Currant Black Pearl: variety description and characteristics, planting and care with photo

About 200 varieties of delicious berries included in the State Register are bred by breeders. One of the most popular blackcurrant varieties is Black Pearl, recognized as a masterpiece of Russian breeding as a result of crossing the hybrids of Broadthorpe and Minai Shmyrev. This variety is a real storehouse of vitamins, a beautiful, high-yielding and unpretentious berry when cultivated.

Variety description

Black pearl is a mid-season variety of currant. Full name - Golden Black Pearl. In appearance, it resembles gooseberries and blueberries.

During the crossing of the initial varieties, the variety differs from its relatives:

• high self-fertility;
• resistance to bud mite;
• fragrant-smelling flowers;
• winter hardiness with frost resistance down to -30 degrees;
• early flowering period (mid-May), in July you can already harvest the first crop up to 5 kg from 1 bush.

Maximum fertility is observed in the 4-5th year of cultivation. Black pearls give stable yields annually and up to 12-15 years in one place.

Leaves

Currant leaves are smooth, matte, with white edges folded inward. The main color is light green. The peculiarity of the leaves is the downward direction, bending down to the roots and pointed corners (5 pieces).

Flowers

Black pearl flowers are golden, goblet with tassels and red sepals.

Fruits

The shape of the berries is round. Weight - 1.2-1.5 g. The color is black, like pearl beads, shining in sunlight. The peel of the fruit is dense with large-seeded pulp inside.

Brushes with berries ripen evenly, do not crumble, holding on to the brushes for a long time. They are firmly held on the stalks and come off dry, despite all the juiciness. Assembled mainly by hand, and quite suitable for transportation.

Currant characteristics Black pearl

Black pearls are similar to gooseberries. It grows vertically, like a shrub, up to 1.5 m high. Young shoots begin to bend down when they grow back. The branches, as they grow older, begin to change in color to gray-yellow. Buds are latticed, pink, growing on short stalks of shoots of an oblong shape.

Main Features of Black Pearl:

• bushes - sprawling with yellowish lignified branches;
• berries - round, equal in size, shining in the sun like pearls;
• foliage - not thickened, with corners looking down, which is important for aeration and lighting;
• fruiting - regular;
• petioles are strong.

The ripening period is average. The yield is stable.

Help! Black pearl is a self-fertile variety of currant, therefore, regardless of bees, it is quite resistant to bud mites and anthracnose during flowering. Although not resistant to powdery mildew.

Pros and cons

Many gardeners love this variety for the following virtues:

• high content of vitamins, pectin in berries;
• delivery of stable high yields;
• frost resistance;
• presence of beautiful golden flowers decorating the site;
• maximum safety during transportation;
• withstanding high humidity, sudden temperature changes;
• immunity to anthracnose, bud mite.

Lack of varieties - inability to powdery mildew. Currants are a little sour, which is also unacceptable for some summer residents.

Black pearl is a hardened and winter-hardy variety, because the selection was made in the latitudes of Siberia. But already the variety is considered obsolete due to the breeding of newer species. Although gardeners still prefer and love it for its many benefits.

Features of growing varieties

Pearl is an unpretentious variety that has inherited the best qualities from its relatives. Although, in order to obtain decent harvests, it is important to adhere to certain rules of agricultural technology:

1. Planting of seedlings is carried out mainly in autumn (early October) at t + 10 + 12 degrees, so that they can take root in a new place before the onset of cold weather.
2. It is important to choose well-lit areas for planting, away from drafts.
3. Not recommended to plant in the shade.
4. The bushes should not shade each other, so the optimal distance between them is 2-2.5 m.
5. The best soil is light and slightly acidic, rich in nutrients, also moist, otherwise the berries will ripen slowly, sour and small.

Help! The main points of agricultural technology for this variety are the correct planting and formation of bushes. When planted in autumn, young seedlings begin to grow rapidly and gain strength in spring, bearing fruit in the second year up to 2 kg per bush.

Choosing a seat

For comfortable and rapid development, it is recommended to plant Black Pearl in open sunny areas, protected from the winds. The soil is ideally loose, nutritious, slightly acidic.

Currant does not accept drought, water stagnation in the soil, tightness and shade. When planting shrubs, it is important to maintain a distance between them of at least 1.5 m.

Date of planting

The plant can be planted throughout the growing season:

• in autumn in early October, so that the currants have time to gain strength, take root before the first frosts;
• spring before buds swell.

In the first year, seedlings do not bear fruit, but only grow and strengthen. It will be possible to try the first berries in the second year with a yield of up to 2 kg from 1 bush.

Advice! If it is planned to plant in the spring, then all work should be done in the fall.

Site preparation

The site must be prepared in advance, 1.5-2 months before planting seedlings:

• uprooting weeds;
• dig up the earth, loosen it to increase air throughput;
• equip with humus, compost;
• make potash fertilizers, superphosphate if necessary.

Selection of seedlings

When buying shrubs, it is important to inspect the root system so that it is strong and he althy. Also, 4-5 green buds should extend from the base of the shoots.

Planting instructions

Prepared place in advance:

• free from grass, vegetation;
• dig soil up to 1.5 m deep;
• equip with fertilizers, humus (1 bucket), pouring under each bush for 1m^{2 (you can use superphosphate, potash or mineral fertilizer).}

Landing steps:

• soak the seedlings in water for 2-3 hours so that the roots absorb the required amount of moisture;
• dip in clay mash for a few minutes;
• plant plants in holes so that the root system remains slightly above the ground (by 4-5 cm);
• place the seedlings at an angle of 45 degrees between the soil surface and the trunk;
• spill the wells with settled water (up to 2 buckets);
• mulch tree trunks with peat, compost, sawdust to retain moisture in the soil;
• cut the shoots from the ground by 15 cm, leave 5-6 buds each.

Black pearl is a sprawling shrub, so it is important to plant at a distance of 2 m from each other. When planting in autumn, the air temperature should not be below +8 degrees, so that the shrubs have time to take root before winter and easily endure frosts.

Subtleties of caring for currants

The main subtleties in the care for stable yields. Important:

• mow the grass around the circumference of the bushes as soon as they appear;
• loosen the soil, enrich with oxygen;
• carry out abundant watering up to 3 liters of water under each root during flowering and fruiting bushes to saturate with enough moisture before wintering;
• fertilize, fertilize in the fall (phosphorus, potassium), in the spring - urea;
• Pruning periodically: first pruning - immediately upon planting, leaving 5-6 buds on the shoots;
• remove excess basal, diseased and broken branches, as well as shoots older than 3 years, leaving only he althy branches of different ages.

Help! It is not recommended to stuff the soil with humus and fertilizers. If mulch was introduced when planting bushes, then organic matter is no longer required.

Irrigation Rules

The soil should not dry out, so it is important to provide currant bushes with timely watering. Especially during fruiting, ripening and flowering. It is also worth shedding the soil under each bush before wintering.

Fertilization

Feeding should be done periodically, using chicken manure, a weak solution of mullein. During the flowering period of seedlings, you can use organic matter.

Shaping a bush

The formation process is the removal of old unwanted shoots and branches, the redirection of nutrients to promising areas. When planting currant seedlings, it is important to cut the shoots, leaving up to 4 buds on each trunk, thus stimulating the development of side shoots for 2-3 years.

It is recommended to cut off extra annual shoots at the base of the bush, and so annually, ending only in the 4th-5th year.

A fruiting bush should have branches of different ages. It is important to remove only diseased, broken and affected shoots. Also cut out young, not giving growth.

Wintering

Winter hardiness in currant Black pearl is high. Bushes are quite resistant to frost at -35 degrees. However, it is important to cover young sprouts in the first year of life for wintering to protect them from freezing, covering the bushes with 15 cm soil.

Processing plants from diseases and pests

The main enemy of currants is powdery mildew, which affects young seedlings until death.

Chemical options for disease control:

1. Infusion of mullein and water (1:3). Instead of mullein, you can use hay dust. Keep the solution for 3 days, add more water, strain. Spray every bush. Repeat the procedure after 2 weeks and for the third time in mid-June.
2. Vitriol with processing before flowering and after harvesting currants.

It happens that with untimely care, bushes are affected by spider mites and sawflies. For treatments, special preparations are applicable ("Dichlorvos", "Fitoverm").

If currants are provided with timely and proper care, it is unlikely that pests will settle on strong bushes with good immunity.

Reproduction methods

Black pearl currant propagates in 3 ways: layering, cuttings green or lignified.

Harvest and storage of crops

The variety is considered mid-season, so the first harvest up to 3.5 kg from 1 bush will be ready by July. The skin of the fruit is thick. They will hang on the bushes until the end of August, without falling off, without losing their taste. The berry is easy to transport. You can keep in the refrigerator for up to 20 days.

The conclusion based on the description, characteristics of the Black Pearl currant variety is as follows: productivity is high, cold resistance is up to 40 degrees. The taste of the berries is sour, so it is better to use it fresh. Due to the high content of pectin, currants produce high-quality jelly jam.

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