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Selection does not stand still, every year scientists bring out more and more varieties of garden and vegetable garden crops. So, relatively recently, breeders from Moldova crossed the Kishmish Pink grapes with the Cardinal variety: as a result, a new species turned out - the Radiant Kishmish grape. The berries of this variety are large and very beautiful, there are absolutely no seeds inside the pulp, besides this, Kishmish Radiant has a lot of advantages.
Description of the grape variety Kishmish Radiant, reviews about him, as well as photos can be found in this article. Here are the basic rules for growing and pruning vines.
Description
Radiant grapes are considered a table variety, while its distant ancestor - Common Kishmish is suitable only for making juices, wine or raisins.
Ripening of the variety is medium-early. Radiant got its name because its grapes have a thin peel and light flesh, which are easily penetrated by the sun and seem to glow from the inside.
Characteristic of Kishmish Radiant:
- ripening period is, on average, 130 days;
- vigorous vine, shoots develop quickly;
- leaves are medium, strongly dissected, five-lobed;
- clusters are large, up to 45 cm in length;
- the weight of each bunch ranges from 450 to 900 grams;
- the shape of the brushes is conical, the fullness is medium;
- pink berries, elongated;
- the flesh of the grapes is fleshy, juicy, dense, with a subtle taste of nutmeg;
- the taste is sweet and sour, very pleasant and refreshing;
- there are no seeds in the pulp;
- high marketability of grapes;
- yield - above average - about 12 kg per bush;
- grapes are harvested in late August or early September;
- about 65% of the vines in Kishmish are fruit, this must be taken into account when pruning and forming a bush;
- the peel of the grapes is quite dense, so the bunches tolerate transportation and storage well;
- You can store the harvest of Radiant Kishmish until January; for this, the bunches are carefully folded into clean wooden boxes and placed in a cool, dry place.
A more detailed description of Radiant grapes can be found in special literature, but the above information is quite enough for amateur cultivation.
Winegrowers are advised to grow this variety on special arches or gazebos so that large clusters hang freely, are evenly illuminated by the sun and blown by the wind. In such conditions, Kishmish will not be affected by fungal infections that are dangerous for him.
Strengths and weaknesses of the variety
Big plus grapes Kishmish Radiant its high marketability is considered:
- there are no seeds in grapes;
- its pulp is quite dense, sugary, aromatic;
- the skin on the berries is thick, so they rarely crack and are attacked by wasps;
- clusters are large and beautiful;
- the crop can be stored for a long time, as well as transported over any distance.
The same large bunch sizes and high yield of Radiant Kishmish are also disadvantages of this variety. The fact is that the vine is often overloaded, and this, in turn, entails the loss of part of the harvest or the loss of the taste of the grapes.
If the pruning was done incorrectly, the shoots will be overloaded, the vine will simply break off. Even if the bush survives, numerous berries may not have enough potassium and other trace elements for full ripening. This leads to cracking of the berries, their wateriness, increased acidity.
How to grow
The peculiarities of cultivating the Kishmish Radiant variety are based, first of all, on the shortcomings of this grape. Caring for the bushes must necessarily include competent and correct pruning.
Pruning
As already mentioned, pruning for this grape variety is a very important component of care. If you do not thin out the bunches in time, then in the first year you can achieve their extraordinary size - each brush will weigh about 1-1.5 kg. But next season there will be a strong shrinking of berries and bunches. Do not forget about the high probability that the vine will break and the bush will die.
In order to prevent all these consequences, it is necessary to cut the vine in a timely and correct manner, to be guided in this matter by diagrams and photos. The distribution of the load on the bush should be as follows: 1-2 bunches of grapes for each fruit shoot, which will eventually amount to 50-60 brushes per adult Radiant bush.
If you follow such a simple scheme, in the fall or at the end of summer you can collect a good harvest of half-kilogram bunches of high commercial quality.
The basic rules for the formation of grape bushes Kishmish Radiant are as follows:
- On new sleeves, you need to leave 2-3 eyes.
- All old sleeves should have a maximum of 14 eyes.
- The total load on each adult bush should be from 25 to 30 eyes.
- The distance between adjacent arms must be at least one meter. To achieve this, the vigorous Kishmish Radiant is planted at intervals of 2.5-3 meters with neighboring bushes or other plants.
- It is necessary to form bushes of this variety according to the scheme with the largest supply of wood.
- Weak or diseased shoots are subject to mandatory pruning - do not overload an already loaded bush.
Care features
The winegrower who has chosen the Radiant variety for cultivation will not be able to rest - this variety of Kishmish needs constant and very careful care.
The method and intensity of irrigation largely depend on the composition of the soil and the type of climate in a particular region of the country. In any case, Kishmish responds well to drip irrigation, so it is recommended to install such irrigation systems under the vine. You should not water the bushes during flowering and ripening of berries, and you also need to stop watering 2-3 weeks before the upcoming harvest.
Frost resistance in this grape is weak (the vine can withstand temperatures only down to -15 degrees), so in most regions of Russia the vine will have to be covered for the winter. To save the grapes from frost, the vine is pruned in the fall, then tied and bent to the ground.
After that, each owner acts in his own way: someone pours an earthen mound over the vine, others use spruce branches or spruce needles, you can cover the grapes with special non-woven materials or build a house of slate or boards around it. There are a lot of ways to cover the vine for the winter, usually the choice of a particular option depends on the region and its climatic features.
During the flowering period, Radiant Kishmish must be treated against pests and diseases characteristic of the variety (usually, these are fungi). Kishmish often suffers from mildew and oidium, the variety is also unstable to root phylloxera.Regularly you need to inspect the vine and leaves in order to identify diseases in the early stages and take timely action. The bunches should be well ventilated and blown by the wind - you should carefully consider the place of planting the bush.
For example, the nutmeg aroma can be lost if the vine is watered too often and abundantly. The taste of berries is also severely affected in the case of a lack of trace elements in the soil. Often, the ground under powerful bushes does not have enough potassium - it is with this component that Radiant must be fed annually.
In order for the Kishmish berries to grow large and healthy, it is recommended to process the forming clusters with Gibberellin.
Testimonials
We live in the center of the country, so for a long time we did not dare to start Kishmish Radiant in our farm, because it does not tolerate frost well. But for five years now, we have been growing this magnificent variety: so far, the grapes only make us happy. For beginner winegrowers, I can advise you to use short pruning for this variety of Kishmish and not treat it with growth stimulants (such as gibberellin). As a result of stimulation, individual berries are indeed very large, but the rest of the mass turns into "peas". It is still not worth pouring the bushes with water and overdoing it with fertilizers, from such actions the clusters become loose and disheveled.
Conclusion
The grape variety is worthy of the attention of any grower. Radiant Kishmish is a rather capricious and fastidious variety: it does not like the cold, requires careful and painstaking pruning, and needs complex care. Many more gardeners are repelled by the fact that in order to get a decent harvest, the vine needs to be treated with chemicals at least 5-6 times per season.
But after all, no one knows how much and with what they sprayed the purchased grapes. therefore definitely worth trying and planting Kishmish in your garden - the result will definitely please, because the taste of the grapes is really excellent.
