Among the many varieties of blackcurrant, each gardener is looking for the most suitable option, both in terms of the characteristics of the fruit and taking into account the requirements for growing. Variety Chernavka can be considered a good option for such a culture in any of these cases, and what exactly is it and how to achieve maximum fruiting from the bushes - this will be discussed in this article.

Description of blackcurrant variety Chernavka

Chernavka is a medium-late ripening blackcurrant variety (on average, berry picking occurs in the second half of July), with high frost resistance and resistance to characteristic fungal ailments of berry crops.

Owing to the plant’s self-fertility, representatives of other varieties are not required to obtain a rich harvest, and the structure of the bushes themselves makes fruit collection affordable using harvesting equipment.

Did you know? Currant leaves and fruits will be especially useful for people who received radiation exposure, since the substances contained in their composition contribute to the effective removal of radionuclides.

Selection history

The Chernavka currant variety is the result of crossing representatives of the Black Pearl variety and Ojebin, obtained at the VNIIS im. I.V. Michurina. Zvyagina T.S. and Zhidekhina T.V., to which the authorship of the variety belongs.

Chernavka got into the State Register of Breeding Achievements of the Russian Federation in 2006 and since then has been recommended for cultivation in the Central Black Earth region . In practice, currant bushes of this variety are also found in other areas where, when organizing suitable growing conditions, they also produce good yields.

Appearance, characteristics of berries, ripening time, yield

The medium-late Chernavka currant is represented by medium-thick and medium-spreading bushes, consisting of medium-thick, straight shoots. The surface of the branches is covered with gray, slightly shiny skin, and the top is characterized by a yellowish blush. The buds on the shoots are of medium size, elongated-ovate and reddish in color, have a short stalk, with the help of which they slightly deviate from the shoot itself.

A saturated green shade of the leaf blade of the bush consists of five blades, characterized by medium size and a matte, leathery, slightly wrinkled surface with a straight edge of the leaf. Each individual lobe ends with a slight sharpening at the edge, but the middle part is longer than the lateral ones.

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The base of the sheet has a mid-deep triangular recess. Petiole, which holds the leaf, of medium length, slightly pubescent at the base. The flowers are medium sized, goblet-shaped with pale purple sepals. At the end of flowering, medium-sized, rounded berries are formed on the shoots, each weighing about 1.3–1.5 g.

Inside the sweet and sour pulp of the fruit there is a moderate amount of seeds, which only increases their consumer qualities.

The chemical composition of Chernavka currants is represented by soluble dry substances (18.7%), sugars (12.9%), ascorbic acid (192.7 mg / 100 g), P-active substances (1300.0 mg / 100 g), pectin (3.3%).

In the most suitable growing conditions, up to 4 kg of currant is removed from one bush, and with industrial cultivation from 1 ha, up to 12.4 tons of berries can be obtained.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Like other varieties, Chernavka has strengths and weaknesses, which is definitely worth considering before planting seedlings on the site.

• In the list of advantages, gardeners ranked the following plant characteristics:
• high flavoring properties of fruits;
• a large number of brushes with berries on one shoot;
• high resistance to fungal ailments;
• excellent indicators of frost resistance;
• the possibility of mechanized harvesting;
• unpretentiousness in leaving.

• There were no significant shortcomings in the cultivation of Chernavka bushes, although some gardeners attribute the following features to them:
• uneven size of berries;
• average yield;
• average late harvest maturity.

Agricultural technology

Successful cultivation of the Chernavka currant variety is based on a properly organized process of planting and further care of the crop bushes, taking into account the nuances of selecting a place for growing plants. In order not to be mistaken in your calculations, it is important to consider the following recommendations of experienced gardeners.

Did you know? Approximately 30–40 berries of blackcurrant will be able to provide an adult with a daily norm of vitamin C.

Seat selection and landing

An ideal place for growing Chernavka plants is an elevated area with good sunlight and a light fertile substrate. The level of groundwater should not be closer than 1.5 m from the surface, which will protect the roots of shrubs from overmoistening.

For spring planting, the territory is dug up since the fall, fertilizing with rotted manure or humus, at the rate of 4-6 kg of organics per square meter of land.

With the advent of spring, as soon as the earth dries a little, you can begin to organize holes or trenches for harvested currant seedlings . Such depressions should be 40-60 cm wide and 30-40 cm deep, but these values ​​can be slightly increased, which depends on the size of the root system of plants.

Read also how to transplant currants in the fall to a new place.

Spread a nutrient mixture of humus and potassium phosphate fertilizers in a uniform layer on the bottom of the well, calculating their dosage so that 100 g of double superphosphate, 40 g of potassium sulfate, 10-12 kg of humus per 1 m². Having prepared the nutrient substrate for the seedling, it must be placed in the center of the hole and slightly tilted to the side to fill with the remaining soil.

At the end of the procedure, it remains only to compact the earth in the near-stem circle and to water the young plant well

If the land settles heavily as a result of watering, you can add a little shrubs, additionally mulching the surface with sawdust or peat - to preserve moisture and prevent active growth of weeds.

Important! At least 1.0–1.2 m of free space is left between neighboring seedlings, and 1.5–2.0 m between two adjacent rows.

Care

Care for the currant bushes of the Chernavka variety begins a few days after planting and at the initial stages it provides only timely watering, loosening of the soil and removal of weeds, but fertilizing the plantations in the first year of cultivation is completely optional (there will be enough substances brought to the currant when planting).

Video: How to properly care and plant currants

Both watering and other actions have their own performance characteristics, which directly depend on the crop grown. In this case, it is:

1. Accurate application of warm liquid directly under the root, and it is best to water in the morning or evening, trying to prevent moisture from getting on the aerial parts of the currant bush. Irrigation regularity is determined based on the state of the upper soil layer, and the amount of water is calculated taking into account the size of the grown bush (an average of 8-10 liters of fluid per plant).
   

2. Regular use of fertilizers, at least 2–4 times a season (starting from the third year of cultivation). For the first time, the bushes are fed using nitrogen-containing compounds (for example, urea or ammonium nitrate in the amount of 50-60 g per plant), the second top dressing is relevant when planning work in early spring, before the buds on the shoots swell. The next time fertilizers are applied after 12-14 days, this time using organic substances: humus (10-12 kg per bush) or mullein infusion (5-6 l per plant) dissolved in water. Starting from the fourth year of growing currants, in the autumn period potassium-phosphoric preparations are introduced into the trunk circle, spending 50–55 g of potassium sulfate, 80–90 g of double superphosphate per plant.
   

Special attention should be paid to loosening and mulching the surface of the near-trunk zone of the currant, which is performed shortly after the next watering, as soon as the water is well absorbed into the ground. For the first time, the soil is fluffed up in early spring, simultaneously with top dressing, and later on, as the upper soil layer hardens to a depth of 10-12 cm (near the very base of the bush, do not deepen the tool more than 5-7 cm).

We recommend that you learn more about mulching currants.

To mulch the surface, you can use humus, rotted manure, lowland peat, necessarily laying the selected material with a thickness of at least 5–8 cm. When loosening, it is very convenient to remove weeds, and this procedure cannot be ignored.

Pest and Disease Control

Blackcurrant variety Chernavka can have the same problems as other varietal varieties of this culture, therefore, when cultivating plants, the appearance of currant bud mites, aphids, fire flakes, powdery mildew, anthracnose, rust, and gray rot .

At their first manifestations, the affected parts of the currant must be cut and burned so that they do not become a source of further spread of infection or harmful insects. In case of mass infection of the culture, it is necessary to use special insecticidal and fungicidal preparations, the most effective of which are Karate-Zeon, Fufanon, Actelik, Topaz, Fundazol, Topsin-M and Aktara.

We advise you to learn more about the fight against diseases and pests of blackcurrant.

For preventive purposes, autumn harvesting of plant debris in the near-stem zone, compliance with crop rotation requirements and the selection of “neighbors” for Chernavka currants will be useful. The soil in the near-stem zone is dug up onto a bayonet by shovels, turning large earthen clods out (the remaining larvae of pests and microscopic pathogens will simply remain on the surface and freeze at the first frost).

Trimming and shaping a bush

Pruning blackcurrant bushes Chernavka is performed twice a season : in early spring with the careful removal of all damaged, improperly growing or diseased branches and in late autumn, immediately after harvesting the fruits of the current year. In the second case, unripe, damaged by diseases and pests branches, as well as specimens interwoven with other branches, are subject to clipping.

We advise you to read how to care for blackcurrant bushes in early spring.

The tips of the shoots can be trimmed only when planting or trying to provide the bushes with rapid growth up . Basal shoots are removed as they form, preventing thickening of the inside of the bush. After growing currants for six years, anti-aging pruning will be useful, with the removal of all branches older than six years of age (they will not give any berries).

Fig. 1. Currant pruning: a - annual seedling; b - a biennial bush; c, d - shortening of shoots. Fig. 2. Currant bush before anti-aging pruning (a), after it (b) and pruning of a neglected bush (c)

Wintering

Given the high frost resistance of the Chernavka currant variety, only young plants need winter shelters, and even then in the northern regions of Russia . In the middle zone or in the southern regions of the country there will be no wintering problems, the main thing is to water the bushes in a timely manner (2-3 weeks before the expected frosts), remove inferior shoots and mulch the near-trunk zone with a ten-centimeter layer of peat (for protection against rodents, you can additionally use spruce branches )

It is also worth paying attention to seasonal top dressing, incorporating complex mineral or organic compounds into the soil, performing the procedure simultaneously with digging the site.

Harvesting and transportation of the crop, shelf life of berries

Like many other blackcurrant varieties, Chernavka matures closer to the second half of July and can be cleaned either manually or using special cleaning equipment. Torn dry and elastic berries (without stem) are placed in wooden or plastic boxes, but always with good ventilation.

Under such conditions, the fruits can stand for at least 3-4 days, but only if they were not crushed when removed from the bushes.

Transportation of the harvested crop is carried out according to general rules, but so that the ripped fruits lay as long as possible, the temperature at the place of their storage should be within + 3 ... + 10 ° C

Despite the relatively late ripening of the fruits of Chernavka currant, it is considered an excellent option for growing in the middle zone of the Russian Federation and in the south of the country, so if you are interested in tasty and healthy currant fruits, you should definitely pay attention to this option, which is confirmed by numerous reviews of gardeners.