Content
Strawberry Allegro is a selection novelty that has shown excellent resistance to temperature extremes and has proven itself in the Russian market. The berry ripens first in the beds, gives a high yield, practically does not suffer from diseases. The quality of Allegro strawberries is excellent, you can hear a huge number of positive reviews about the variety.
Breeding history
This variety is considered a new variety. It was created relatively recently, in 2010, in the Netherlands. The development belongs to the June program "Fresh Forward" (Holland). The species was obtained by crossing a pair of numbered hybrids E2003-097 and E2006-492.
Characteristics and description of Allegro strawberries
One of the main characteristics of Allegro is its early ripening period. Its berries ripen a couple of weeks earlier than other varieties. The variety is suitable both for open ground and for cultivation in tunnels and greenhouses. It is unpretentious in care, has an average adaptive ability, is resistant to bad weather conditions, frost. Allegro, despite the juiciness of the berries, does not let juice during transportation, does not deform, has a long shelf life, therefore it is suitable for transportation over long distances. Most often, the berry is consumed fresh, it is also suitable for preparing blanks for the winter or freezing as a whole.
Allegro bushes are powerful, but do not take up much space, compact. Peduncles are long, beautiful, form up to nine buds. The inflorescences are sheltered from the sun by dense foliage. The root system of the culture is strong, well developed, capable of withstanding common diseases found in strawberries.
The appearance and taste of berries
The fruits of Allegro are large and medium in size, their weight is about 30 g. Strawberries have an even ovoid or conical shape, there is no neck, there may be berries with a blunt tip. The color of the fruit is bright red, the skin is glossy, shiny. The taste is pleasant, the sugar content is high, the sweetness is felt more strongly than the sourness. Allegro pulp is juicy, aromatic, dense. Berries are stored in the refrigerator without loss of quality for more than a week. Strawberries have a high yield of A class specimens.
Ripening period and yield of Allegro strawberries
The variety demonstrates high self-fertility, it is ranked as a type of short daylight hours. It begins to bloom in the first week of May, the berries ripen by June. In terms of yield, Allegro has an advantage over almost all varieties of strawberries. From a bush, subject to the rules for caring for the plant, it will be possible to collect up to 900 g of berries. The collection is carried out once a season, the fruits ripen together, the fruiting period is 3-4 weeks.
Frost resistance
Allegro is a new development that has just begun to be tested. According to the originators, it has an average resistance to frost, but it is too early to tell about the truth of this statement. Due to the structure of the bush and the location of the peduncles under dense foliage, it is highly resistant to return frosts.
Disease and pest resistance
The plant is characterized by good disease resistance. He is not afraid of late blight, powdery mildew, gray rot and verticillary wilting, but treatment from anthracnose is required. It is advisable to spray Allegro from pests with special preparations.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Over ten years of cultivation practice, the variety has demonstrated many advantages with minor disadvantages.
Benefits | disadvantages |
Early ripening | Demanding watering |
Balanced taste | High cost of planting material |
High yield rates | Anthracnose exposure |
Strong immunity to disease |
|
Resistant to temperature changes |
|
Excellent transportability and keeping quality |
|
Landing
Allegro is planted in the ground in spring or autumn. In the first case, this is done after the ground has completely warmed up, in the second - a month before the arrival of frost.
A plot for strawberries is chosen sunny, windless, with groundwater occurrence of 100 cm or more. The garden bed is prepared at least a month before planting:
- dig up the soil;
- wood ash and manure are introduced.
Planting scheme for Allegro strawberries 30 by 50 cm. It is better to place the seedlings in a checkerboard pattern. After planting, the bushes should be mulched with sawdust, straw or agrofibre.
Care
The variety does not require special attention during cultivation and care; for a good yield, it is enough to follow standard procedures:
- Watering. Moistening of beds with Allegro strawberries is carried out with drip irrigation. It is made every three days before the berries ripen. Watering is not carried out at the time of harvest.
- Loosening. Organize regularly to a depth of 30-40 mm. Weeds are removed at the same time.
- Mustache trimming. Strawberry sockets should be removed in a timely manner. Otherwise, the bed will overgrow, the berries will become small, the amount of the crop will be sharply reduced.
- Fertilizer. Top dressing in Allegro beds is applied several times per season. Immediately after removing the shelter, it is useful to saturate the strawberries with nitrogen compounds: chicken droppings, 500 ml per bush or mullein solution (1:10). At the time of the formation of ovaries, the plants should be watered with potassium sulfate and nitrophosphate. At the end of summer, feed with complex preparations or wood ash.
- Disease prevention. So that the culture does not undergo fungal diseases, it is sprayed with garlic infusion. Several times a year, it is recommended to carry out treatment with anthracnose preparations.
- Preparing for winter. In the fall, I remove dry and old leaves from the Allegro variety. In the northern regions, the bushes are covered with cardboard, spruce branches, straw or spunbond (laid on arcs).
Reproduction
Reproduction of Allegro is carried out in three ways: mustache, division, seeds.
The most effective and easiest is the method of cultivating a culture using outlets. For them, peat pots are placed in the beds, and after the formation of 3-5 full-fledged leaves, the mustache is cut off. The method of dividing also gives good results, provided that the bush is already an adult (2-3 years). Strawberry seeds are propagated less often, the process is quite laborious. Planting material is sown in February in fertile soil, deepening no more than half a centimeter. A couple of weeks after the emergence of seedlings, the seedlings dive. Closer to May, they begin to take it out into the street for hardening or put it under a film.
Conclusion
The Allegro strawberry is a very promising variety with a great future. Ripening of juicy fruits of the variety occurs quickly and amicably, the taste characteristics of the berries are excellent, the keeping quality is good.A big plus is that the plant is capable of bearing fruit both in cool and hot weather; with proper care, such factors are not reflected in the crop. The variety is definitely worthy of gardeners to pay attention to it.
Gardeners' reviews about Allegro strawberries