Red currant Vīksne

Synonyms: Red Vīksne, Cherry Vīksne

Red currant Vīksne (Ribes rubrum Vīksne) – a cultivar of red currant. Bred at the Ogre fruit and vegetable experimental station (Latvia). Authors: A.B. Vīksne, T.S. Zvyagina. In 1997 it was entered into the State Register of breeding achievements authorized for use in the Northwest and Central Black Earth regions.

It is a medium-sized, spreading shrub of irregular shape. Shoots are dark brown, thick, straight, glabrous, covered with a dense gray bloom. Buds are small, oblong, dark brown with a grayish bloom, sessile, slightly deviating from the shoot. The petiole scar is rounded.

Leaves pentagonal-lobed, large and medium, matte, dark green, smooth, flat; margins wavy. Leaf blade glabrous above, pubescent below, positioned horizontally. Lobes acute, the central lobe exceeds the lateral ones. The angle between the midribs of the lateral lobes is obtuse, lateral lobes widely spaced. Basal lobes moderately developed. Leaf base straight, with a shallow sinus. Teeth blunt, medium, not curled under, crenate type. Petiole of medium length and thickness, with slight pubescence.

Flowers medium, deep saucer-shaped. Sepals pale with purple stripes, free. Racemes long (10.4–15.0 cm), cylindrical, dense. Axis medium, straight; peduncle long, not brittle.

Berries medium (0.7–0.8 g), rounded, cherry-colored, with a small number of seeds. Seeds large, ovoid. Flavor tart-sweet, delicate, refreshing (4.5 points). Calyx rounded, medium, closed. Pedicels long and medium, thin, light green. Chemical composition: soluble solids – 14.2%, total sugars – 6.6%, titratable acidity – 1.9%, ascorbic acid – 53.2 mg/100 g, P-active substances – 1091.0 mg/100 g, pectin substances – 2.4%. Ripening period – early. Yield high - 16.7 t/ha (5.0 kg/bush).

Hardiness zone: 4a (-34°C)

Location: prefers well-lit sites but can grow in partial shade; moisture-loving but does not tolerate waterlogging or overmoisture. Does not like heavy, clay soil; the groundwater level should not exceed 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 soil. Drought tolerance is moderate.

Planting: planting is carried out in August. For this, beds or furrows 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 earth and manure. After planting in dry weather, plants are watered at a 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 a 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 performed in spring: young shoots are shortened by 5–6 buds and old ones removed. Each bush should consist of 10–15 stems. Old branches are removed, as large berries develop on 3–4-year-old stems.

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

Diseases: powdery mildew, septoria. Relatively resistant to anthracnose.

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

Use/Application: high yield, berries large and highly marketable. A valuable cultivar for industrial cultivation for berry processing.