Raspberry Variety Runaway

A yellow-fruited raspberry called Beglyanka recently earned the right to be called a variety and was officially entered into the State Register of Breeding Achievements of the Russian Federation only in 2009, after eight years of strict variety testing. However, long before that, it fell in love with many amateur gardeners for its early maturity, breeding activity, winter hardiness, weak thorniness and unusual golden apricot color of berries when fully ripe.

The author of this pictorial form is the well-known Russian scientist, world-renowned cultural specialist, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation Ivan Vasilyevich Kazakov. He worked for many years, and then headed the Kokinsky stronghold of the All-Russian Selection and Technological Institute of Horticulture and Nursery (VSTISP), where he managed to achieve excellent results, presenting the world with dozens of amazing varieties of raspberries, which together made up the "golden series of Kazakov varieties." Our heroine was one of the last to be included in this list.

Currently, it continues to be popular more among amateurs than professional manufacturers. The latter lacks high yields and transportability in the variety, and, in principle, yellow-fruited varieties are less interesting to farmers in our country than traditional red ones. At the same time, the variety is officially approved for industrial cultivation and is zoned in the Central region of the Russian Federation, which includes Moscow, Vladimir, Smolensk, Ryazan, Tula, Ivanovo, Kaluga and Bryansk regions. At the same time, the geography of amateur cultivation is much wider.

Agrobiological properties

The bushes have an average vigor of growth, not exceeding one and a half meters in height. Replacement shoots are formed in significant numbers - usually 7-9 pieces, forming sprawling plants in appearance. In the first year of life, the stems are not pubescent, painted in a light green color and covered with a light layer of waxy bloom. Spines on them are concentrated at the base, they are very short, straight, not too hard, greenish in color. Thanks to this feature, bushes care and harvesting are greatly simplified. By the second year of life, the shoots acquire a gray color, the base of the thorns becomes gray-brown, however, rare and small spurs do not cause much interference when working on a raspberry tree. Composite leaves are three- or five-leafed, usually do not exceed medium size and are located on a moderate length of the petiole. The leaf blades are typically green in color and strongly wrinkled in texture; they are oval in shape with a pointed end, no pubescence on them, and the denticles along the perimeter are characterized as moderately sharp. Fruit twigs are formed on two-year-old stems, closer to their apex. Outwardly, the laterals are rather compact, branched, with a smooth surface and a weak bloom of wax. On each of them, no more than a dozen berries are formed. A distinctive feature of the Beglyanka is a very high activity of the formation of root shoots, as a result of which it quickly occupies the entire area allotted to it, and strives to "escape" beyond its limits. Maintaining the cleanliness of row spacings in such a raspberry patch is extremely difficult, but problems with plant reproduction will never arise.

In spring, the bushes quickly awaken from winter dormancy, and already in May - early June they begin to bloom actively. The size of their flowers is not too large, up to one centimeter in diameter, the color of the petals is white, and the stamens are dark. Plants during this period exude a faint honey aroma. A month later, in July, ripe berries appear, while ripening occurs quite amicably, and therefore, tedious multiple harvests will not be required. The berries are easily separated from the fruit, which also facilitates harvesting, but the tendency to self-shedding was not noticed for our heroine.The gross harvest from each bush, provided that it is well cared for, reaches 2 kilograms, and in production conditions on large areas it ranges from 70-80 centners / ha. These results, of course, cannot be called outstanding, however, taking into account the aesthetic splendor of the fruits, the productivity of the Runaway can be considered very decent.

The collected raspberries are characterized by a rounded-conical shape of berries, their average size and weight reaching 2.5-3 grams, and most importantly - a stunningly appetizing golden apricot color, rarely found among the entire variety of varieties of this culture. At the same time, the drupes are rather large, but not too tightly connected to each other, which is why even a slight mechanical effect is enough for the berries to crumble into pieces. This circumstance requires very careful handling during cleaning. The fruit pulp is also quite tender, juicy, pleasantly refreshing sweet and sour taste, with an intense aroma typical of raspberries. Berries from those plants that are abundantly provided with sunlight during cultivation have high gastronomic parameters. If the bush is planted in the shade, then most likely you will have to be content with the mediocre, watery and insipid taste of its fruits. On average, their sugar content is about 7-7.5%, titratable acidity is 1.5-1.6%, and the content of vitamin C is about 20 mg per 100 g of raspberries. The seeds are small and hardly noticeable when eating. The tasting score shown during the state variety test is 3.5 points.

The harvest of the Runaway is used mainly fresh. Due to its pleasant appearance, this variety could be successful in commercial cultivation and sale on the market, however, low transportability indicators discourage farmers from it, whose main goal is to obtain a berry that can be transported over long distances without losing its presentation. So our heroine gets the lot of cultivation at an amateur level, in which suitability for transportation goes into the background, and the taste, aroma and attractiveness of the fruit come to the fore. Surplus crops are successfully processed here into aromatic compotes, juices and fruit drinks, rich in vitamins and microelements.

In the process of cultivation, the variety shows quite decent unpretentiousness and the ability to withstand unfavorable environmental factors. First of all, it should be noted its high frost resistance, which allows it to endure winters without damage in the rather northern regions of our country. In the most severe conditions, bending the shoots to the ground can additionally help, so that they are covered with a snow blanket. Heat and drought resistance of Beglyanka is at the standard level, which allows the bushes to tolerate short periods of moisture deficiency in the soil and high air temperature without any special consequences. Plants are also undemanding to a high level of fertility, as well as to a special mechanical composition of the soil. All this in a complex allows our heroine to demonstrate a high level of plasticity and the ability to adapt to a wide variety of cultivation conditions. It shows mixed resistance to pests and diseases. In particular, plants have sufficient resistance to fungal diseases, but are susceptible to spider mites and mycoplasma overgrowth. Based on this, a strategy for their protection is being built.

Agrotechnical measures

They approach the choice of a place for planting raspberries with all responsibility, because mistakes made at this stage will emerge over the next 7-10 years, and can lead to the most serious consequences, up to the death of plants in winter.In particular, it is imperative to make sure that the site is protected from strong winds blowing snow from it in the cold season, and thereby contributing to freezing of the bushes. In addition, you should pay attention to the terrain. If we are talking about planting on slopes, then their exposure should be assessed in terms of moisture and heat supply. In arid and sultry regions, the northern directions of the slopes are better suited for cultivation, and vice versa - in wet and cool conditions, warmer exposures are chosen.

Planting is carried out in early spring or autumn, after the foliage has fallen, in pre-prepared pits, abundantly filled with mineral and organic fertilizers. The layout can be bunch or tape. In the first case, a distance of 50-70 cm is left between the plants, and in the second 30-40 cm.In both options, the row spacing is 1.6-1.8 m.

Vegetable raspberries are taken care of according to the technology developed for traditional non-repaired varieties. Particular attention should be paid to maintaining cleanliness in the aisles, because the rapid growth of root offspring of the Beglyanka is capable of turning a neat at first raspberry plant into an impassable meadow in a few years.