Grapes are a favorite treat for children and adults. Its fruits contain a large amount of nutrients and nutrients. Today there are a huge number of varieties and hybrids, one of which is Lancelot grapes. Our article is devoted to its description, characterization of the variety.
How did grapes appear in Russia?
About grapes was already known in 3-4 millennium BC. Since this is a southern culture, it was cultivated in regions characterized by a mild climate with high temperatures and a long warm period. In Russia, grapes began to grow from the 17th century, when for the first time in the Izmaylovo suburban Moscow planted a vine in the open.
Already in the 18th century , Kremlin gardens were planted with grapes . Here the plant was a cover crop. At that time, scientific work to eliminate the problems associated with the cultivation of grapes was not conducted. Therefore, the bushes often froze, they had to be replaced.
The beginning of a new breakthrough in viticulture was laid by Michurin. Today, our contemporary breeders have bred many varieties and hybrids of culture, including Lancelot grapes, for cultivation in various regions of Russia. In warm areas, it is grown in the open.
The history of the creation of Lancelot grapes
This hybrid owes its appearance to breeders of Novocherkassk. They crossed the grade Gift of Zaporozhye with hybrid varieties. According to the creators, Lancelot will comfortably grow in Ukraine and the Caucasus, in the Crimea and the Republic of Moldova, in the central regions of our country right up to the Urals and Siberia.
Lancelot grapes: variety description
This hybrid definitely attracts attention: the bush is tall. the berries are large. Lancelot grapes are a table form of culture with an early to medium ripening period. The first fruits appear after about four months. The shoots are the vine. It is flexible and powerful. The leaves of grapes of this variety are medium in size and rich in green.
A seed planted in the ground grows into a small shoot with leaves in the bosom of which there is a kidney. From it the next year grows a strong, developed vine with buds. Each of them also shoots, but only they are very weak, and completely freeze in the fall. From them, in the end, a shortened escape with a single kidney remains. A powerful elongated shoot grows from it, and the cycle repeats again. Flowers and fruits appear on elongated vines, but not on shortened vines.
Flower description
The flowers are small in size and bisexual type of structure. Lancelot grapes, a photo of which are presented in the article, have inflorescences in the form of a panicle. The bunch is broad-conical. Her stalk is attached to the shoot of the ridge, which ends with pads with berries.
Grapes of this variety are a culture with large and very dense clusters. Their weight reaches 900-1200 grams, and the mass of individual brushes is three kilograms.
Description of berries
Lancelot - grapes (the description of the fruit will not convey, unfortunately, taste characteristics), which has oval berries. Their length is thirty-one millimeters and the width is twenty-two. Berries are gathered in dense clusters. Their outer surface is covered with a wax coating. It protects berries from the effects of adverse environmental conditions. This crop variety has berries with juicy fleshy flesh.
The palatability of the Lancelot grape variety is excellent. They harmoniously combine notes of honey and citrus fruits. Fully ripened berries have a yellowish tint. The mass of fruits reaches twelve to fourteen grams. Berries are not afraid of rains. They are not subject to cracking and peeling. They are stored on bushes for a long time, their taste qualities do not change.
Beneficial features
The benefits of grapes are to contain a large number of vitamins, minerals, soluble acids and other valuable substances. It is impossible to list all the properties that benefit health, so we will name some of them:
- The composition of the fruit contains resveratrol, which is an effective fight against lung diseases and asthma.
- The peel of the fruits and seeds contains substances that contribute to the elimination of diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
- Organic acids help prevent constipation.
- Grape juice contains natural antioxidants that energize the body.
- Linoleic acid and other substances contribute to the removal of fluid from the body, facilitating the functioning of the kidneys.
- Fruits have a strong anti-cancer property.
- Antioxidants in grapes can prevent visual impairment.
- Due to the content of trace elements, bone strength increases and immunity increases.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Lancelot grapes love to grow winegrowers, as it has many advantages:
- Resistant to diseases such as oidium and mildew. The grape does not hit the leafworm.
- It has high frost resistance. Fruit buds withstand frosts up to twenty-four degrees below zero.
- It has a stable, high yield of fruits.
- It has high palatability and beneficial properties.
- Large brushes are easily removed from the bush.
- Berries remain on the plant for a long time and do not deteriorate. Their palatability does not change.
- The fruits are stored for a long time in a cool room.
- Berries are highly transportable.
The disadvantages are low resistance to late spring frosts and sunburn of berries. To prevent this, do not get rid of the leaves obscuring the clusters.
Why do pruning vines?
Thanks to pruning, the alternation of shoots of different lengths is imperceptible. The Lancelot grape variety will bestow abundant flowering and high fruiting for its care. This is facilitated by the good ripening of flower stalks, that is, vines, over the entire length. Pruning is done for six to eight eyes, because the first two do not bear fruit. For better fruiting, thirty to thirty-five eyes are left on the bush.
Pruning young plants
Bushes of three years of age are subject to pruning only in spring, since they do not yet bear fruit. Grapes are pruned according to a special scheme.
- If the annual bush has two shoots, it is cut one or two centimeters higher than the second bud, and if one sprout is cut into four eyes. So a bush is laid in four shoots.
- The bush of two years of age is cut into two eyes, and the grown long shoots (vines) take shelter for the winter.
- When pruning a bush of three years old, immediately lay branches on which the fruits will grow. For this, only two vines are left, the rest are removed. The lowest shoot is cut into two eyes, and the upper one is so long that it leaves seven to fifteen buds. Adult Lancelot grapes, reviews of which are positive, are cut into six to eight buds, since the first two do not bear fruit. Thirty to thirty-five eyes are left on the bush.
Why care for grapes?
As soon as the plant reaches the second year of life, it is necessary to regulate the growth of the vines, form a bush, water and feed the grapes. If all the care measures are taken in a timely manner, a healthy vine will develop, with which a good harvest can be harvested in the future. Care includes the following:
- Breaking off shoots. The first procedure should be carried out in the spring, when inflorescences and antennae appear. Weak shoots and shoots are subject to removal. After the berries are tied, the procedure must be repeated.
- Pinching the shoots. Thanks to this technique, their growth is restrained, and the flow of nutrients is redirected to the inflorescences. Pinching should be carried out a few days before flowering. Twigs twenty to twenty-five centimeters long are shortened into two leaves.
- Stepsoning . During the growing season, stepsons are removed from the annual shoots. This is necessary for thinning the bushes and maintaining nutrition in the supporting shoots. Stepsons are not removed entirely, but only slightly nipped at the level of the second sheet.
- Chasing. When using this technique, the vine is better prepared for the winter. This event falls on August-month, when the shoots cease to grow. This method of grape care consists in pruning the top of the shoots. About forty centimeters are cut off with six to eight sheets.
- Pruning grapes. If this is not done, the vine will grow greatly. The berries will be small. Grape pruning occurs at the end of autumn, before the onset of frost, and spring, before buds open. In the fall, pruning shoots (vines) are trimmed, and in the spring - sanitary pruning. It consists in the removal of damaged and rotted parts of fruiting shoots.