Elsanta strawberry variety

Elsanta is a mid-early non-renovated variety of strawberries (garden strawberries) for dessert purposes. Bred in Holland back in 1975 by crossing Gorella and Holiday. In Russia, specialists from the North Caucasian Federal Scientific Center for Horticulture, Viticulture, Winemaking began to deal with the official distribution of the "novelty". Since 2003, state trials of the variety began at variety sites, and in 2007 it was included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements of the Russian Federation. Zoned in three regions of the country: Volgo-Vyatka, North Caucasian, West Siberian. Elsanta is considered the benchmark among all existing strawberry varieties, and often it is with him that other varieties are compared.

Medium-sized plant, erect, abundantly leafy. The mustache is thick, abundant mustache. The leaves are large, concave, medium-silvery and medium-wrinkled, with good pubescence, green in color. The denticles of the edges of the leaf plate are wide, sharp. The middle lobe of the leaf is rounded. The flowers are medium in size, with a corolla, bisexual. The inflorescence is semi-sprawling, consists of many flowers. Peduncles of medium length, rather thick, strong, located at the level of the leaves. Elsanta forms a very large number of peduncles. Strawberry stalks are thick, medium-sized. Sepals are simple, of medium length, arranged horizontally.

The berries of the variety are of medium size. Their shape is correct, rounded-conical, without a neck, with an average calyx. The skin is bright red with a characteristic glossy sheen. Achenes are numerous, yellowish in color, shallowly immersed in the pulp, rather even superficially. The pulp is red, juicy, rather dense, but not tough, there is also no crunch, which is often not liked by strawberry lovers. The berries have a pleasant strawberry aroma. Their taste is very sweet, but there is also a pronounced sourness. The tasters rated the taste of Elsanta at 4.7 points on a five-point scale. The pulp contains: 7.2% sugar, 0.78% acid, 75.3% vitamin C. The taste of our heroine is considered to be the standard, it ideally combines sweetness and bright notes of sourness.

The fruits perfectly tolerate transportation, and are also able to be stored for about 3 days without loss of marketability and taste. They are versatile in use, great fresh, and suitable for canning. Suitable for freezing, when defrosting they will not lose their shape and will not turn into a homogeneous mass. Elsanta is ideal for growing for the sale of berries, as they have a very attractive appearance, easily detach from the stem without damage, and remain dry and very beautiful.

The yield of the variety cannot boast of ultra-high rates, like some other popular varieties, but the plants are capable of producing stable yields without requiring particularly high-quality agricultural technology. According to the results of state tests, the yield was 54.7−73.4 c / ha. And these indicators can in no way be called low, but at present they are no longer high either. Elsanta is characterized by stable fruiting, the berries do not shrink after the first harvest, but their average weight is small - about 13.1 grams. It should still be said that one plant produces quite a lot of fruits, which ensures good yield. Visually, the strawberry plantation looks very nice during the ripening period - the bushes are covered with a lot of red berries.

Ripening occurs in a short time, which is very convenient when growing on a large scale - the collection does not stretch over several stages. Thus, our heroine is not for nothing considered the standard among commercial varieties.Early amicable ripening, excellent transportability of berries and undemanding plants to care - is this not the main thing for those who grow strawberries for sale? However, the variety has one big drawback in commercial terms - abundant podification. The number of mustaches will have to be very carefully monitored, since they take on most of the food, which is why the size of the berries is significantly reduced. Thus, it is necessary to spend more time and labor on rationing the number of mustaches, which is undoubtedly a drawback of Elsanta as a commercial variety, although for some it can be a plus - our heroine reproduces well, and there will be a very large number of seedlings for sale.

Strawberries are relatively undemanding to soils, but the more fertile they are, the better, of course. The variety is suitable for growing in open ground in the regions of Polesye, Forest-steppe and the Central zone of the Russian Federation. He also shows himself well in greenhouses, moreover, the yield can increase significantly. It should be noted right away that the variety is not highly winter-hardy and requires good shelter in winter, and also does not tolerate drought very well. Plants react very negatively to sudden changes in temperature. In a word, in regions that are more suitable for the climate, our heroine is able to show much better results, but in areas that are not particularly suitable for her, she will hardly take root. Elsanta is highly resistant to viral and fungal diseases, verticillium wilt and strawberry mite. Powdery mildew and wilt tend to be affected no more often than many other varieties.

In agricultural technology, our heroine is quite simple. Moreover, we can say that she does not like frills. But first things first.

• Planting is carried out according to the scheme of 30 × 30 cm with a two-lane method, with a bush method a little wider - 40 cm between plants, with a distance of 25-30 cm in a row.
• Strawberries are moisture-loving, frequent abundant watering significantly increases productivity and has a beneficial effect on plant health. It tolerates drought very poorly, therefore it is very important not to allow the soil to dry out too much. As for the heat, opinions differ here: some plants calmly react to it, others begin to wither. It is still better to take care of the shading of the plantings and timely watering. A very good solution, by the way, is to install a drip irrigation system.
• Elsanta does not like excessive amounts of fertilizers. A double feeding will be enough - in spring and autumn. This point is an undoubted advantage of the variety - often popular high-yielding varieties require abundant feeding, but this does not always lead to success. Our heroine consistently gives good yields, despite her modest requirements for the nutrient and mineral composition of the soil.

It is worth noting one nuance that often scares gardeners. In the first year after planting, the plants give a rather meager harvest, and only starting from the second year of use, strawberries "gain momentum", reaching the peak of fruiting in the third year. Therefore, if the "novelty" on your site in the first year of its life does not please you with a rich harvest, do not rush to conclusions. This variety, along with others, looks very advantageous in the garden - it is strewn with a huge number of berries, while it requires only very little attention in return. Most importantly, do not forget to rejuvenate the plantation in a timely manner. This event should be carried out approximately every 4-5 years, and even after 3 years, if the use was intensive. If you neglect this technique, the yield will noticeably decrease, and the taste of the berries will greatly deteriorate, it will become sour.

Let's summarize a little without listing all the advantages and disadvantages that have already been mentioned above.Elsanta is not in vain considered a stable "workhorse" capable of providing berries to both the owner of a small backyard and a farmer with production areas. Despite its "age", the variety remains very popular and in demand among both ordinary gardeners and large agricultural complexes, not only in Russia, but also far beyond its borders. Is this not an indicator! Among the huge variety of strawberry varieties that often surpass our heroine in their performance, Elsanta still remains at the top of the list of the best.