Taldun grapes

Taldun is one of the popular grape varieties used by gardeners for any purpose. It is recommended for both beginners and professionals, because caring for the bushes does not require much experience and special skills.

Test vineyards in the village. Primorskoe, located in the Zaporozhye region, have become the main experimental base for an outstanding modern breeder. He is the honored wine grower Mikhail Grechko, known for his interesting works in this direction of the development of agricultural crops. The region of the Kakhovskoe reservoir is excellent in terms of soil composition and climate for growing grape varieties intended for further distribution in central Eastern Europe. A hybrid called Taldun was obtained by crossing two varieties - Talisman and Dunav, getting its name from the first syllables of the parental species.

The Taldun hybrid grape variety is frost-resistant, which allows it to be grown mainly in the middle climatic zone. Large conical clusters ripen in early August. The bushes quickly take root in a new place and are distinguished by a strong growth of strong shoots. Despite the relatively thin skin, the berries do not crack during particularly rainy seasons. The color of the grapes resembles the original Dunav variety - its fruits are of the same rich red color with a bluish tint. The pulp of the berries has a pleasant sweetish taste and is excellent for use both as a fruit dessert and in the form of juice and the preparation of various alcoholic beverages.

The Taldun grape is an early maturing variety, which is important for its cultivation in the most northern regions. Its full ripening period ranges from 100 to 110 days. Basically, the harvest has time to ripen before autumn and is harvested at the end of summer.

Bunches of Taldun grapes are densely located on the bushes. They are conical in shape with a medium density of berry filling, which often stick out to the sides of the main middle stem. The weight of one bunch, depending on the age of the bush and growing conditions, can be from 0.5 to 1.2 kg.

The fruits of the hybrid variety are large and elongated, conical or diamond-shaped in shape. The red flesh is covered with a light purple skin that shines beautifully in the sun so that darkening is visible in the thickest areas.

Grapes have a dense, fleshy pulp that crunches a little when bitten. Despite the relatively thin peel of the berries, it is strong enough and does not cause problems when transporting the harvested products. Taste qualities of Taldun berries deserve praise due to the harmonious combination of fresh acidity with pleasant sweetness.

The new variety, when passing tests, showed a high yield in the conditions of the south of Ukraine. The harvest of ripe bunches there amounted to 130 to 140 centners per hectare. Even on three-year-old shoots, two clusters weighing from 0.5 kg grow. If the bush consists of 4-5 branches, then the yield from one young plant can reach 5 kg.

For planting grapes in the plots, they choose places that are warmer, preferably on the south side of the house and other buildings. It is better to plant bushes along the southern fence of the local area, when the sun will illuminate well the planting, located in one row. On a flat surface of the ground, it is a good idea to make drainage grooves to drain excess water.

One- or two-year-old seedlings with buds are planted in the spring, after warming up the soil. In the southern regions - in early May, and in the northern - at the end of the last spring month. Pits for planting are prepared in advance - 2-3 weeks in advance, introducing humus into them with the addition of peat, compost, potassium chloride and superphosphate. After sprinkling the seedling with prepared soil, abundant watering is performed.

When a hybrid variety blooms, its flowers self-pollinate. But in order to obtain a good filling of the bunches with berries of an artificial variety, it is not bad to carry out additional pollination with the help of a puff, which is carried out through the flowering areas of different bushes. Flowering continues for 10-12 days, and during this time, artificial pollination must be carried out twice.

The uncontrolled growth of a grape bush causes the appearance of a large number of shoots, due to which the consumption of moisture, sun, heat and nutrients by the fruits decreases. To maintain high yields, spring pruning is carried out, as a result of which a certain number of shoots, from 2 to 5, are left, with three buds on each of them. After flowering and the formation of ovaries, the active growth of new branches begins, which are pinched at the beginning of summer so as not to overload the bushes with excess green mass.

The hybrid variety was bred specifically for areas with low winter temperatures and is able to endure a cold snap to -23 degrees without freezing of the shoots. If there is a danger of even greater frosts, the bush can be untied from the trellises and shoots can be dug in a little, which, with additional snow cover, will tolerate the winter well.

Due to its hybrid origin, the Taldun variety received an innate immunity to many characteristic diseases of the vine. But with improper agricultural technology and the lack of timely pruning, grapes can get sick with gray rot, powdery mildew on the leaves or fungal anthracnose.The culture must be treated with copper sulfate and lime solution.

The grapes have good technical qualities and can be stored for a long time at low temperatures in the cellar or production storage. They tolerate transportation well in wooden crates.

Due to its excellent taste, high yield, unpretentiousness to the conditions of transportation and storage, Taldun grapes have all the necessary qualities for growing them for market purposes.