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there is strawberry varietieswhich taste amazing, but they are usually very unstable and can only be tasted immediately after harvest. It is impossible to transport such berries - they quickly deteriorate and lose their presentation. Strawberries of these varieties are best grown in personal or summer cottages. Industrial grades are designed for long distance transportation. These berries should retain their marketable appearance for a long time and be attractive to buyers. Unfortunately, strawberries acquire all these properties due to the loss of taste. But there are varieties that have good taste and excellent transportability.
The Italian company "New Fruts" is a small breeding enterprise in the north of Italy. Since its inception in 1996, the breeders of this company have set themselves the task of obtaining industrial varieties that meet the following requirements:
- yield;
- disease resistance;
- keeping quality;
- transportability;
- good appearance and taste.
This task turned out to be within their reach. Created from two Italian nurseries renowned for their traditional product quality, the company has already introduced excellent varieties: Roxana, Asia and Syria. But almost all of them prefer rather warm climatic conditions for their successful cultivation. But the Alba strawberry variety is intended for cultivation in places with a continental climate. For successful growth, plants need a sufficient amount of negative temperatures in winter.
If there is little snow, sketch it from the beds not occupied by strawberries and from the aisles.
The Alba strawberry is a versatile variety. It is suitable for both open ground and film tunnels, where you can harvest 2 weeks earlier. The berries grow tastier, and the overall yield rises.
Advantages of the variety
- Early variety - ripens 2 days earlier than the well-known industrial variety from America Honey.
- The flowering period allows you to get away from spring frosts.
- Harvesting quickly.
- The berries can be called large, their weight is almost 30 g.
- Standard size of berries during the entire harvesting period, they do not become smaller.
- Mechanized harvesting is possible.
- Excellent transportability and keeping quality.
- Great appearance.
- Dessert taste with a slight sourness.
- Not a bad harvest. In Italy, up to 1.2 kg of berries are obtained from one bush. In our conditions, the yield is slightly lower - up to 0.8 kg.
- Good disease resistance.
- Good frost resistance.
Biological features of the variety
It is a strong and beautiful plant. Vigorous bushes are about 30 cm high. The leaves and peduncles are large. Under the weight of the berries, the peduncles can lie on the ground.
The description of the Alba strawberry variety - in the photo above - will be incomplete, if not to mention the berries: reviews of summer residents say that they are special for her - they have a slightly spindle-shaped shape, beautiful color and shine. The absolutely identical and aligned berries are eye-catching. The berry flavor is controversial. Someone thinks it is sour. But the taste of any kind of strawberry is a variable value, it strongly depends on the growing conditions, the number of sunny days and the fertility of the soil. With all the necessary conditions, Alba strawberries have a quite decent taste.
Care and planting of Alba strawberries
In order for the harvest to please, strawberries should be planted only in well-lit beds.
Precursors for planting strawberries
Plants from the nightshade family should not be its predecessors: potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. It cannot grow on the site of a raspberry plantation. All these plants suffer from the same disease - late blight, although it is caused by different races of this pathogen. You should not plant this berry after corn and sunflower, as they greatly deplete the soil, taking out a lot of nutrients from there. Legumes can tolerate the strawberry nematode, which is dangerous for strawberries, but they themselves do not get sick. Therefore, it is impossible to plant strawberries after them. Cabbage and cucumbers are not suitable as predecessors. They and strawberries have common diseases - stem nematode, verticillary wilting.
Soil for planting
The characteristic of the best soil for strawberries: quite fertile, good moisture retention, breathable, the reaction of the soil is slightly acidic.
A well-prepared soil is essential for a full-fledged crop. Strawberries will grow in the same spot for at least three years. Therefore, it is so important to provide it with full-fledged soil for a good start. The best soil for strawberries is sandy or loamy with a sufficient amount of organic matter. Soil preparation begins with digging. Roots weeds you need to choose very carefully. It is better to prepare the ground in advance at least 2 weeks in advance.
To prevent weeds from growing on it during the summer, it is sown with siderates before planting.
When digging, a bucket of humus and 50 g of complex fertilizer are introduced for each square meter, which can be replaced with half a glass of ash and 30 g of superphosphate.
If the beds for planting are prepared in advance, you can add half-rotted manure, but at the same time water the soil with EM preparations Baikal or Shine. The beneficial microorganisms they contain convert organic matter into compounds available to plants and generally make the soil healthy.
Planting Alba strawberries is best done on a flat surface, then it will not suffer from a lack of water during the dry season.
Planting strawberries
Most often, strawberries are planted in two lines. The distance between the lines is 30-40 cm, and between the bushes 20-25 cm. For strawberries of the Alba variety, this distance between plants is enough, for more intense varieties it should be larger, sometimes up to half a meter.
The strawberry planting technology is as follows:
- dig holes 20-25 cm deep;
- a handful of humus, a tablespoon of ash, a pinch of complete mineral fertilizer with trace elements are added to each hole;
- half the rate of water is poured into the hole - 0.5 liters, the rest of the water is added after planting the bush to slightly compact the soil;
- young plants obtained from whiskers no older than one year are chosen for planting;
- the plants are kept in the shade for about 6 hours by placing the roots in the following solution: two liters of 0.5 tsp. humate, a tablet of heteroauxin or a bag of root, phytosporin a little less than a tablespoon of powder;
- when planting strawberries, the roots do not tuck, they should be located vertically;
- the central growth bud-heart cannot be covered, it must be at the level of the soil, the roots must be completely covered with earth.
Planting time is a very important point on which the next year's harvest depends. In spring, it falls in late April - early May, depending on the weather. Summer planting begins in mid-July and ends 2 weeks before the onset of frost, so that the bushes have time to take root before frost.
Each week of delay after this period takes away 10% from the future crop.
Care for strawberries of the Alba variety consists of three additional feeding: in early spring, during the budding period and after harvest. The beds must be free of weeds. Watering is carried out as needed.
Conclusion
The Alba strawberry is an excellent commercial variety that can be grown in almost any region. Subject to all growing conditions, Alba strawberries will delight not only with a good harvest, but also will not disappoint with their taste.
