will also not be superfluous.

Important! The Amursky variety negatively relates to waterlogged soil and a large number of moist leaves on it, so winegrowers are advised to install a peak or any canopy over the bush.

Water the grapes should be directly under the root, in specially made grooves around the bush. One plant will need 60–80 liters of water. After the moisture is completely absorbed, the recess should be covered with mulch. Cultural irrigation activities are carried out regularly throughout the season. Watering is completed a week before flowering begins, otherwise an excess of moisture will lead to shedding of flowers and, as a result, the loss of a significant part of the crop.

Top dressing

For good fruiting, grapes require top dressing, which is used as mineral complexes. The use of organic fertilizers for feeding grapes in this case is prohibited, since they can provoke the development of various ailments. It is recommended to deposit the Ministry of Agriculture once a season, if the plant is grown on fertile soils. If the soil is rather poor in nutrients, then top dressing should be applied more often, up to three times per season: the first - in spring, the second and third - before and after the flowering phase.

Soil care

The Amursky variety prefers loose soils, which is why before watering the bush, it is necessary to loosen the soil, going deeper by 4-6 cm. To preserve moisture in the soil for the longest time, protect the plant from weeds, enrich the soil with oxygen and nutrients, mulch it, during which a layer of mulch of straw, hay, sawdust or peat is placed on the surface of the soil.

Important! The amount of moisture in the soil will directly affect the density of the fruits and their juiciness. When caring for the vineyard, we must not forget about the timely weeding of weeds, which interfere with the full development of the root system of the crop and take away valuable substances from it. The main rule that should be followed when weeding is to hold an event before the weeds bloom.

Support

Since the Amursky variety belongs to fast-growing plants and can reach a length of up to 30 m, it must be supported. As a support, you can use ready-made special devices, for example, arches or improvised trellises made from improvised materials. The most optimal option for trellis is considered to be a design of metal poles and a wire stretched between them in several tiers.

The use of special supports makes it possible to guarantee higher yields due to better fruit preservation. The berries of the Amursky variety contain unique substances - calories, in the cells of which there are components used to reduce the risk of the formation of malignant tumors or to inhibit the growth of cancer cells.

Did you know? In antiquity, it was noticed that the grape branches eaten by a donkey the next year gave the best harvest. Thanks to this, people realized that culture needed trimming, and erected a monument to the donkey, which is located in Greece.

Shoot Tie

Grapes are characterized by vertical polarity, therefore fruiting shoots must be tied horizontally using long wooden pegs. Such a garter will allow all branches of one year to ripen evenly. Vertical tying leads to accelerated growth of shoots from the upper buds, while from the lower they will develop slowly or not grow at all.

Pruning

Pruning is also a must for grape care. But you need to remember that in the first year after planting, cutting the shoots can not be carried out. Starting from the second year, the branches of the plant must be trimmed, break off, shorten, pinch the tops. This will provide an opportunity to provide all fruit-bearing shoots with maximum nutrition and hydration. Break off or remove weak processes to a woody base, it is necessary after the tendrils and inflorescences are formed on the bush.

Learn more about the correct pruning of grapes in spring.

The procedure must be started from the bottom of the bush, gradually moving to stiff knots. Experts recommend growing grapes with a high stem, with the presence of perennial branches. Shoots or the so-called sleeves that form on perennial branches should be cut off seasonally. Circumcision is carried out on green shoots, which are subsequently used as cuttings. In order to prevent the vine from growing in length, it is necessary to pinch the top. This will allow directing vital nutrients not to the growth of the bush, but to the ripening of the crop. Pinching a plant is carried out 2-3 days before flowering.

Cold protection

Since the variety is winter-hardy, it is not necessary to prepare it for winter in a special way. It is enough to lay a young vine on the soil, cover it with a special cloth and cover it with foliage or coniferous branches. In regions where temperature values ​​in winter rarely exceed -20 ° C, it is not necessary to cover the culture. She will survive the winter perfectly under a layer of snow. With the onset of spring, shelter must not be removed immediately, but only after the warm weather stabilizes. Shelter is advised to remove on a cloudy day or after sunset.

Important! For 2-3 weeks, it is recommended to remove part of the foliage from the grapes that obscures the fruits from sunlight. You need to remove no more than 5 leaves near each cluster.

How to propagate by cuttings

There are several ways to propagate Amur grapes: by seeds, layering or cuttings. In household use the last two. Breeding by layering is practiced in spring. To do this, the air shoot, tilted to the ground, is bent to the soil even lower, dripped with a small layer of substrate and fixed with wooden pegs or other materials. Over the summer, layering will be able to take root and germinate well.

When cultivating the culture with cuttings, planting material is recommended to be prepared in the fall. To do this, green shoots are placed in a container with sand, provide quality care (watering, lighting) and are stored until spring. Before spring planting, seedlings are waxed, that is, a thin film of paraffin is coated on the top of the vine. Then they are placed in a special solution that promotes the activation of growth of the root system.

Planting rooted cuttings is practically no different from ordinary planting. Planting material requires fertile soil, plentiful timely irrigation, good lighting and the absence of drafts.

Amur grapes will be an excellent option for beginner gardeners. Besides the fact that the variety is unpretentious in care and able to adapt to adverse environmental conditions, it has excellent resistance to ailments and stably pleases with high yields. Engaged in the cultivation of this culture, you can not only enjoy its exquisite fruits, but also enjoy delicious, aromatic and quality wine.