Early remontant raspberry Castion: description, productivity

Kastion is a new repairing variety of raspberries of Italian origin. This plant is a universal type with small spikes, not very sharp. The bush is also characterized by medium growth power, delicious red berries in the shape of a cone, with excellent organoleptic qualities and a good shelf life. In the article you will find a description of the characteristics of the variety, its advantages, as well as agricultural technology.

Early Repairing Raspberries Castion

Berry bushes are a subject of constant interest from farmers and private individuals, because they provide a consistently high profitability. Their fruits are not only tasty, but also beneficial for the body.

Kastion (Castion) - a repairing grade of raspberries of early ripening. It is characterized by good yield, excellent pulp texture and ripening a week earlier than other repair varieties. The producer of the variety is the Italian nursery Vivai Molari (Vivai Molari). The raspberries developed by the company are characterized by productivity and high quality berries. The variety Castion was patented in 2018 and was then presented at the International Conference of Soft Fruits.

Did you know? Raspberry phytonutrients can be effective in treating high blood pressure and joint inflammation. They also have a beneficial effect on the liver.

Appearance, characteristics of berries, ripening dates, productivity

Raspberry Kastion is a medium-sized bush with great growth power. The shoots are erect, juicy, green, covered with a bluish coating and small small spikes. They have well developed lateral branches . In the second year of development, they are lignified, and after fruiting they fade. The raspberry bush has many thin, thin roots that form a powerful branching root system.

The leaves are alternating, oval, consisting of 3–7 ovate leaves. The upper surface of the leaf is dark green, the lower side is whitish, due to pubescence. The plant blooms in small pale green flowers. The fruiting of the repairing varieties occurs 2 times a year - on the shoots of the first and second year of development.

According to the manufacturer, the variety is slightly affected by pests and diseases. But to confirm or deny this information is not possible, since the variety is relatively recently introduced to the market.

Berries Castion cone-shaped, bright raspberry color. Weight - 3-5 g. Characterized by dessert, sweet and sour taste. In this case, sugar in them is 8%, acid - 1.4%. Fruiting on the shoots of the second year of growth falls on the beginning of June, and on those that grow this year, on the end of July or the beginning of August. Productivity is about 1.2–1.3 kg of berries per season from one bush.

The plant can be grown in open and closed ground . In addition, Castion is suitable for growing in containers of 6 liters. In open ground, the planting rate is 3-4 plants per 1 meter of row. It is advisable to make rows no longer than 50 cm.

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There is no data on frost resistance and drought tolerance of the variety, but it can be assumed that the variety grown on the Adriatic coast is not intended for a cold climate, unless it grows in a greenhouse. As for drought tolerance, even if the plant tolerates drought well, its berries consist of more than 70% moisture. If raspberries are not watered, then the berries will weigh much less than they should.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

  • According to the data provided by the manufacturer, the advantages of the variety are:
  • ripening berries a week earlier than other repair varieties;
  • high organoleptic properties of raspberries;
  • low spike of shoots;
  • resistance to major diseases and pests;
  • stable yield.

Disadvantages are not indicated by the manufacturer, nor are there in the reviews of those who grow these berries in their garden plots.

Features of agricultural technology

Raspberries are extremely popular among gardeners. Its berries are not only tasty, but also healthy. It is grown for sale and for personal consumption, so it is so important that they are not just high-quality berries in large quantities, but also that they ripen steadily.

Video: Features of planting and care of remont raspberries

Growing and caring for plants does not cause problems, but before you grow them in your garden, you need to know the agronomic requirements for them: when to plant, what fertilizers should be applied, how to cut. Raspberries are planted in autumn, from September to early October, as well as in spring . The planting technique does not depend on the time of year, but preparation for it differs in spring and autumn.

Seat selection

A plant needs sunlight for at least 6 hours a day. Having planted the plant in the shade, you will notice that the young shoots are extended, and the berries are not sweet enough. The soil requirements for raspberry varieties are individual, unlike other berry bushes. Usually it is light fertile soil . The manufacturer did not say whether Castion grows well on other types of soils. The optimum soil pH is 5.7–6.5.

Important! Raspberries do not fit lowlands and hills. When grown in a lowland, water will stagnate at the roots, and on high ground it will quickly “leave”.

Flat or slightly sloping places are the best choice for landing . In the same place, raspberries can grow from 7 to 10 years. During this period, the bushes completely deplete the soil. After that, even new plants will not be able to show the maximum possible yield on this site. Avoid planting raspberries on it for 7 years. It is not recommended to plant a bush after bell pepper, potatoes, tomatoes. The best precursors for it are beans or cereal plants.

Landing and care

In the spring, purchased seedlings are planted . They can be purchased at the market or in nurseries. They also plant cuttings for cuttings, which were cut in the fall. In the spring, the gardener's actions will be as follows:

  1. Dig a landing hole measuring 50 × 40 × 40 cm. There should be 0.5 m between individual holes and 1.5 m between adjacent rows.
  2. Mix the upper fertile soil with fertilizers. For each pit, you need to take 10 kg of manure or compost, 60 g of potassium sulfate, 400 g of wood ash, 100 g of superphosphate.
  3. Place part of this mixture in the pit, and leave the rest nearby.
  4. Plant a bush, straightening the roots.
  5. Fill the pit with soil. Make sure that the plant is at the same depth that it grew in the nursery.
  6. Compact the soil and water the bush.
  7. Repeat watering after 2 days.

The disadvantage of spring planting is that, due to weather conditions, seedlings can be planted at the wrong time, and then the chances of their survival are sharply reduced.

Important! Raspberries roots live about 20 years, and shoots - only 2 years. But the maximum productivity of the bush remains for only 10 to 12 years. In the future, bushes need to be replaced with new ones.

Autumn landing instructions:

  1. The best period for autumn planting is the end of September . The preparation of a site for the Kastion variety begins 1.5 months before the immediate landing.
  2. Dig the soil to the depth of the shovel, removing weeds and adding 2-3 buckets of humus or rotted manure to 3 m² of soil. Add 200-400 g of superphosphate, 100-150 g of potassium sulfate. This is enough to feed the plant for 5 years.
  3. If the soil is peaty - add 4 buckets of sand per 3 m² of soil.
  4. Stir the mixture and pour part of it into the pit.
  5. Plant a bush, add soil.
  6. Seal the ground around the bush and water.

Autumn planting is much better than spring planting, because you can more carefully prepare the site, and the plant has enough time for rooting. In addition, the root system of berry shrubs develops much better at low plus temperatures. Such a bush will take root better and will begin to grow very quickly in spring.

Also find out what raspberries cannot be planted on the plot.

Do not water raspberries if enough rain falls and the soil is moist. In dry and sultry weather, the bushes should be abundantly watered so that the topsoil is moist to a depth of 30 cm . Water is especially needed for plants before flowering, as well as during growth and ripening of the crop. But the most important watering occurs in the fall. During this period, raspberries are laying buds for next year's harvest. Drip irrigation is one of the best irrigation methods : firstly, such irrigation saves water, secondly, the water that goes to the roots is already pre-heated, and thirdly, the soil is evenly saturated with moisture.

If the bushes were well fertilized when planting, with the addition of superphosphate and potash fertilizers, then there is no need to apply fertilizing with phosphorus and potassium for several years. However, raspberries will have to be supplied with nitrogen fertilizers annually. In the spring it can be 1/4 of a bucket of rotted manure, dissolved in water. The solution must be carefully poured under the bush without getting on the shoots.

Pest and Disease Control

Plant diseases are usually noticed if leaves turn yellow or spots appear on them. A sign of the disease will also be a raid on the berries.

The most common diseases of raspberry, and Castion, including, include:

  1. Raspberry cancer is a bacterial disease. Bacteria penetrate plant tissues through mechanical damage that has occurred by chance or under the influence of pests. As a result, thickenings - galls - appear on the roots. They are not the root and cannot deliver raspberries nutrients from the ground. No new roots are formed and the bush dies due to lack of nutrition. Seeing evenly yellowing leaves, check the roots. Dig up and burn sick bushes away from the site. Treat the soil with 1% solution of copper sulfate and do not plant anything in this place for 4 years. This is the period during which bacteria remain in the soil.

  2. Rust is a fungal disease. It manifests itself in the form of characteristic yellow and orange spots on the leaves. For treatment, the bushes are treated with Fitosporin or Topaz. If the disease is at a late stage, the affected bushes must be excavated and destroyed. For prevention, “Fitosporin” or copper-based solutions are used. There are about four preventative sprayings in the season. Any other types of spots (brown, purple) are signs of fungal diseases. Remove the damaged leaves, and treat the bushes themselves with a solution of Bordeaux liquid 1% against any fungal disease.

  3. Chlorosis is a viral disease. Viruses are often carried by pests, such as aphids. The leaf in this case turns yellow gradually. The veins on it remain the longest green. Viral diseases are not treatable, so such bushes are dug up and burned. Emerging aphids or other sucking pests are destroyed by spraying the bush with a solution of insecticidal soap. Sometimes chlorosis is caused not by aphids, but by a lack of minerals in the soil, cold watering of raspberries, too much moisture in the soil, or too alkaline environment. Check the correct irrigation and soil composition, and then eliminate the identified deficiencies.

  4. Anthracnosis is a fungal disease, as a result of which a gray coating appears on the fruits. You can avoid the disease by planting varieties resistant to it. Copper-based drugs are used to combat it.

Sometimes the reason for the leaves to dry is insufficient or untimely watering, since raspberries are a water-loving plant. In this case, it is enough to make irrigation correct. If it is watering, then inspect the roots for pests.

Did you know? The first mention of raspberry cultivation is found in treatises of the III century BC. e. This is the oldest berry shrub cultivated by people.

Insects often attack thickened landings. It is there that the best conditions are created for their life. Raspberries can affect:

  1. Raspberry bug - yellow-brown insect. He eats buds during flowering, as well as buds and leaves. The female lays eggs in flowers, and then the larvae eat the resulting berries. Beetle bushes need to be processed immediately after the snow has melted. The drug used is Karbofos.

  2. Raspberry sawfly - lays larvae in the axils of the upper leaves. They will feed on young shoots. As the main way to deal with this pest, 0.2% (20 g per 10 l of water) is sprayed with “Chlorophos”.

  3. Reed midges and gall midges - lay eggs in young shoots. Hatched larvae will feed on them. The result is deformation of the shoots (swelling in the places where the larvae are) and curling of the leaves. Damaged shoots are removed, and the plant is treated with Karbofos.

  4. Aphids are small insects living in colonies. They feed on the juice of plants, simultaneously highlighting copper plaque. Sooty fungi begin to develop on it, exacerbating bush disease. In addition, aphids are carriers of viruses. Against it, the bushes are treated with soapy water.

  5. Spider mites - suck out plant juice, infecting raspberries with Botrytis spores and other viral infections. The tick actively develops in hot and dry weather. To combat it, it is enough to increase the humidity around the plant.

A means of controlling all insects is the use of insecticides in early spring and after harvest. As a preventive measure, the agrotechnical rules for growing raspberries should be steadily and timely observed.

Trellis

Bushes with a height of more than 1.5 m need support. It can be made in the form of several poles, with rows of wire stretched between them.

Did you know? In Greek myths, raspberries were once white, but the nanny of Zeus, Ida, picking them up, pricked her finger on a thorn, the fruits turned red and have remained so ever since. In addition to red, yellow and black raspberries are now grown in the world.

To build it, at the beginning and at the end of each row, support pillars are dug into the ground. The recess should be approximately 0.8–1 m. The height of the column above the ground is at least 1.5 m. The wire is pulled at a height of 0.5–0.6 m and 1–1.2 m. To prevent it from sagging, the length of the row is dug additional support posts. The shoots on the wire are laid out in a fan (semicircle) and fixed with a soft cloth.

The trellis will provide uniform illumination of all shoots with the sun, facilitate the care of raspberries and harvest, accelerate the growth and ripening of shoots

Pruning and wintering

In the early spring, frostbite or damaged shoots are cut. According to agricultural standards, 10–15 shoots should fall on 0.6–0.9 linear meters of a row. You need to leave the strongest, and the rest can be deleted. When spring pruning, the shoots are shortened by 15–20 cm. Do not think that this way you will get a smaller crop. The annual shoot that appeared in the spring will give a harvest in August in its upper part . And next year in June only the middle of the shoot will bear fruit, therefore its upper part of the productive load no longer carries. You just save energy for larger fruits.

Learn more about how to trim raspberries and when.

Some gardeners prefer not to leave biennial shoots. They believe that this way they will get a larger crop on the shoots of the first year of growth. But this is not a requirement of agricultural technology, but a personal preference.

In the fall, when the harvest is already harvested, two-year-old shoots are cut off, because in the third year they will not bear fruit . All cut branches should be burned to destroy insects, their larvae and pathogenic microorganisms that can inhabit them.

Harvesting and transportation

Berries are harvested when they are fully ripe. A feature of the Castion variety is that its fruits ripen almost simultaneously . The first wave of berries is waiting for you in early June, and the second - in August. Ripeness is determined by appearance - the fruits are red and look very juicy. In addition, they can always be tasted to determine ripeness.

To collect, prepare plastic containers in which the berries will be stored, and harvest directly in them. So that the fruits are not crushed, in each container there should be no more than 400 g of berries.

Important! If it rained the day before, postpone the collection before the bushes dry. Wet berries cannot be stored for longer than 2 to 3 days, even in the refrigerator.

Collect berries in the early morning: chilled, they are stored more. Store your harvest in the refrigerator. Wash berries only immediately before eating. The approximate shelf life of fresh berries is 5-6 days. Too large a crop can be frozen for the winter in a freezer or processed into juices, boiled jam and cook other homemade preparations.

The acquisition of completely new raspberry varieties, such as Castion, is always a risk, so it can be recommended to gardeners who are fond of new products and are looking for new solutions for their garden. Observing the simple rules for caring for this variety, you will ensure an annual harvest of delicious, sweet and healthy berries.

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