Content
Joshta currant is an interesting hybrid of black currant and gooseberry, combining the advantages of both crops. It is quite easy to take care of him in the summer cottage, the plant has a high nutritional value.
Breeding history
The Josht hybrid was bred in the 1970s by the German breeder R. Bauer on the basis of common gooseberries, black currants and spread out gooseberries. At the same time, attempts to cross fruit crops were made for about a hundred years before. Scientists wanted to create a plant that would simultaneously have high yields, good immunity to diseases and pests, and smooth shoots without thorns.
A new crop was brought to Russia in 1986, and three years later they began to grow it on an industrial scale. Despite the fact that the Yoshta currant has not yet been entered into the State Register, there are several varieties of this plant on the horticultural market at once.
Description of the Joshta currant
Yoshta currant is a medium-sized shrub up to 1.5 m tall with sprawling and strong smooth shoots without thorns. The roots of the plant are long, go about 50 cm deep into the soil, and almost do not form shoots at the surface of the earth. The leaves of the Yoshta hybrid are dark green, shiny, solid with a carved edge, with a faint currant aroma, capable of holding on to the branches until the onset of cold weather. The crown of a plant can reach 2 m in diameter.
Fruiting of the bush lasts a very long time - up to 30 years
In mid-April, the Yoshta currant produces very bright flowers with red petals and a light core. In summer, fruits appear in their place - large rounded berries of a black-purple hue, collected in a brush of 3-5 pieces, weighing up to 5 g. Yoshta has a dense and crunchy skin, the pulp is juicy and sweet, with a slight sour note and nutmeg aroma.
How to distinguish Yoshta from golden, black currant
The differences between Yoshta and golden currants allow not to confuse a hybrid with an ordinary plant:
- Leaves... The Yoshta hybrid has convex and textured plates, the ordinary currant has smooth and flat plates.
- Flowers... Golden currants produce very large yellow buds. Yoshta produces smaller flowers with red petals. In this way, the hybrid is similar to black currant, however, the buds of the latter are not so bright.
- Fruit... Yoshta produces delicious sweet berries with a light refreshing note. In golden and black currants, dessert qualities are much lower, sourness is more pronounced.
The difference between the cultures lies in the shape of the bush; in the hybrid, the shoots do not depart in an arched manner from a single center, but are arranged randomly. Yoshta differs from golden currant also in that it almost does not give root growth.
During the flowering period, golden currant looks more spectacular than Yoshta, although its berries are less tasty
Characteristics
To understand whether Yoshta is suitable for planting in a summer cottage, you need to carefully study the basic qualities and requirements of the plant. In general, the hybrid is considered quite interesting to grow.
Drought tolerance, winter hardiness
One of the advantages of Yoshta is the increased frost resistance of the shrub. The plant tolerates cold temperatures down to -30 degrees and hibernates without shelter in the southern regions and central regions of Russia. In Siberia and the Urals, it is better to cover hybrid currants, especially if cold months are foreseen with little snow.
Yoshta has a weak drought resistance, the plant prefers a well-moistened soil. With a lack of water, the hybrid slows down its development and begins to bear fruit worse.
Pollination, flowering period and ripening times
Joshta's currant-gooseberry hybrid belongs to the category of partially self-fertile shrubs. This means that even without pollinators, the plant will bear berries, but the yield will be very low. To get a large number of fruits next to Yoshta, you need to plant any kind of black currant or gooseberry varieties Kolobok and Pink.
Yoshta blooms in April
In the photo of a hybrid of currants and gooseberries of Yoshta, it is seen that the plant blooms in compact, but bright red-yellowish buds. The fruits ripen by the end of July and the beginning of August.
Productivity and fruiting
For the first time, Yoshta bears berries in the second year of life, and reaches its maximum yield only by the fourth season. With proper cultivation and good conditions, the plant can produce 7-10 kg of fruit annually from one bush. The berries ripen gradually, but the currants are kept on the branches for a long time, so they can be harvested at the same time.
Disease and pest resistance
The Yoshta hybrid has strong immunity and rarely suffers from fungi and insects. Of the ailments, the danger to the bush is:
- rust - the disease leaves reddish and brown spots on the leaves of the culture, which gradually spread wider, increase and merge with each other;
Hybrid currant rust occurs against the background of waterlogged soil
- mosaic - the disease is of a viral nature, you can recognize it by the appearance of patterned yellow spots around the largest veins of leaves.
Mosaic carriers are aphids and mites.
The fight against diseases of hybrid currants is carried out using fungicidal preparations and Bordeaux liquid. Severely affected shrubs are removed from the site so as not to infect neighboring plantings.
Of the insects, Joshta reacts most sensitively to glassworm, a white caterpillar that feeds on young leaves and hybrid shoots. When holes appear in the greenery of the plant and characteristic passages on the branches, it is necessary to spray with insecticides.
The glass can be difficult to notice, since the pest lives mainly under the bark.
Advantages and disadvantages
The Yoshta currant has important benefits. These include:
- high frost resistance;
- partial self-fertility;
- disease and pest resistance;
- endurance and unpretentiousness;
- dessert sweet taste of fruits;
- high productivity;
- good keeping quality and transportability of berries;
- preservation of fruits on the branches after full ripening.
At the same time, Yoshta has some disadvantages. Among them:
- the need for good hydration;
- sensitivity to soil composition;
- low productivity in the absence of a number of pollinators.
In general, gardeners respond positively to the hybrid and note that, compared to ordinary currants, it is more convenient to grow.
Yoshta varieties
In the horticultural market, Joshta is represented by several popular varieties. They have similarities and notable differences.
EMB (EMB)
The British-bred hybrid currant reaches 1.7 m in height, has a semi-spreading crown and is generally very similar to the black variety. At the same time, the berries of the plant are more like gooseberries - they are rather large, oval, from 5 to 12 g in weight. The taste of this variety of currants is sweet and sour, pleasant and dessert.
Yoshta EMB is distinguished by good drought resistance and resistance to mites and fungi
Kroma
The Swiss hybrid grows up to 2 m and is highly immune to diseases and pests. The berries bear small, on average up to 6 g by weight, but on the other hand, they stay on the branches for a very long time, do not fall to the ground and do not crack.
With good care, Joshta Krom allows you to harvest up to 5 kg of fruits
Yohelina
One of the best varieties of hybrid currant, it is characterized by high yield and good immunity to mottling and anthracnose. The disadvantages of the plant include dense growth, which has to be thinned out regularly. The hybrid variety Yokhilina has very sweet fruits, in which the acidity is almost indistinguishable.
Up to 10 kg of berries can be harvested from one Yochilin bush
Rext
The variety of Russian selection grows only up to 1.2 m, but at the same time it is distinguished by good spreading. Suitable not only for harvesting, but also for decorative garden decoration. The berries of the hybrid are small, up to 3 g by weight, but they have excellent taste. Yoshta Rext is used to create hedges.
Subject to the growing conditions, the Rext variety can bring about 10 kg of fruit per bush.
Moro
Yoshta Moro reaches 2.5 m in height and has a compact columnar crown. It produces small glossy berries, very similar to cherries, almost black in color with a purple tinge. The fruit tastes sweet, but with a pronounced sourness, and has a pleasant nutty aroma.
Yoshta Moro is suitable for disembarkation in northern regions
Krondal
The American variety Krondal has wide leaves, reminiscent of currant. It produces black berries, similar in shape to gooseberries, with very large seeds inside. Unlike most Yoshta varieties, it blooms with yellow buds.
The height of Joshta Krondal does not exceed 1.7 m
Features of planting and care
Joshta currant prefers open areas with good lighting, nutritious and moist, but breathable soils, enriched with potassium. Planting is carried out in the spring with the onset of the growing season or in the fall until mid-September in the southern regions. Before rooting the currants, the selected place is dug up and humus and chicken droppings are introduced into the ground, and a hole is prepared about 60 cm deep.
A layer of pebbles or broken bricks for drainage is laid at the bottom of the planting pit, fertile soil is poured up to half on top and a seedling is placed on it, carefully straightening the roots. Then the Yoshtu currants are sprinkled with earth to the end, leaving the root collar above the surface, and watered abundantly. Immediately after planting, hybrid currants should be mulched with straw or peat to slow the evaporation of moisture. If several plants are located on the site at once, a space of about 1.5 m is left between them.
Plant care comes down to simple procedures:
- In the warm season, in the absence of rain, Yoshta requires watering twice a week with three buckets of water. After the procedure, you need to loosen and mulch the soil again.
- Top dressing is carried out four times per season. In the spring, currants are fertilized with nitrate or urea for foliage, after flowering - with potassium monophosphate, and in the middle of summer with bird droppings or mullein. In the fall, shortly before the onset of cold, superphosphate is introduced into the soil along with watering or scattered under the plant of humus.
- Yoshta does not require decorative pruning, since it grows very slowly. But every spring and autumn, you need to carry out a sanitary haircut and remove old, dry and diseased shoots.
Yoshta currant has good frost resistance. For the winter, the shrub is not wrapped, it is enough to insulate the roots of the plant with a layer of peat about 10 cm to prevent them from freezing.
Collection, storage and keeping quality of berries
The first fruits of the Joshta currant ripen in mid-July, but it is recommended to harvest not earlier than mid-August. Berries ripen unevenly, within two to three weeks.
Yoshta berries do not fall off the bushes, so they are usually harvested at the same time on a warm, dry day.
Hybrid currants have a dense skin that does not crack when ripe. Due to this, Joshta demonstrates good keeping quality and is suitable for long-distance transportation while maintaining an attractive presentation.
The fruits of the hybrid are suitable for fresh consumption and for preservation; they are used to prepare jams, compotes and jams. For long-term storage, currant berries can be frozen at a temperature not higher than - 16 ° C, in which case they will remain usable throughout the year.
Reproduction methods
Joshtu hybrid currants are propagated in several vegetative ways. The plant survival rate is high, it is possible to increase the crop population on the site without much effort.
Cuttings
Several shoots up to 20 cm long are cut from the Yosht hybrid bush and immersed in water at room temperature for several hours. After that, the cuttings are wrapped in foil and removed to a cool and warm place until spring. With the onset of warmth, shoots can be planted directly into the ground.
Cutting cuttings from a bush is best in the fall, although you can do this at the end of winter.
Layers
In early spring, one of the lower young shoots of the hybrid currant is bent to the ground, pinched, deepened into the soil and fixed so that the branch does not straighten. During the summer, the cuttings should be watered at the same time as the parent plant until fully rooted.
If you root the cuttings in the spring, then by September it can be separated and transferred to a new place.
Dividing the bush
Adult currants are carefully dug out of the ground and divided into several parts with an ax along the rhizome. Each seedling should have strong young shoots and healthy underground shoots. Delenki are immediately transferred to a new place and carry out a standard fit.
The division of the Yoshta currant bush is carried out in early spring
Yoshta's grafting on currants
Yoshta can be grafted onto golden or black currants to increase the frost resistance and yield of the crop. The procedure is carried out at the end of March or mid-April, depending on the region, but in any case before bud break. Yoshta cuttings can be cut immediately before grafting or prepared in the fall.
When grafting Yoshta on currants, the copulation method is most often used.
Yoshta's stalk and currant shoot are cut at an oblique angle and tightly connected, and then fixed with a strapping. Below the grafting, all the processes are removed and the places of the cuts are covered with garden pitch. After about a month, the tape can be removed.
Conclusion
Yoshta currant is a very interesting hybrid for cultivation with a high yield and sweet dessert fruits. The plant has modest requirements for care, so it usually does not cause problems for gardeners.
Reviews with a photo about the Yoshta currant
