Black currant Minay Shmurev

Black currant Minay Shmurev (Ribes nigrum Minay Shmurev) – a black currant cultivar with mid-season ripening, obtained at the Institute of Fruit Growing of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus from a complex crossing of European cultivars, forms of the Siberian subspecies and the cultivar Golubka. Breeder A.G. Voluznev. Included in the State Register in 1979.

It is a medium-vigorous, moderately spreading shrub, rather large in size. Growing shoots are thick, green, with anthocyanin coloration, unbearded, curved. The lignified shoot is thick, straight, grayish-brown, glossy, unbearded. Buds are medium, ovoid in shape, green, with anthocyanin coloration, with a pointed apex, positioned parallel to the shoot or pressed against it in the upper part. The terminal bud is free, green, of medium size.

Leaves are large or medium-sized, dark green, matte, almost smooth, leathery, slightly concave. Lobes' apices are acute. Lobes are narrow and acute, the middle lobe longer than the lateral ones. The angle of lobe divergence is right. The leaf base has a wide and open sinus. Leaf teeth are sharp and short. Petiole of medium length, green, with anthocyanin coloration.

Flowers medium-sized, reddish, self-fertile. Raceme medium, sinuous.

Berries medium-sized, weighing 0.9 g, oval-round, black, matte, with thin skin and a dry detachment. Pedicel of medium length. Taste sour-sweet, pleasant (4.3 points), flesh juicy. Berries for universal use. Chemical composition: soluble solids - 16.1%, total sugars - 6.8%, titratable acidity - 2.6%, ascorbic acid - 168.0 mg/100 g, pectic substances (on fresh mass) - 1.0%. Yield high - 8.3 t/ha.

Hardiness zone: 4 (-34°C)

Site preferences: prefers well-lit locations but can also grow in partial shade, moisture-loving but does not tolerate waterlogging or over-saturation. 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 loam, light or medium-loam soils. Drought-resistant.

Planting: planting is carried out in August. For this, beds or furrows are dug and bushes are planted at a distance of not less than 1.3 m from each other (otherwise bushes will shade each other and berries will be small). The soil mixture consists of soil and manure. After planting in dry weather, water the plants at the rate of 1 bucket per bush.

Care: during the growing season perform additional feedings – in early spring apply nitrogen fertilizers – 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 currant bush and after harvest.

Pruning: tolerates trimming well, suitable for forming hedges and borders. Requires thinning (removal of old stems). Pruning is carried out in spring: young shoots are shortened to 5-6 buds and old ones are removed. Each bush should consist of 10-15 stems. Old branches are removed, since large berries grow on 3-4-year-old stems.

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

Diseases: affected by American powdery mildew, relatively resistant to anthracnose.

Pests: gall aphid, yellow gooseberry sawfly, currant clearwing.

Uses: the cultivar is notable for high yield and self-fertility, and for its excellent fruit flavor.