Red Currant 'Yaroslavna'

Red currant 'Yaroslavna' (Ribes rubrum L.) – an intensive red currant cultivar of mid-late ripening. The cultivar was developed at the Lviv Experimental Horticulture Station. It was included in the Register of Varieties of Ukraine in 2000.

It is a medium-sized, moderately spreading shrub. Leaves are dark green.

Berries are attractive, bright red, glossy, large, up to 1.0 g. The flesh has an excellent sweet-and-sour taste with a pleasant aroma. Bunches are long, up to 15 cm, dense.

High yield 18-20 t/ha, dry fruit detachment, early fruiting, resistance to powdery mildew.

Hardiness zone: 4 (-34°C)

Location/Site: prefers well-lit sites but can grow in partial shade, moisture-loving but does not tolerate water stagnation or over-wetting. Does not like heavy, clay soils; the groundwater level should be at least 75 cm below the soil surface. Not demanding in soil fertility; grows well in ordinary garden soil. Prefers slightly acidic, well-drained, sandy or light to medium loam soils. Drought tolerance is moderate.

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

Care: during the growing season carry out 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 poultry manure (1:12) or cow manure (1:6), at a rate of 1-1.5 buckets per currant bush, and again after harvest.

Pruning: tolerates cutting well, suitable for forming hedges and borders. Requires thinning (removal of old stems). Pruning is done in spring: young shoots are shortened by 5-6 buds and old ones are removed. Each bush should consist of 10-15 stems. Old shoots are removed because large berries develop on 3-4-year-old stems.

Propagation: propagated vegetatively (by division of the bush, grafting, green cuttings, vertical or horizontal layering) or by seeds. For vertical layering, bushes are pruned heavily in spring almost to soil level; in July young shoots are earthen 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, earthen up and separated from the mother plant in autumn.

Diseases: high resistance to diseases.

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

Usage: Berries are of universal use; can be consumed fresh or used for processing. Well suited for freezing, it is recommended to freeze them at a temperature of 18-20 °C, during which they retain biologically active substances for more than 9 months.