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The description of Pshekhiba raspberries is of interest not only to beginners, but also to experienced gardeners: this young variety, bred by Polish breeders, is famous for very large berries. In Russian gardens, he is still an infrequent guest, but every year his popularity is growing. Malina Pshekhiba appeared in Russia in 2017, when the first batch of planting material from Poland went on the free sale.
Description of the Pshekhiba raspberry variety
Raspberry Pshekhiba belongs to the varieties of summer raspberries, bears fruit on the shoots of two years of age. This is an early variety - when cultivated in the southern regions, fruiting begins already in early June, in Central Russia the harvest begins in the first decade of July. Raspberries Pshekhiba grow well in greenhouses, at home the variety is successfully grown in tunnels, then the first berries can be removed at the end of May.
Raspberry varieties Pshekhiba are characterized by active growth, on average 5–7 tall shoots of medium thickness are formed on the bush per season. In the open field, the bush grows up to 2 m, in greenhouses the stems can reach a height of 2.5 m.
Young bright green shoots of raspberries are abundantly covered with short purple thorns, but their number decreases with age. The thorns do not interfere with the picking of berries and planting care. Adult stems turn light brown and take on an anthocyanin hue.
The plant is covered with large, oval leaves of a bright green hue with an elongated tip, the edges of the leaf plate are serrated.
The Pshekhiba raspberry bush forms a large number of elastic fruit twigs, which can be up to 70 cm long.
Raspberries of the Pshekhiba variety bloom in May with numerous large white flowers, collected in cluster inflorescences.
Pshekhiba fruits are the real pride of the creators of the variety. In the photo of Pshekhiba raspberries, you can see even beautiful berries of the same shape, intense raspberry color; the descriptions indicate that when fully ripe, they acquire a darker shade. The berries are large, of medium length (30–50 mm), weighing up to 12 g. Some specimens can reach a record 14 g. Fruits are cylindrical, elongated, with blunt tops. Drupes are covered with a thin but firm skin, very juicy, with small seeds and a lot of pulp. 15-25 berries ripen on one bunch. The Pshekhiba variety is characterized by abundant amicable fruiting.
Raspberry Pshekhiba is an extremely productive variety. With industrial cultivation, the yield, depending on agricultural technology and planting scheme, can reach 30 tons per hectare and even more. Up to 1.5 kg of berries are removed from one shoot. The productivity of the bush depends on the number of stems.
The berries have a classic pleasant raspberry flavor and aroma. They can be used for processing, dried or frozen, consumed fresh. The fruits are well suited for sale, since they are stored for a long time, do not crumple or crumble.
Raspberries Pshekhiba can be grown both on personal household plots and on an industrial scale.
Pros and cons of Pshekhiba raspberries
Raspberry Pshekhiba is truly an outstanding variety - both in the descriptions of the plant and in the reviews, its following advantages are affirmed:
- best-in-class fruits with excellent palatability;
- high stable yield;
- friendly fruiting;
- good immunity to diseases and pests;
- excellent frost resistance;
- resistance to heat and drought;
- relative undemanding to illumination: it can grow both in the sun and in partial shade;
- active vegetation;
- early ripening;
- ease of harvesting;
- high keeping quality;
- the possibility of cultivation in closed and open ground.
Of the disadvantages of the variety, the following are noted:
- sprawling plant shape, suggesting the installation of supports;
- the need for regular pruning;
- high yields are achieved only with careful care;
- high price of planting material;
- insufficient experience of growing in the climatic zones of Russia does not yet allow drawing conclusions about the peculiarities of agricultural technology in different regions of the country.
Planting and caring for Pshekhiba raspberries
Pshekhiba raspberries are planted in the same way as other varieties of this garden culture. You can plant it in a bush or tape method. It is preferable to use a trench planting, since this will make it easier to arrange supports for the plants, in addition, it greatly simplifies the care of the raspberry tree.
The Pshekhiba variety needs regular watering, feeding and pruning. Weeds should be removed periodically. Mulching the soil around the plants will help facilitate planting maintenance.
Selection and preparation of the landing site
Raspberry Pshekhiba can grow both in sunny areas and in partial shade, but in areas that are lighted and protected from the winds, the fruits will ripen earlier and will be sweeter. Slightly acidic or neutral soil is most suitable for her. You should choose a place so that in winter there is the maximum amount of snow, since raspberries winter best under heavy snow cover.
Before planting, the soil is dug up and plant residues are selected. This will give the earth the oxygen it needs.
Landing rules
Plants of Pshekhiba raspberry should be placed at least 75–80 cm apart, the optimal distance between rows is 150–200 cm. A denser planting negatively affects the general condition of the plants and the yield.
The planting algorithm for Pshekhiba raspberries is as follows:
- digging a trench or planting holes;
- make a mixture of fertile soil, organic fertilizers and mineral complexes;
- place the stalk in a hole or trench;
- before falling asleep the roots, the plant is watered;
- cover the seedling with fertile soil;
- cut off shoots to a height of 20-25 cm;
- mulch the soil.
Watering and feeding
Drought resistance is one of the characteristics of Pshekhiba raspberries, however, obtaining a good harvest is impossible without regular provision of plantings with moisture. Watering is especially important during the period of plant preparation for fruiting. In this case, you need to ensure that moisture does not stagnate at the roots, which provokes infection of raspberries with fungal diseases. In hot dry weather, watering is carried out no more than 1 time per week. For industrial cultivation, it is convenient to use the drip irrigation method.
Like other raspberry varieties, Pshekhiba is very sensitive to feeding. It reacts especially well to organic matter: mullein, bird droppings, weeds. Gardeners prepare organic fertilizer as follows: a large barrel is filled one third with compost, cow dung and poultry droppings. The mixture is poured with water and left for 2 weeks. The resulting solution is diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 5.
The first time the raspberries are fed in the spring, during the active growing season, then when the bushes have faded and before winter, after harvesting the fruits.Mineral complexes for berry bushes are applied in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations.
Pruning
The main task of pruning Pshekhiba raspberries is to stimulate the development of shoots. For this, the tops are cut, which stimulates branching. Cut off the shoots that thicken the crown, 7–8 branches should remain per 1 m of the row. Roots are also removed.
Since the Pshekhiba raspberry bears fruit on shoots of two years of age, after fruiting, they must be cut off in order to activate the growth of new branches.
Sanitary pruning of raspberries is carried out in the spring. Remove frozen, weak, broken shoots. The remaining branches are shortened to the level of the first healthy bud.
Preparing for winter
Frost resistance and resistance to freezing of the kidneys are a distinctive feature of Pshekhiba raspberries. Despite this, in conditions of harsh winters, the bushes need shelter for the winter. Shoots are removed from the supports, bent to the ground and covered with agrofibre or spruce branches. The shelter is built before the onset of cold weather, since the branches become fragile from frost.
As the experience of cultivating raspberries in Russia has shown, the Pshekhiba variety winters well without additional shelter in the southern regions.
Harvesting
Gathering ripe raspberries is a laborious and time-consuming procedure. However, the harvesting of fruits of the Pshekhiba variety is greatly simplified due to the large size of the berries, amicable ripening and the density of the drupes.
The fruiting period of raspberries is extended over several weeks, so ripe berries are removed every few days. To collect the fruits, use only small containers so that the berries do not crinkle. Once harvested, raspberries of this variety are stored in the refrigerator for about a week.
Reproduction
The optimal breeding methods for Pshekhiba raspberries are cuttings and propagation by root shoots. It is most convenient to get new plants from root suckers with the planned thinning of the raspberry tree. The strongest and healthiest specimens are chosen, they are dug out together with a clod of earth and immediately transplanted to a new place.
To get Pshekhiba raspberries from cuttings, shoots up to 25 cm long are cut in autumn, added dropwise and covered with spruce branches or foil for the winter. In the spring, full-fledged plants will turn out from them.
You can propagate raspberries by dividing the bush, but growing from seeds is not practiced, since the plants obtained in this way do not inherit the varietal characteristics of the parent culture.
Diseases and pests
The varietal feature of the Pshekhiba raspberry is its outstanding immunity to diseases and pests. Cases of infection of plantings of this variety of raspberries are associated with significant errors in care.
Such diseases include, for example, late blight, which affects the plant due to stagnant moisture at the roots. A bush that is sick with late blight quickly withers and dies. You can fight this ailment with the help of fungicides.
Another common disease is raspberry rust. Plants growing in regions with high humidity are at risk. Dark yellow bulges appear on the leaves, which become more and more over time. A rusty bush does not survive the winter. You can get rid of rust with Bordeaux liquid or copper-containing preparations.
Of the pests of raspberries, spider mites and aphids are the most common. They not only harm the plant themselves, but also serve as carriers of diseases. You can destroy pests using folk methods, for example, by treating the raspberry with a solution of laundry soap, ash, garlic or onion husks. Spraying plantings with insecticides will also help.
For the prevention of diseases and pest infestations, it is recommended to buy planting material only from trusted suppliers, to provide proper care for the plantings, to destroy the affected plants in a timely manner and to observe crop rotation.
Conclusion
The description of the Pshekhiba raspberry will be supplemented with the accumulation of experience in its cultivation on personal plots and in farms, but already now we can say that the variety is rapidly gaining admirers among Russian gardeners. Habitual agricultural technology, resistance to diseases and pests, high yield and other advantages of Pshekhiba raspberries rightfully receive high marks and excellent reviews.
