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Often, when planting strawberries, the gardener does not think about which region the variety was bred for and whether it will grow well under these conditions. Therefore, sometimes failures occur when planting seemingly good planting material. It is no secret that the climate in different parts of our large country can differ dramatically. Therefore, those strawberry varieties that are bred, for example, for the Krasnodar Territory, will be very uncomfortable in the harsh Siberia.
In Russia, there is a special State Register of Breeding Achievements, in which, among other characteristics of plants, there is also a region where they should be grown. There are many varieties of strawberries or, more correctly, garden strawberries of Russian and foreign selection. Most of them are easily adaptable to any growing conditions. But there are varieties designed for one specific region. These include the First-Grader strawberry variety. It is best grown in the West Siberian region, it is there that it is zoned.
Strawberry parents First-grader - Fairy and Torpedo varieties. The authors of this variety are N.P. Stolnikova and A.D. Zabelina, employees of the Research Institute of Siberian Horticulture, located in the city of Barnaul. The variety was recommended for cultivation 15 years ago.
Further, the article will consider a description of the first grader strawberry variety shown in the photo and reviews about it. According to gardeners, strawberries of this variety have a dessert taste with a slight sourness and are easy to grow, they have a good yield.
Biological characteristics of the First grader
- The variety is not remontant.
- In terms of ripening, it belongs to the middle late. On the trial plot, the first strawberries of the Pervoklassnitsa variety ripened on June 25.
- The berries reach a maximum weight of 30 g, the average weight is 10-17 g. Until 4-5 harvest, they retain their original size, then become smaller, without losing their taste. Strawberries of the First Grader variety have a tasting score of 4.5 points on a 5-point scale - a good result. The yield is 3 times higher than that of one of the parents - the Fairy variety.
- The shape of the berries is rounded with clearly visible darker grooves.
- The fruiting period is extended, the number of collections can reach 7.
- The First Grader strawberry tolerates winter and drought well. On the site where the variety was tested in the winter of 1997, at an air temperature of -33 degrees and a snow cover of only 7 cm, there was only a slight freezing of the leaves, which easily recovered in spring, while the horns were completely preserved.
- The bush is strong, very beautiful with wavy leaf edges, which have a well-visible waxy bloom. It has powerful thick, heavily pubescent petioles.
- The height of the bush is up to 30 cm, and the width can reach 40 cm.
- The flowers of this variety are not pure white, they have a pink-beige tint with a characteristic darker vein in the center of the petal. They are bisexual, therefore, self-pollination is possible.
- Flowering occurs in early June.
- The first grader loves to grow in the sun, but will give a good harvest in partial shade. Few varieties of garden strawberries have this feature.
- The first grader is disease resistant. In cold and damp summers, it can be affected by powdery mildew and white spot, but the extent of these diseases is small. For powdery mildew, it is only 1 point, for comparison, this indicator for strawberries Festivalnaya varieties is 3 points. For white spot, the indicators are even less - only 0.2 points.
- The purpose of this variety is universal.
- The transportability of the First-grader strawberry variety is good.
How to raise a First Grader
Proper planting and maintenance is very important for a good harvest of garden strawberries. Each strawberry variety has its own characteristics that must be considered when growing. It is very important for the First Grader to choose the right planting site - in the sun or in partial shade. So that the berries are not damaged by gray rot, damp air should not stagnate at the planting site, which contributes to the development of this disease.
This strawberry variety gratefully responds to proper care and can give a tangible increase in yield.
Reproduction
In order to get a strawberry plantation, you need to propagate it. The most common way of propagation of this berry is by daughter rosettes, which gardeners call mustaches. Strawberries of the First Grader variety are prone to the formation of a sufficient number of well-rooted whiskers, so there are no problems with its reproduction.
In the overwhelming majority, in terms of their performance, they will be worse than the parent variety.
By sowing seeds, only small-fruited remontant strawberries multiply. She does not have such a pattern during seed reproduction - all young plants will repeat their parents.
Planting strawberries
Planting strawberries of the First Grader variety can be carried out in the spring or from the second half of summer.
If you do this at a later date, the young strawberry bushes First-grader will not have time to take root and may not survive the harsh Siberian winter.
In the land prepared at least two months before planting with the addition of a bucket of humus and 50-70 g of complex fertilizer per sq. meter planted well-rooted strawberry rosettes no older than one year of life. The predecessors of strawberries First grader can be onions, garlic, beets, dill, parsley. Most other garden crops are not suitable for this, as they have common diseases with it.
For strawberries First-grader, the best arrangement of bushes is 30x50 cm, where 30 cm is the distance between plants, and 50 is between the rows. If the standing of groundwater is high, it is better to plant berries on strawberries of the First-Grader variety in high ridges, and if the site is dry, and rains are rare, then the beds should not be raised above ground level.
This will reduce the amount of watering, make the soil looser and more fertile, and prevent the berries from touching the ground, which will exclude their disease.
Black non-woven fabric is also suitable for mulching. The strawberries are planted directly into the holes made in place of the holes. The only drawback of this method of planting strawberries is that the daughter outlets have nowhere to root.
Planting holes need to be filled with a handful of humus, a teaspoon of complex fertilizer and a tablespoon of ash. When planting, you need to ensure that the central bud is not covered with earth, and the roots are completely in the soil.
Top dressing
Further care for strawberries The first grader also has its own characteristics. Extended fruiting requires a special regime of fertilizing and watering. Most of all, strawberries need nutrition at the following stages: at the time of leaf regrowth in spring, during the period of bud formation and during the formation of ovaries. Since the strawberry variety First-grader bears fruit for a long time, one feeding during the fruiting period is indispensable. In order not to overfeed the plants with mineral fertilizers, it is better to additionally fertilize them with organic matter.It is best to use fermented mullein or bird droppings.
The technology for preparing mullein infusion is quite simple. Fill a large container halfway with fresh cow dung and top up with water. The fermentation process lasts 1-2 weeks. The contents of the container are stirred every 3 days.
To make it balanced, you can add ash and superphosphate to the container. On a plastic barrel with a capacity of 50 liters of fermented infusion - a liter can of ash and 300 g of superphosphate.
When feeding, 1 liter of infusion is added for every 7 liters of water. Application rates -10 liters per sq. meter. When preparing chicken manure, the infusion is diluted more.
Fresh droppings should be diluted with water in a ratio of 1 to 10, and dry 1 to 20. For feeding, 1 liter of the mixture is added for every 10 liters of water. This solution does not need fermentation. It is better to add it immediately after preparation.
Too strong a solution can burn the strawberry roots.
Each organic strawberry dressing must be combined with watering with clean water.
Watering
Strawberries are very sensitive to both excess and lack of moisture. Most of all, plants need water during the initial growing season and when pouring berries. If there is little rain at this time, the strawberries need to be watered, soaking the soil well by 20 cm. It is in this layer that the main roots of this plant are located.
Loosening
This is a necessary agrotechnical technique when caring for First Grader strawberries. Due to loosening, the soil is saturated with air, the conditions for plant growth are improved. Destroyed weedsthat take food away from the strawberries.
Subject to all the rules of agricultural technology, the first-grader will present strawberries with a rich harvest of delicious berries. And its frost resistance allows growing this useful berry even in the harsh climate of Western Siberia.
