Gooseberry Consul (Senator)

The excellent taste properties of large fruits of this culture, along with a number of other indisputable advantages, made it extremely popular both among professionals and among amateur gardeners. It's about the Consul gooseberry.

The culture was the result of the hard work of V. Ilyin, an employee of the South Ural Research Institute of Fruit and Vegetable Growing. They began in the 1980s, but it was entered into the State Register only in 1995. Another name for the Consul (Senator) is Ribes uva-crispa Konsul.

In obtaining a new species, the varieties Chelyabinsk Green and African were used. From them, the newcomer inherited both a high degree of tolerance to low temperatures and resistance to other whims of nature. The species is intended for cultivation in the Ural, Volgo-Vyatka, West Siberian, Far Eastern regions of the country.

The purpose of Consul fruits is universal.

The bushes of the culture are vigorous (180-200 cm), medium spreading, with thickened crowns, including thin branches of dark green shades. Shoots are straight or slightly curved, greenish and not pubescent, with little spine in the middle parts of the plants. The leaf plates are concave or curved, with shortened teeth, small in size, greenish color, multi-blade configuration with obvious wrinkling. Buds are oval in shape, slightly deviated from the trunk, light brown in color. The flowers of the culture are medium, slightly elongated, pink in color.

Of the advantages of culture, we note:

• high yield;

• the relative compactness of the bushes;

• extremely low spine of the shoots;

• large fruit sizes;

• excellent taste;

• long fruiting period;

• frost resistance;

• resistance to drought and extreme heat;

• unpretentious care;

• self-fertility;

• resistance to diseases and wrecking attacks.

Minuses:

• culture does not tolerate drafts;

• low level of berry transport.

Fruits are round, large (3.3-6.5 g). The color is intense red, and when fully ripe, blackish. A characteristic feature of the berries is a small number of seeds and the presence of a thin and delicate rind. Thanks to such a high-quality combination, excellent jam is obtained from the fruits, but the transportation possibilities remain low. The consistency is rich, somewhat transparent.

By chemical composition, the fruits contain: sugars - 6.7%, acids - 3.1%; vitamin C - 25.7 mg%.

By taste, the fruits are pleasant, dessert, sweet-sour with a delicate aroma. Tasting score in points - 4.7.

The culture is of medium ripening, fruiting occurs from late July to mid-August. The ripening period is extended.

High-yielding culture - over 41.0 kg / ha (6 kg per bush).

The timing of the spring planting of the culture usually falls at the end of March or the first days of April. They are guided here by the air temperature, which should not be lower than + 4 ... 6 degrees Celsius. When planting in spring, do not be late, since this must be done while the trees are dormant (even a slight delay can lead to wilting of the shrubs). For this reason, trees with closed roots are usually preferred.

In the fall, the bushes are planted 1-1.5 months before the appearance of stable cold weather. Most often, this time falls at the end of September or the first days of October. In this case, the minimum distance between the bushes must be maintained at least 1.5 m. Approximately the same distance is observed to the fences. When choosing a place on the site for planting this sun-loving culture, you should adhere to the southern or southeastern part of the land plot, where there are no drafts.

The algorithm for planting bushes is typical. In this case, the upper layers of the soil are laid on the bottom of the planting recess (at least 50 cm deep) and additionally fertilized:

• compost or humus (1 bucket);

• granular superphosphate (20-30 g);

• wood ash (1 l).

All ingredients are mixed and filled with the remaining earth to half the level of the hole. Directly planting is carried out in 10-12 days, after soil subsidence.

Seedlings are placed in the central part of the holes, at a slight angle, carefully distributing the roots. After sprinkling a bush, carefully tamp the soil and produce abundant irrigation. The final procedure is pruning the shoots, each of which is recommended to be shortened by 4-5 cm.

The culture is quite drought-resistant, requiring up to 3 waterings in the season during the most necessary growth periods:

• in the spring, during the intensive growth of shoots;

• at the end of flowering;

• 14-21 days before the berries are fully ripe.

When caring for bushes, we adhere to a number of features.

1. Irrigation is carried out rooted, with a consumption of 2-3 buckets per bush. With the subsequent obligatory loosening and mulching of the soil the next day.

2. Since the sap flow of the culture opens early in the spring, it is more expedient to carry out the pruning procedure in the autumn season (annually). For the first year of growth, additional pruning, except pruning of shoots, is not required during planting.

3. In the 2nd year after disembarkation, 4-5 of the healthiest and most conveniently located shoots are left from the shoots that have grown over the summer. All weak branches less than 20 cm long and branches that have sprouted horizontally near the ground are cut off. The left healthy shoots are shortened to 30 cm for more efficient growth.

4. In the future, the pruning process becomes more gentle - it comes down to eliminating new and weak shoots that have appeared near the ground.

5. At the end of the 5th year of growth, old branches are removed. Usually they are slightly darker in color and sloped from the middle of the bush downwards.

6. For the entire starting year of planting, the bushes have enough fertilizers, which are laid in the planting recess. Starting next year, feeding should be done every year.

7. In early spring, shrubs need nitrogenous additives to enhance development (infusion of manure or nettle is perfect). 100-150 g of dry urea will become productive embedding in the space of the bush. Nitrogen supplements are applied throughout the season (until mid-August), with pauses of 10-12 days.

8. During budding, the culture is supported with phosphorus (superphosphate, ammophoska). The bushes respond well to foliar phosphorus fertilization.

9. In order to prepare the bushes for winter, phosphorus-potassium supplements are produced in September, which increases the resistance of plants to frost.

10. An ecological fertilizer is a mulching straw cover (from green manure or young weeds). Gradually decaying, it feeds the soil with organic matter.

The culture has a high protective immune potential, and therefore there is no need to carry out professional treatment of bushes with various chemical agents. Competent pruning of bushes, proper irrigation and feeding will be an effective prevention of any disease and pest attacks.

The consul is able to perfectly endure the most severe winters, and therefore, during cultivation in any regions of the country, adult bushes do not need to be sheltered on the eve of winter periods. In young animals, in the first year of disembarkation, the near-stem spaces are covered with mulch as insurance against freezing.