Table grape varieties are appreciated by gardeners for their versatility in application and high taste. One of these varieties is called "Delight". Its description and all the subtleties of growing are later in the article.

Grade description

This is a self-pollinating variety of early ripening - 110-115 days from the beginning of the growing season. Fruiting continues from mid-August to early October. From 1 hectare, a farmer can collect up to 120 centners of fruit. Frost-resistant Delight in a temperate climate can be grown without shelter, as the variety is able to withstand temperatures up to –25 ° С.

The dense peel of berries allows you to store the crop for a long time and transport the fruit over long distances. The variety is resistant to major diseases of the culture, but requires preventive treatments. Affected by the root phylloxera, which will require careful care of the plant from the farmer.

If we compare the Delight with another variety of Laura, popular in cultivation, you can find similarities in many characteristics:

• both varieties are high in sugar;
• have large clusters and berries;
• well stored and transported.

However, there are differences. Compared to Delight, Laura is a less resistant variety to diseases and frosts. Grapes need manual pollination, and, according to reviews, Laura does not differ in annual stable yield indicators.

Did you know? The Slavic fertility goddess Lada is depicted with a bunch of grapes in her left hand. The bunch symbolizes prosperity and prosperity for the farmer, a good harvest.

Appearance characteristic

The vine of this variety looks like a strong sprawling bush with powerful shoots. It grows to 2.5 m in height. The foliage is light green, bright with a heart-shaped form of plates, the edges of the leaves are serrated. The root system is powerful, develops to a depth of 2 m. The ovaries form on most shoots, so the vine needs timely pruning.

The formed clusters are dense, in the shape of a cone, the weight of the cluster ranges from 500 g to 2 kg. Berries are oval, with a waxy coating. The skin is firm, crispy, and the pulp is sweet and juicy. The average weight of the berries is 6 g.

There are several varieties of the variety:

• Black - with dark blue berries;
  

• Ideal or White - light green color, and on clusters turned to the sun, a golden "tan" is formed;
  

• Nutmeg - with light green berries, characterized by early maturity on the 105th day;
  

• Red - the color of berries is saturated pink.
  

Advantages and disadvantages

Delight is one of the most popular varieties due to its technical characteristics.

• Culture Benefits:
• early ripening;
• prolonged fruiting;
• high productivity (5-8 kg per bush);
• frost and drought resistance;
• not affected by wasps;
• self-pollination;
• resistance to most diseases (gray rot, mildew, oidium);
• good rooting of seedlings;
• universality in application;
• taste characteristics.

Learn more about the benefits and harms of white grapes.

• The disadvantages of the variety are insignificant:
• exposure to root phylloxera;
• garter and trim required;
• preventive treatments are needed;
• rarely, but cracking of berries is possible.

The purpose of the variety

All varieties of Delight are table varieties.

This means that they are widely used:

• berries are consumed fresh;
• boil jams and preserves;
• crush juice;
• from this grape a tasty and healthy blood is obtained.

How to plant grapes

When planting grapes, you need to remember that this is a southern heat-loving culture and it needs lighting and space. The plot should face the south, southeast or southwest side.

Drafts are contraindicated in grapes, it is desirable that the site is surrounded by fruit trees or a hedge. The long root system of the plant should not be waterlogged, so the location of groundwater must be taken into account.

Landing time

Both autumn and spring planting are acceptable for grapes. The advantage of the autumn procedure is that in this season the soil is wetter, respectively, the root system is more likely to take root. In addition, successful wintering will harden young plants. Planting in the spring is also acceptable, but you will have to spend more time on watering.

Read also how to cook wine from white and black grapes at home.

The choice of seedlings when buying

First you need to decide what kind of seedlings to give an advantage: grafted or root.

To decide, you need to find out the advantages and disadvantages of both:

• Own seedlings with a sudden sharp drop in winter temperature are able to survive due to the long root system;
• the graft can freeze and break off;
• grafted seedlings are not susceptible to phylloxera, unlike root;
• grafted seedlings improve varietal characteristics and give a higher yield.

Criteria for choosing healthy plants:

1. The root system must be branched (the more root processes, the more chances to take root).
2. You can check the condition of the roots by plucking a small segment. If the cut is white with signs of moisture, then the seedling is healthy. If the cut is dry and dark, the seedling will no longer grow into an adult healthy plant.
3. The trunk should be intact, without signs of disease, suspicious spots. If you remove a piece of bark, the wood of a healthy plant is colored green.
4. You also need to examine the kidneys - they should not peel off, much less fall off when pressed.

Important! Pay attention to the form in which the seedling is sold. If its roots are not covered by a soil lump or, at least, a moist piece of matter, you should not buy it: it will most likely die.

Site preparation

The grape needs fertile soil: chernozem or loam. Otherwise, organic fertilizers will have to be applied annually. The selected area should be cleared, dug up, remove plant debris. It is necessary to take into account the distance from the outbuildings or the house, the fence, departing from them by at least 2 m.

The Vostorg variety grows strongly as it grows, so you need to make a distance of 4-6 m between the bushes for the bushes. You need to dig a hole 80 × 70 in size 1 month before planting (autumn), and lay the compost-earth mixture to the bottom. During the spring planting, fertilizers are put directly into the pit during the procedure itself. In advance, you need to think through and install the arch to which the vine will be tied.

Landing technology

The sequence of actions during the planting of grape seedlings:

1. Place drainage (pieces of brick) on the bottom of the hole. In the spring, lay fertilizers on top of the drainage (half a bucket of any organic matter).
2. Pour a hill of soil on top dressing.
3. Soak the roots of the seedling in a clay mash.
4. Place the seedling on a hill of land, spread the roots and sprinkle with earth, ramming.
5. Then water the hole liberally (2-3 buckets of water).
6. If planting is carried out in the spring, the trunk circle after 5 days needs to be covered with mulch (peat, straw).

Important! The grafted seedlings should not be buried - the graft site should be above the surface to avoid infection with phylloxera.

Cultivation and care

For successful cultivation, the vine needs standard hydration and top dressing procedures. Preventive treatments for diseases and proper pruning of the bush are also required.

Watering and fertilizer

All varieties of Delight are drought tolerant and do not require frequent watering. The vine needs plentiful hydration in June, before flowering, especially the Ideal subspecies, this will increase the yield and juiciness of the fruits. The second watering is carried out 7-10 days before the fruiting.

Table grape varieties also include:

Top dressing is usually combined with watering. Around the trunk at a distance of 50 cm, dig a ditch up to 40 cm deep and add fertilizer there.

Application Frequency:

1. In the spring, overwinter the bushes to feed a solution of superphosphate, ammonium nitrate and potassium salt. For 1 bush, mix the mixture in a ratio of 20: 10: 5 g per 10 liters of water.
2. Before flowering, add the same solution or nitrophos: 60 g per 10 l of water with the addition of 4 g of sodium humate and 5 g of boric acid.
3. Before fruiting, the plant needs phosphorus and potassium in a proportion of 10 g per 10 l of water, with the addition of 3 g of boric acid.
4. After harvesting - for a successful wintering, fertilize the plant with a mixture of potassium sulfate, boric acid and zinc sulfate in a ratio of 20: 5: 5 g per 10 liters of water.

Trimming and shaping a bush

All kinds of Enthusiasm need shaping pruning. The spring procedure is carried out before the movement of juices and swelling of the kidneys begins. In the autumn, a little more shoots are left, since during the winter some of them may not survive the severe frosts.

In order to normalize the load on the bush, given the large weight of the bunches, it is necessary to leave 2-3 fruitless shoots on one fruiting sleeve.

Trimming technology for different types:

• White or Perfect - leave about 30 eyes on the whole bush;
• Black - no more than 40 eyes;
• Red - 45-50 eyes;
• Nutmeg - 25-30 eyes.

During the flowering period, the tops should be pinched, regardless of the variety variety.

Mulching

Covering the soil with mulch will allow you to pay less attention to weeding and loosening. Usually a trunk circle is covered with a radius of up to 50 cm. You can use straw, freshly cut grass or sawdust.

Dry covering material should be moistened so that natural processes are activated in the soil. And so that a strong wind does not sweep the mulch all over the site, you can pile it with boards or dry branches.

We recommend reading why grape berries wilt.

Hiding

Shelter for the winter is required mainly for young bushes, as adult bushes can overwinter without shelter. The exception is for regions with winter temperatures below –25 ° C, or with low rainfall. For shelter, shoots must be removed from the support and bent to the ground. Coniferous branches or agrofibre are used as shelter.

Pest treatment

The main pests of grapes are spider mites, phylloxera and slugs. In the treatment of spider mites, bushes that hibernated without shelter are primarily needed because they are weakened. The parasite is especially active in hot, dry weather. Eating the juice of the plant, the tick weakens it, and if the pest is not eliminated, the bush may gobble.

Spider mite, phylloxera and slugs

Processing from the cobweb is carried out using acaricides, for example, the drug "Acarin". Consumption - 1-2 ml per 1 liter of water, planting should be sprayed in the morning or in the evening, in dry weather in the absence of wind. If necessary, repeat the procedure after 7 days.

Root phylloxera is difficult to detect. If the plant dries for no reason, the buds and shoots do not ripen, then you need to dig it and examine the roots at the surface. An effective means of combating this insect is the drug "Karbofos". Processing is carried out by spraying, at the rate of 1 packet of the product in 8 liters of water. It is necessary to carry out the procedure before flowering. Find out also why grapes turn yellow and what to do. Prevention from the parasite is the thorough cleaning of plant debris, since the phylloxera overwinters in them. Prior to planting, purchased seedlings must be quarantined for at least 1 week to ensure there is no pest.

When slugs appear, they will have to be collected manually. To protect the nursery from the pest, nutshell should be scattered around the trunk circle.

Along the perimeter of the vineyard, you can also plant plants that repel gastropod parasites:

• rosemary;
• fennel;
• garlic.

Did you know? In medicine, grape treatment is used, with all parts of the plant, and not just the fruits. This method is called "ampelotherapy".

Disease Treatment Methods

Of all the varieties described above of this variety, Rapt Red is considered more resistant to gray rot. However, increased humidity or a dense landing can provoke other diseases, such as mildew or oidium.

To prevent the disease, a number of rules must be observed:

• clean the soil every autumn from plant debris;
• thin out bushes as they grow;
• comply with the norm of watering;
• do preventative treatments.

Frequency of preventive procedures:

• the first - in the spring after trimming;
• the second - after a flowering period;
• the third - after fruiting.

It is also necessary to spray grapes with preparations containing copper or sulfur (copper sulfate 1%, colloidal sulfur at the rate of 80 g per 10 liters of water). Processing should be not only plants, but also the soil.

If the vine is already affected by the disease, the treatment is carried out with fungicides:

1. "Bactofit" - against oidium. Spraying is used 3 times with an interval of 7 days. The amount of the drug is 30 ml per 10 liters of water.
   

2. "Alirin-B" - against mildew and gray rot. For spraying, fungicide must be diluted in a proportion of 2 tablets per 1 liter of water, and for watering the soil - 2 tablets per 10 liters of water. In total, you need to carry out 3 procedures with an interval of 5-7 days.
   

Both drugs are biological, not dangerous for animals and humans, therefore, they can be used during flowering or fruiting. Learn more about how to deal with gray rot on grapes. With proper care and proper procedures, the harvest of Vostorg grapes will please both quality and quantity. The main advantage of the variety is frost resistance, which allows you to grow juicy berries even in regions with harsh winters.