Strawberry variety Festivalnaya
Festivalnaya is a medium-ripening strawberry variety. Was brought to the Pavlovskaya experimental station of the GNU GNTs RF VIR, the author is Yu. K. Katinskaya. The Abundant and Premier varieties were crossed to create. Since 1958, the resulting plant has undergone state tests in various regions. In 1965, 8 years after filing an application for admission, our heroine was included in the state register of breeding achievements of the Russian Federation. Strawberries are approved for cultivation in the following regions of the country: North, North-West, Volgo-Vyatka, North Caucasus, Central black earth, Central, Middle Volga, Nizhnevolzhsky, West Siberian, Ural and East Siberian regions. Despite its "age", the variety remains one of the most popular in summer cottages and large farms.
The plant is tall, medium spreading, but compact. Leaves are medium in size, with well-pronounced venation; a slight bluish bloom is visible on the underside of the leaf blade. The plant foliage is quite strong. Peduncles are thick, at or below the level of leaves. The berries are easy to spot, making harvesting easier. The peduncles themselves are quite strong, not prone to lodging under the weight of the fruit. Inflorescences are slightly spreading, very compact, neat. Flowering is quite abundant. The plant forms bisexual flowers, therefore it does not need additional pollination. The variety forms a lot of whiskers, which can be attributed to the disadvantages, however, for those who grow strawberries for the purpose of reproduction and sale of seedlings, this feature can be a plus.
Festivalnaya's berries are large, oval, slightly oblong, with a short, wide neck. The skin is bright red, with a noticeable glossy sheen. Achenes are colored dark red, very weakly impressed into the pulp, rather even superficially. The berries are easily separated from the stalk, without being damaged, after collection they remain dry and neat. The pulp is red, quite firm, but very tender and very juicy. The berries have an excellent dessert taste, very sweet, but at the same time with a slight sourness. Thus, the taste can be described as refreshing and not cloying. The experts rated them at 4.7 points on a five-point scale. Over the long years of its existence, this variety has managed to earn a huge number of the most positive reviews about the taste of its berries, which, moreover, have a wonderful aroma. The strawberry pulp contains 7% sugar, approximately 1.4% acid, up to 90 mg of vitamin C.
Due to the rather dense structure of the pulp, the fruits of Festivalnaya perfectly tolerate transportation even over rather long distances, while they do not lose their excellent presentation. In addition, the berries are great for canning as a whole; when cooked, they do not turn into "porridge". And they are excellent for storage in frozen form - when defrosting, they will not lose their shape. Thus, the berries are versatile in use. However, the following should be noted. Some gardeners do not like the density of the pulp, they want it to be softer. Well, as they say, tastes differ.
During the first harvest, the fruits have an average weight of 35-50 grams, the maximum is up to 70 grams, but sometimes specimens grow even more. In subsequent harvests, the mass of strawberries gradually decreases, reaching 10 grams and possibly even less. Some sources call Festivalnaya a remontant variety, but this is not so. It is distinguished by a prolonged fruiting period, but this does not mean that the plants are able to grow two full-fledged crops. In our heroine, during the fruiting season, the size and weight of the berries gradually decrease, in contrast to the remontant varieties, which can give more than one harvest in one year, while not reducing the quality and quantity of fruits.It should still be said that although the berries become smaller by the end of the season, their taste still remains at their best.
This strawberry is considered to be a high-yielding strawberry due in large part to its extended fruiting period. With good care and adequate nutrition, one plant can produce about 1 kg of berries per season. You can start the first harvest around mid-June. The peak yield occurs in July, then the plants gradually "slow down", but the berries can be obtained until the end of September, with proper care.
By the way, some summer residents of the Urals in favorable seasons feast on Festivalnaya berries even until the end of October, and this is when growing crops in the open field! At the same time, no supernatural efforts are required - just a good shelter is enough to protect the plants from cold snaps, and, of course, provide the strawberries with good nutrition. Sometimes in the Sverdlovsk region, on personal plots, you can see a very pleasant picture - the first snow has already fallen, and in the high beds under the covering material, the last berries are still ripening. Of course, we do not advise you to "grind" the fruits of the plants until the very winter, this will have a bad effect on their health and the quality of further fruiting, besides, the variety is not remontant, so you should not expect abundant yield of large berries with very intensive use from it.
Plants are distinguished by good frost resistance, due to which they are successfully cultivated in regions with a harsh climate, especially in the Urals and Siberia. Even in the coldest winters, Festivalnaya, unlike many other varieties, survives and continues to delight the gardener with good harvests. According to many reviews, our heroine is really very "tenacious", able to withstand the most difficult weather conditions.
But, against the background of such resilience, it also has serious drawbacks. Firstly, it is a weak resistance to fungal diseases, in particular to powdery mildew, as well as to verticillary wilting. Many summer residents noticed that these diseases are capable of “mowing down” the entire strawberry plantation, if the necessary measures are not taken in time. Secondly, the variety is very vulnerable to mite infestation, sometimes up to the complete cessation of fruiting and plant death. Thirdly, the berries are often baked in the sun, especially if there are a lot of them and they do not fit under the leaves. By the way, Festivalnaya can be planted in shaded areas, it does not require a lot of sunlight. But in this case, it is important to carefully monitor the moisture content of the soil so that powdery mildew does not overcome the planting.
Plant care is standard. However, more attention should be paid to protecting plantings from diseases and pests. It is also important to regularly water and feed strawberries, weed weeds. All these activities will have a very positive effect on the health and productivity of plants. By the way, about watering - our heroine is hygrophilous, she shows the best yield on well-moistened soil.
One of the most important aspects of agricultural technology is the removal of the mustache. If you are growing strawberries for the purpose of obtaining berries for consumption, you should pay special attention to this event. Our heroine is prone to the formation of a large number of mustaches, which "take away" all the food. Thus, if you want to get a good harvest of large berries, it is extremely important to get rid of the whiskers in a timely manner. If you want to propagate plants or get seedlings for sale, this feature of the variety only suits you.
In conclusion, I would like to say that, despite some shortcomings, Festivalnaya has been one of the most popular varieties of strawberries in Russia for many years.And this is not without reason, because it is high-yielding, unpretentious, and besides, it feels great in a wide variety of climatic conditions. Its frost resistance deserves special attention, because not all modern popular varieties, along with their high yield rates, can boast of the ability to endure the harsh winters of the northern regions. And, of course, the berries of our heroine have an excellent taste, which can often become the main argument when choosing a variety for growing. In a word, if you need a time-tested, reliable strawberry that can delight with the harvest with minimal care, then Festivalnaya is a very good option! Indeed, even despite the huge variety of "new products" on the market, our heroine still remains a constant and almost obligatory inhabitant of many household plots.
