Black currant Chernecha

Black currant Chernecha (Ribes nigrum Chernecha) – a cultivar of black currant of mid-season ripening, intensive type. Obtained by crossing the cultivars Novost Prykarpattya and Minay Shmyrev at the Institute of Horticulture of UAAN. Breeders - Kopan K.N., Kopan V.P. Recommended for inclusion in the State Register of Plant Varieties of Ukraine since 2000 and of interest for intensive cultivation of black currant in the Forest-Steppe and Polesia zones with full mechanization of cultivation, including harvesting, as well as for amateur berry growing. Can be used in technologies with dense planting of bushes in a row (50-60 cm).

It forms a medium-vigorous, rather compact bush with thick, straight shoots and short internodes. Racemes are medium, dense, and closely arranged on the shoots.

Berries are large, uniform in size, average weight 1.5 g, large 2.5 g, rounded-oval, black, glossy. Skin of medium thickness, elastic, firm, with a dry detachment. Flesh brown-green, with a pleasant sweet-and-sour taste. Taste rating – 4-4.5 points. Yield is high - 13-17 tons per 1 ha.

Berries contain: dry matter – 13.21%, sugars – 10.4%, organic acids – 2.1%, pectins – 1.03%, phenolic compounds – 672.72 mg, vitamin C – 183.12-187 mg per 100 g of fresh mass.

Berries ripen uniformly, practically simultaneously, but require timely harvesting, as they are prone to dropping when overripe. Distinguished by a high, stable yield based on self-fertility.

Hardiness zone: 4a (-25°C)

Site: prefers well-lit locations, but can grow in partial shade; moisture-loving, but does not tolerate waterlogging or excessive wetness. Does not like heavy, clay soils; the groundwater level should not be higher than 75 cm below the soil surface. Not demanding to soil fertility, grows well on any garden soil. Prefers slightly acidic, well-drained, sandy, light or medium-loamy soils. Drought-resistant.

Planting: planting is carried out in August. For this, beds or trenches are dug and bushes are planted at a distance of at least 1.3 m from each other (otherwise the bushes will shade each other and the berries will be small). The soil mixture consists of garden soil and manure. After planting in dry weather, the plants are watered at the rate of 1 bucket per bush.

Care: during the growing season, additional feedings are carried out – in early spring nitrogen fertilizers are applied - ammonium nitrate (30 g per bush) or urea (20 g per bush); after flowering and at the beginning of fruit set – chicken manure (1:12) or cow manure (1:6), at the rate of 1-1.5 buckets per bush, and also after harvest.

Pruning: requires periodic removal of peripheral branches.

Propagation: propagated vegetatively (division of the bush, grafting, green cuttings, vertical or horizontal layering) or by seeds. For vertical layering, bushes are cut back hard in spring almost to soil level; in July young shoots are earthed up. In autumn the young shoots are planted in the nursery. To obtain horizontal layers, rooted shoots are left until the following spring, then bent down, earthed up and separated from the mother plant in autumn.

Diseases: comprehensive resistance to fungal diseases.

Pests: gall aphid, yellow gooseberry sawfly, currant clearwing moth; resistance to bud mite.

Uses: used for fresh consumption, freezing and all types of processing – juices, jellies, jams, wine-making raw materials.