Medium early high-yielding gooseberry variety Kolobok

Gingerbread man is one of the most popular gooseberry varieties. The choice of gardeners is due to the taste of the fruit and the almost complete absence of thorns on the bushes, which greatly facilitates harvesting. Next, we will talk about other advantages of this variety and the requirements that it makes for planting and care.

Description of gooseberry variety Kolobok

Gingerbread man - gooseberry average ripening period. Provided a dry and warm summer, the harvest is harvested in the second half of July; in rainy weather, they are guided by the color of the skin, which should turn pink.

100 g of Kolobok fruit contains 9% sugars, 2.7% acid and 25 mg of ascorbic acid.

At a temperature of 0 ... + 1 ° C, the crop is stored for 2-3 weeks.

Reference. The yield reaches 10 kg per bush.

History of origin and distribution

The variety was bred by I. Popova, a breeder of the All-Russian Institute of Selection and Technology of Horticulture and Nursery, in the late 1980s. as a result of crossing Smena and Pink-2.

Included in the State Register of Russia in 1988 with admission to cultivation in the Central, Central Black Earth, Volgo-Vyatka and East Siberian regions.

Characteristics and description of the bushes

The plant is a medium-sized (1-1.5 m high), dense, medium-spreading bush with numerous thin shoots, on the lower part of which there are single, short and weak thorns.

Young branches are green and slightly pubescent; adult, lignified shoots are light gray. The leaves are green, large, with smooth edges, soft and slightly shiny.

The flowering period occurs at the end of April. At this time, light green flowers with a pink border of medium or large size appear on the bushes, located singly and in pairs.

Resistant to temperatures

The variety is characterized by an average degree of frost resistance. The bushes tolerate a short drop in air temperature down to –24… –27 ° C, but suffer from the alternation of thaws and frosts, if accompanied by sharp temperature changes.

Moisture and drought resistance

The Kolobok does not tolerate a prolonged drought, and a short-term one negatively affects the quality of the crop - the berries grow small and flabby, their shelf life is reduced.

Disease and pest resistance

The cultivar is resistant to powdery mildew and anthracnose, but can be affected by goblet rust. Among pests, the kidney moth, moth, aphid and sawfly are dangerous.

Characteristics and description of fruits

Berries are round or slightly elongated, large - weigh an average of 4-8 g. Contain 18-20 small seeds. Covered with a smooth, medium-dense skin of a deep dark red color with an intense layer of wax bloom.

The pulp is slightly crispy, juicy, has a sweet and sour taste and a pleasant aroma.

Application area

Kolobok fruits are suitable for fresh consumption and freezing. They are used for the preparation of juices, jams, preserves and other preparations.

Advantages and disadvantages compared to other varieties and hybrids

Compared to other varieties of medium-ripening gooseberries, the Kolobok is considered early-growing - the bushes begin to bear fruit 2-3 years after planting. In addition, Kolobok has the following advantages:

• frost resistance;
• extended period of fruiting;
• large size, pleasant taste, keeping quality and transportability of fruits;
• resistance to characteristic diseases;
• weak thorniness of bushes;
• survival of cuttings;
• high productivity;
• lack of tendency to shedding berries;
• unpretentious care.

Disadvantages:

• tendency to thicken the crown;
• spreading of bushes;
• lack of resistance to temperature extremes and drought.

Growing technology

For the cultivation of Kolobok to be successful, it is important to choose and prepare the right site and planting material.

Preference is given to 1- or 2-year-old seedlings with a developed, not overdried root system and 3-4 healthy shoots without signs diseases and damage. Before planting roots for 20-30 minutes. soaked in a solution of sodium humate (3 tablespoons per 5 liters of water).

Optimal conditions

Gooseberries are planted in a bright and draft-free place. The minimum permissible level of groundwater occurrence is 2 m. So the soil will be sufficiently moist, but not swampy, which will avoid decay of the plant root system.

The variety prefers loose, nutritious soil with neutral or weak (pH 5.5-6.0) acidity. Grows well in sandy, sandy loam, loamy and clayey soil.

Reference. The gingerbread man is not planted after raspberries and currants. The best predecessors are potatoes, legumes, beets.

2-3 months before planting the seedlings, the site is cleared of weeds by hand or with the help of herbicides, 2-3 kg of organic fertilizers are applied per 1 m² of land, dug onto a shovel bayonet and watered.

If the soil is depleted, it is additionally fed with superphosphate, potassium chloride and urea (50 g, 20 g and 25-30 g, respectively, per 1 m²). To improve aeration, coarse river sand is poured in.

Terms and rules of landing

In the southern regions and central Russia, gooseberries are planted in the ground in mid-October, 15-20 days before the first frost. In this case, the roots will have time to strengthen and grow. Spring planting is permissible in the Urals and Siberia no later than the beginning of April and only if the roots are pretreated with a biostimulator "Epin" or "Zircon".

Landing rules:

1. Dig out 50 × 50 cm planting holes in the prepared area.
2. Add a nutrient soil mixture to the bottom of each (half of the dug soil, 5-7 kg of humus and 40-50 g of superphosphate and potassium sulfate), pour 1-2 buckets of water.
3. Place the seedlings in the hole strictly vertically (autumn planting) or at an angle of 45 ° (spring), spread the roots.
4. Cover each rhizome with earth so that the root collar is 5-7 cm deep, compact the soil.
5. Water the plants at the rate of 10 liters of water per bush.
6. Cut off the shoots with pruning shears, leaving a maximum of 5-6 buds on each.
7. Mulch the soil with peat, rotted manure, sawdust or agrofibre.

The distance between the rows should be 2-2.5 m, between the bushes - 1.5 m.

Further care

If the place for planting is chosen correctly, watering is relevant only in dry summers. In this case, the bushes are watered 1-2 times a week, spending about 20 liters of water for each. It is especially important to monitor the moisture content of the soil during the flowering period, active growth of shoots and the formation of fruits.

Attention! Water is poured strictly at the root. Sprinkler irrigation is prohibited, since the ingress of water on the leaves provokes fungal diseases and sunburn.

A day after rain or watering, the soil in the near-trunk circle is shallowly loosened and weeded.

The plants are fed annually in the fall, 3 years after planting the seedlings. 0.5 buckets of compost, 50 g of superphosphate, 25 g of ammonium sulfate and 25 g of potassium sulfate are added under each bush.At the beginning of spring, nitrogen-containing fertilizers are used to stimulate the growth of green mass, and during the flowering period - wood ash.

The bushes of this gooseberry variety are prone to thickening, so the shoots are thinned regularly. A year after planting, in the spring, weak and slightly frozen branches are removed. After harvesting, formative pruning is carried out: the shoots are cut in half so that the upper bud grows inside the bush.

2-3 years in the fall all shoots are cut from the bush, leaving a maximum of 8 of the strongest, which are shortened by half. By the age of 4, the shrub is considered mature. Only dry, damaged branches or shoots that grow inward and thicken the crown are periodically cut from it.

Important! Violation of agrotechnical requirements leads to a decrease in yield and a loss of sweetness and aroma of the fruits.

Possible problems, diseases, pests

Diseases and pestsdangerous for Kolobok are presented in the table.

Wintering

After the autumn pruning, the land is cleared of weeds, the trunk circle is dug up and mulched with spruce branches or agrofibre. Gooseberry bushes are treated with fungicides "Decis", "Fufanon", "Aktara" and water-charging (podzimny) watering is carried out, pouring 40-50 liters of water under each plant.

In the middle lane, the branches of the bushes are collected together and tied in the middle, after which the plants are covered with spunbond or other material.

Reproduction

Gooseberries are propagated vegetatively: by layering, cuttings and dividing the bush.

When propagating, a hole is made by layering under a bush, a strong lateral shoot is chosen, it is bent down, placed on the bottom of the hole, fixed with brackets and sprinkled with earth. When it forms an independent root system, it is separated from the mother bush and transplanted to a permanent place.

For grafting, cut off several annual shoots, cut them into cuttings 8-10 cm long, dipped in a solution of the growth stimulator "Kornevin" or "Epin" and planted in moist fertile soil in a greenhouse at an angle of 45 °.

When dividing the bush, the mother plant is dug up and divided into several parts so that each has 2-3 lateral shoots and part of the rhizome. Delenki are planted in a permanent place, the branches on them are shortened by a third.

Reference. The optimal time for work is autumn, after the harvest.

Features of cultivation depending on the region

The variety was bred specifically for central Russia. It grows to the north, but in these areas the plant cannot reach its potential.

In the north, the bushes are freezing and need winter shelter. Here, planting of seedlings is carried out in the spring, which reduces their survival rate.

Pollinating varieties

The gingerbread man does not need pollinators, but if other varieties grow nearby, its yield increases. Universal pollen donors are Plumovy, Rosy-2, and Russian varieties.

Reference. Gooseberries depend on bees. A nearby apiary increases the number of ovaries by 4-5 times and has a positive effect on the quality and size of berries.

Reviews of summer residents

The Kolobok variety has received many positive reviews from gardeners.

Maxim, Smolensk region: “I have been growing Kolobok for a long time, a proven variety. Fruiting annually, from one bush I collect at least 6 kg of berries. They are sweet to taste, with a slight sourness, everyone in our family loves them. "

Evgeniy, Moscow region: “About 10 years ago I planted 4 Kolobok bushes, I don’t regret it and even think to plant more. Gooseberries have never been sick, and this is provided that I do not carry out preventive treatment. The berries are large and tasty. The only thing you have to tinker with is pruning, but it's a matter of habit. "

Conclusion

Gingerbread man is a frost-resistant and high-yielding gooseberry variety of domestic selection. Among its advantages are especially early maturity, pleasant taste of fruits, resistance to diseases and unpretentious care.