Black currant Vladimirovskaya

Black currant Vladimirovskaya (Ribes nigrum Vladimirovskaya) – an intensive cultivar of black currant with a mid‑late ripening period. Obtained from crossing the cultivars Pamyati Vavilova x Titania in 1988 at the Institute of Horticulture of UAAS. Breeders K. N. Kopan, V. P. Kopan.

Forms a tall compact bush. Shoots are long, above average in thickness, flexible. Inflorescences (racemes) are medium, dense, 2–3 per fruiting scar.

Berries are round‑oval, weighing 1.5–2.5 g, black and glossy with a firm elastic skin and a dry detachment. Flesh brown‑green, aromatic, refreshingly sweet‑and‑sour to the taste. Ripens uniformly. Yield is high.

Hardiness zone: 4 (-34°C)

Location: prefers well‑lit sites but can grow in partial shade; moisture‑loving but does not tolerate waterlogging or over‑moisture. Does not like heavy, clay soil; the groundwater level should not exceed 75 cm below the soil surface. Not demanding in terms of soil fertility; grows well on any garden soil. Prefers slightly acidic, well‑drained sandy, light or medium‑loamy soil. 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 soil and manure. After planting in dry weather plants are watered at the rate of 1 bucket per bush.

Care: during the growing season provide 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 apply bird manure (1:12) or cow manure (1:6), at the rate of 1–1.5 buckets per currant bush, and again 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 because large berries develop 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 in spring are heavily pruned almost to ground level; in July young shoots are earthed up. In autumn the young shoots are planted in the nursery. For horizontal layering, rooted shoots are left until the following spring, then bent, earthed and in autumn separated from the mother plant.

Diseases: very high, complex oligogenic resistance to fungal diseases.

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

Use: a transportable cultivar, undemanding to growing conditions and suitable for cultivation technologies without fungicides and for machine (combine) harvesting of berries. Used in breeding as a donor of complex oligogenic resistance to fungal diseases.