Probably, today almost every experienced gardener who is interested in growing grapes has heard about the new cultivated variety - "brilliant". Although he appeared only a few years ago, he has already demonstrated excellent qualities that make him a good choice for many gardeners. Therefore, to know more about the "brilliant" grape variety will be useful to every reader.
Description of vines and brushes
When the vine ripens, it quickly gains strength, and therefore needs to be formed. Shoots ripening occurs on two nodes. Therefore, it is desirable to trim on the horns. When forming the vines, you can also use a horizontal cordon. To increase productivity, excess clusters should be removed in a timely manner - otherwise they will draw on themselves excess moisture and useful trace elements.
Autumn pruning of the vine should be done later, shortly before laying on the winter. Then all the juices intended for leaves have time to return to the roots, providing an easy wintering.
Giving a description of the grapes "brilliant", it is worth telling about the grapes. They are very large - an average of 600 to 800 grams. The shape is rather conical, slightly elongated. The berries themselves have an almost round shape, only sometimes a little oval. The grapes are quite large - about 8–9 grams with good care. The color is very heterogeneous - ripe berries can be either rich pink or with large green spots, which slightly affects aesthetics, but in no way affects the excellent taste. The “brilliant” grape owes its name to the substance pruin contained in the berries. It is he who gives them a small, barely noticeable shine.
The taste is very pleasant, rich, with a slight taste of nutmeg.
Photos of “brilliant” grapes placed in the article will allow to evaluate its appearance.
Useful qualities
Specialists and ordinary summer residents highly appreciate this variety for their high utility.
For example, berries contain a whole complex of beneficial acids - ascorbic, cinnamon, malic and tartaric. It also contains fructose and glucose, which makes it a good choice for people suffering from some forms of diabetes, who are forced to significantly reduce the list of foods suitable for eating.
In addition, berries contain flavonols - substances with antiseptic properties.
Finally, if you need to increase the number of useful and easily digestible trace elements, such as cobalt, iron, iodine, manganese and calcium, then you should add the berries of this grape to the diet - they contain a large amount of these minerals.
Distribution area
Despite its recent discovery, it is worth noting the popularity of the “brilliant” grape variety. Reviews about it are left by experienced experts and ordinary soda architects.
It was brought out by Russian scientists working in Novocherkassk in 2005. The variety was the result of the crossing of “Victoria” and “original white”. Moreover, the "brilliant" received high marks from experts. The commission, which conducted the tasting of fresh berries, rated 8.9 points - a very good result. Moreover, this particular variety was named one of the most promising for further breeding.
In the shortest possible time, this was confirmed in practice. Today, grapes of this variety are actively grown in different areas of our country, including those in which the plant traditionally does not grow. In addition to the Krasnodar Territory, vineyards appeared in many areas of Central Russia. He took root perfectly in Ukraine and the Poltava region. The variety has shown itself very well in Siberia, which is famous for its rich, depleted soils.
High frost resistance
Giving a description of the “brilliant” grape variety, its high frost resistance should certainly be noted. Indeed, it is precisely this problem that often makes it impossible to grow such a valuable shrub in many regions of our country that have short summers and cold winters. Now this problem is almost completely resolved.
To begin with, the grapes are early-ripening - 90-100 days are enough for it. Therefore, in the southern regions of Russia, crops can be harvested already in late July - early August. But even if the climate is very harsh, the grapes ripen only a week later - by mid-August you can definitely harvest. It is very important that mature brushes can be stored on bushes for a long time without harm to themselves (of course, if protected from pests - from insects to birds).
It can tolerate drought for a long time without needing watering. In particularly arid regions, drip irrigation is excellent at reducing water consumption to a minimum.
But the main advantage for most gardeners remains high frost resistance. The bushes easily tolerate temperatures up to -23 ° C without harm to themselves. During the wintering season it is enough to remove them, roll them up, press them to the ground and cover with polyethylene. Wrap, like other varieties, is optional. Snow, covering the polyethylene with a thick layer, perfectly protects from too low temperatures, providing an easy wintering.
Disease resistance
Bringing out the “brilliant” grapes, experts emphasized not only early ripening and high frost resistance. They also tried to create a variety that has good resistance to various diseases. Admittedly, they succeeded.
The resulting grapes can boast of increased resistance. So, the susceptibility to oidium is 3.5 points, and to mildew - 4 points. At the same time, the variety is completely not susceptible to peeling, and resistance to gray rot is very high.
Only a few common diseases can pose a serious danger to the bush. These are rubella, chlorosis, anthracnose, bacterial cancer and bacteriosis.
Alas, the high sugar content (up to 0.8% of the total weight of berries) leads to the fact that wasps love to feast on juice, causing serious damage to the vineyard. This problem can be solved both by treating brushes with special tools, and by preventively destroying wasp families and nests.
Choose a place to land
Like other crops that do not tolerate extreme cold and draft, “brilliant” grapes are preferably planted on the south side of the house or other buildings in order to protect them from the piercing north wind.
An adult bush needs a lot of space, so it is desirable that there are no trees, shrubs or other obstacles within a radius of 1.5-2 meters from the planting site. Otherwise, problems will arise in the future - additional work will have to be done to clear the site.
In order for the bush to grow quickly and give a good result, the soil must meet certain requirements. It should be light, sandy - it grows quickly to such a root system, providing good nutrition and high productivity. But at the same time, humus and compost are needed so that the bush receives the necessary fertilizing. The optimum ratio of soil to sand is 1: 1.
But the bush does not like high humidity. The root system begins to rot, and the plant may die. So it will be useful to find out the approximate depth of groundwater in a timely manner. If the indicator is less than 2 meters, then you should seriously think about a drainage grid that solves the problem of excess moisture.
Bushes care
Compared to other grape varieties, “brilliant” cannot be called whimsical. But still, if you want to get a rich harvest, you need to take care of the bushes accordingly.
One of the most important is timely feeding. Compost should be added to the soil at least twice a season - shortly after hanging, and also in early to mid-July, shortly before the moment when the brushes will gain size and taste.
Some experts recommend using mulch. Almost any material is suitable - needles, small sawdust, dry grass and even shredded paper. However, it should be used deliberately, stacking no earlier than in mid-June. By this time, even in the cold years, the earth warms up well, and without this the bushes will not be able to develop well, and the harvest will not be rich.
You need to carefully monitor the stepsons. Trimming them is optional, but removing excess leaves should be done so that they do not pull useful substances from the roots onto themselves. Then the brushes will receive a maximum of minerals, which means that the harvest will be rich, and the berries will be especially tasty and healthy.
Main advantages and disadvantages
Now to summarize, briefly talking about the main pros and cons of this variety.
One of the main advantages is the lack of peeling, large brushes and very sweet, tasty berries. They are great for making jams, jellies and jams. After harvesting, the crop is stored for quite some time - on the bushes until the first serious frost, and in a cool room without temperature drops - even for 1-1.5 months.
Strong berries perfectly withstand transportation without harming themselves, which is an important indicator for many summer residents who have to overcome a long way when transporting crops from the dacha to the city.
Finally, for many regions of our country, a good plus is good frost resistance.
Alas, there are also disadvantages. True, they cannot be called critical. The main one is the heterogeneity of the berries in the brush. They can vary not only in size (sometimes 1.5-3 times), but also in color (there are differences from light green to deep pink). However, they are important only in cases where the grape is intended for sale. For home use, they can not be called critical.
Conclusion
This concludes our article. Now you know more about the “brilliant” grapes - the description of the variety, photos and reviews give quite comprehensive data. Therefore, each reader can decide whether to allocate a few square meters on the site in order to grow this variety.