Content
Among the many varieties and hybrids of sweet pepper, there is a special variety - Ratunda. Gardeners often call these rounded peppers, as it were, divided into slices, gogoshars. In the international classification, they are called "tomato pepper" - a tomato-like variety of pepper. There are many varieties of Ratunda pepper, they differ in color: red or yellow, shape and taste.
Characteristic
Sweet pepper Ratunda fell in love with vegetable growers for its excellent yield, dense structure, resistance to fungal diseases. There are many varieties and hybrids of Ratunda pepper bred in Moldova and Russia: Kolobok, Viscount, Merishor, Gogoshar local, Ruby 2, Sweet candy, Olenka, Ruby sweetness, Israeli Ratunda and others. In technical maturity, Ratunda is noticeable with a bright dark green color, in biological maturity - a rich dark red or bright yellow, like the Sun or Golden Jubilee.
Many Ratunda varieties have fruit similar to miniature pumpkins with pronounced lobules, but there are varieties with smooth, rounded barrels. A common feature of Ratunda sweet pepper pods is that they are not elongated, but flattened. The plant generates up to 12-15 pods. Up to 5 kg of fruits are harvested from 1 square meter.
Ratunda pepper, according to the description of the varieties, mainly produces fruits without bitterness. Its peculiarity is that it is prone to cross-pollination. Close plantings of hot peppers will definitely affect the taste of any Ratunda variety, as well as most other sweet pepper varieties. It should be noted that there are Ratunda varieties, which are inherent in bitterness. But the flesh of the fruit is sweet, only chamber partitions are burning. Then the semi-sharp taste of Ratunda fruits is obtained.
Ratunda pepper varieties are mid-season, up to 120-135 days, but there are also more early maturing. Ripe or even plucked green fruits of Ratunda pepper are stored for a long time. Peppers can also be transported long distances without compromising the appearance of the fruit.
Description
The bushes of Ratunda are standard, compact, undersized, medium leafy, quite powerful to withstand the fruit load. The plant does not rise above 35-60 cm. The leaves are medium in size, on long petioles. Flowers grow between shoots.
The fruits of Ratunda pepper, as they say about them in the descriptions and reviews of vegetable growers, are large, rounded, flattened or with an elongated small tip. Unripe green, but suitable for use in salads, as well as for stuffing and other dishes or preparations. Ripe cherry-colored or bright yellow fruits, depending on the variety. Inside the Ratunda pepper pod there are several seed chambers where there are many seeds. The average weight of fruits is 90-100 g. There are large-fruited varieties - up to 150-180 g.
Wall thickness from 6 to 10 mm. The partitions of some Ratunda varieties are burning. The skin is thin, dense, with a waxy coating. The pulp is fleshy, juicy, crunchy, dense. The taste of Ratunda fruit is delicate, with a delicately pronounced peppery smell. Possible piquant pungency in taste sensations.
Benefits
Ratunda pepper is popular due to its bright qualities.
- High productivity;
- Excellent flavoring bouquet of fruits;
- Unpretentiousness of the plant;
- Resistance to Alternaria, tobacco mosaic virus, verticillium wilt;
- Commercial attractiveness;
- Keeping quality and transportability of fruits.
Like all varieties of pepper, a southern culture, Ratunda needs careful care on fertile soils.
Growing
Ratunda propagates by sowing for seedlings. Seeds are sown in such a way that by the time of planting in the greenhouse, the plants reach two months of age. Successful cultivation of Ratunda is possible on fertile soil.
Sowing
The best option for sweet peppers is to sow seeds one at a time in pots, because the root system of the plant suffers during transplantation.
If the seedling container is homemade, you need to take care of the drainage system. First, holes are made at the bottom, and then a layer of medium fractions of agroperlite, crushed foam from under the packaging of household appliances, and broken ceramics is put down. It is imperative to have a pallet where excess water will drain after watering.
Purchased soils need to be taken specialized, or pay attention to acidity. Ratunda prefers neutral or slightly alkaline soils (pH 7-7.2).
Seedling care
For good shoots, containers are placed in the heat - up to 25 degrees. When sprouts appear, the daytime temperature is initially kept at 18-20 degrees, then, after the first week, it rises to 25 0C. Night - should be reduced to 13-15 degrees, so that the plants do not stretch, but the root system is strengthened. The seedlings of Ratunda are provided with supplementary lighting - up to 14 hours. Use ampoules of daylight or LED lamps. You can purchase special devices for plant lighting - phytolamps.
- The next important point in caring for sweet pepper seedlings is feeding. They purchase ready-made mixtures in stores and fertilize according to the instructions or prepare themselves;
- The first feeding of plants is carried out in the phase of appearance of 1-2 true leaves. If bell peppers need to be dived, fertilizer is put aside for 10-12 days after the transplantation procedure. A teaspoon of carbamide and a heaped tablespoon of superphosphate are dissolved in 10 liters of water. Each plant is given 100-150 ml of solution;
- The second feeding of Ratunda is done a week before disembarking to a permanent place. Prepare a solution of two tablespoons of superphosphate and a tablespoon of potassium sulfate in 10 liters of water.
Pepper in the greenhouse
Sweet pepper Ratunda is planted when the first bud has already formed. Layout: 25 x 50 cm. Watering should be moderate, it is better to water more often, but not overmoisten the soil. Plants need to be shaped.
- When the first branch is formed, all stepsons are removed below it;
- The first flower is picked;
- The weak one is removed from the next paired shoots, leaving the stronger one to grow;
- At the end of August, pinch the tops of sweet peppers so that new shoots are not created, and the plant directs forces only for fruiting;
- The very first fruits are harvested while still green to reduce stress on the plant. Cleaning is carried out in 5-10 days;
- Ripe pods are cut every week or more often as needed.
It is necessary to monitor the level of humidity, especially during flowering. High humidity will interfere with pollination. When the pollen falls, the greenhouses are often ventilated. Air currents promote the creation of ovaries. This process is very important for all types of pepper, since the amount of seeds formed affects the size of the fruit. Hollow pods do not grow large.
Plant in the garden
Ratunda is planted in the southern regions at the end of May, early June, in the more northern ones later, when the threat of frost disappears. A fertile area, sufficiently illuminated, without drafts, located in a cozy place protected from gusts of wind, is the best option for planting sweet peppers. In the spring, the soil is fertilized: 35-40 g of phosphate and potassium compounds, 20-25 g of nitrogen agent.
- Pepper is watered with warm water, abundantly during the first week after planting, for better plant acclimatization;
- A good solution would be to mulch the soil so that moisture does not evaporate too quickly;
- Ratunda is fed with a mullein solution diluted in a ratio of 1:10, or with special complex fertilizers for pepper;
- Top dressing of pepper is required during the formation of buds, during flowering and fruiting;
- Removing the first flower results in more fruit production;
- During prolonged heat, over 35 degrees, planting Ratunda pepper can be shaded using a net. Thanks to this method, the plants avoid the stress of high temperatures and bear fruit better.
Plant protection
In a greenhouse, Ratunda peppers can suffer from aphids. They fight insects by introducing foliar dressings containing potassium and phosphorus.
From other leaf-gnawing and soil pests, preparations based on biotoxins are used - Lepidocid, Fitoverm and others.
Spicy fruits of the original shape will be a beautiful addition to the table, and in the blanks they will remind you of the summer riot of nature.
