Raspberry variety Samokhval

Samokhval is another new domestic variety that caused a stir in our market. His parents became popular, thanks to simply huge berries, Nizhegorodets and delicious raspberries - Caramel. Despite the high price of planting material, queues of summer residents and gardeners are already lining up for the novelty. And this is not surprising! The colorful characteristics from the originators promise high yields, standard shoots, excellent taste and, most importantly, fruits weighing up to 20 grams. But in practice everything is not always as smooth and bright as in commercials and descriptions on sites. Our hero goes on sale in the spring of 2019. But what to expect from this interesting novelty and whether Samokhval is not over-praised - about this in our article below.

History of creation

This sort of remontant raspberry was created by the Russian breeder and head of the Shkolny Sad kennel, Vladimir Shiblev. The co-author was his son and part-time commercial director of the kennel Ilya Shiblev. In 2019, the Shkolny Sad kennel celebrates its 30th anniversary. It is located in the village of Smirnovo, Nizhny Novgorod region.

Vladimir Shiblev is the author of many varieties of raspberries that have already become popular, in particular Caramel and Nizhegorodets. Interestingly, the origins of some of the nursery's achievements are the Kokinsky varieties. For example, Nizhegorodets was obtained by the method of selective selection of plants obtained from sowing seeds collected just in Kokino. And already directly Samokhval was obtained from the controlled crossing of Nizhegorodets and Karamelka. During the selection, the main drawback of Nizhegorodets was taken into account - his taste. Or rather, its absence. Therefore, the second name of our hero, which has spread among gardeners, is Nizhegorodets-2. On the originators' website in 2017, it was held only under that name, and in 2018 it was renamed. The description of the originators has also changed, towards a significant increase in the characteristics of the taste and size of the fruit.

In the spring of 2019, two more new berry novelties are launched on the market - Raspberry Ridge and Praise. And in 2020, the earliest (according to the originators) domestic remontant, the Little Humpbacked Horse, will appear on the market. The hero of our article is registered in the State Register of Protected Breeding Achievements. Copyright certificate No. 66 893, issued on 08.2018, patent number 9809, valid until 12.2048. The variety is still undergoing state tests.

Description

Samokhval, also known as Nizhegorodets 2, is a remontant raspberry with dessert-flavored and universal berries. The cultivation technique provides for late autumn or early spring mowing of shoots "to zero". The variety ripens after the Little Humpbacked Horse, Raspberry Ridge and Nizhegorodets. Moreover, the difference at the beginning of fruiting from the Raspberry Ridge can be up to 1 month. In the southern regions, the harvest ripens from mid-August, in other areas - from late August / early September. For example, in the conditions of the Moscow region, our hero sings from the second half of September, and in the Nizhny Novgorod region - in its first decade. The variety is distinguished by the amicable ripening of berries - up to 20 fruits are simultaneously colored on 1 stem, and sometimes up to 30 pieces.

Raspberries have strong vigor for growth. Stems are erect, standard type, but with a strongly drooping top, thick and medium in thickness, diameter 1.5-2.0 cm.The height is mainly 130-150 cm.But they can grow up to 1.70-1.80 meters without problems with good agricultural technology, in particular, while ensuring full watering throughout the season. The stems in the bush grow very actively, there will be no problems with replacement shoots. Samokhval produces fewer shoots than the Raspberry Ridge variety, but they are more powerful.

Young shoots are juicy green in color; in the middle of summer they acquire an intense anthocyanin hue. Ripening, they become light brown in color. They are covered with a medium intensity waxy coating and slightly pubescent.A high shoot-forming ability allows you to get a decent harvest already in the year of planting, provided that high-quality seedlings are planted in autumn or early spring. And of course, with a full-fledged, competent agricultural technology, including regular feeding with complex mineral fertilizers. The variety also abundantly produces root shoots (nettles). But this, in addition to an obvious plus when growing, at the same time adds a lot of trouble to the gardener. Regular sanitary cleaning and normalization of shoots in a row are required.

Raspberry shoots are densely spiked at the base, the greater half of the stem is medium spiked. The spines are of medium size and density, with a purple base, curved downward. The laterals are short and medium, elastic, strong, with a small number of spines, slightly pubescent, and may acquire an anthocyanin tint. The leaves are large, oval in shape with a sharp nose. They are deep green in color, whitish underneath, corrugated, straight and slightly curled, slight pubescence. The denticles along the edges are frequent, moderately pointed. Leaves during the season may acquire a lighter, light green hue. Flowering amicable, abundant, flowers are collected in numerous dense clusters. The flowers are medium in size, on average 1.5 cm in diameter, white in color and without a pronounced aroma.

The root system is quite powerful and well-branched. Samokhval is actively spreading far beyond its row, capturing the entire surrounding area. This must be taken into account when choosing a planting distance from other plants, and especially other varieties of raspberries. Otherwise, you cannot avoid a banal re-grading and the growth of two different varieties in one bush.

Fruits are wide, elongated-conical in shape with a blunt rounded nose. Slightly pubescent. The berries are beautiful, aligned, weighty. They are deep red, ruby ​​color with a glossy sheen. When overripe, they can become covered with a whitish coating. The fruits are similar in appearance to the berries of Nizhegorodets. Drupes are uniform, medium and small, tightly linked to each other. The first berries in the samples, under good growing conditions, can reach 15-18 grams and even up to a record 20 grams. Then the fruits become smaller, but the size still remains large. Berries become an average weight of 5.9 grams, the maximum amount is 9-10 grams. The length is 2.5-4.0 cm, they can grow up to 5 cm. Fruits are collected in numerous dense clusters. When collecting, the separation is dry, effortless.

During selection, it was possible, while maintaining the size of Nizhegorodets, to significantly improve the taste. Samokhval's berries have a dessert taste, sweet, with a slight, harmonious sourness and a pronounced raspberry flavor. But in taste they are well inferior to their second parent - Caramel. The pulp is of medium density, juicy, with a good, thick raspberry aroma. The fruits of raspberries contain: sugar 7.2%, acid 1.3%, vitamin C 56.0 mg%. Tasting assessment of fresh berries by experts 4.0-4.2 points out of 5.0 possible.

The fruits of this variety are versatile in use. Suitable for all types of processing (preserves, jams, syrups, juices), as well as for fresh consumption and commercial sale. Berries are suitable for drying and freezing. Transportability and keeping quality are average. The fruits are suitable for short-term storage, preferably chilled, at a temperature of + 2 ° C, as well as for transportation over short distances in a shallow container.

Samokhval has really high yields. Productivity is 4-6 kg from 1 bush. But more complete and objective data, of course, will be in the fall of 2019, and most likely 2020. With industrial cultivation, the yield is 18.0-19.7 tons per hectare. This is when planting with a row spacing of 3 meters and 50 cm in a row between plants. With amateur cultivation or when processing raspberries without the use of large equipment (tractors), it is possible to reduce the row spacing to 2, or even 1.5 meters. In this case, the yield per hectare increases significantly. According to the originators, it can reach up to 30 t / ha.

The variety has good frost resistance; in the presence of a snow cover, the root system does not freeze out at a temperature of -35-40 ° C.For snow retention in rows with raspberries, you can leave the stems uncut for the winter, and in the spring they can already be mowed "to zero". The variety shows high resistance to major diseases and pests of the crop. Normally resistant to drought and heat. But in order to achieve high results in terms of productivity and large-fruitedness, it is simply necessary to regularly provide plants with moisture.

Samokhval responds very positively to regular and full-fledged "feeding". Then he will reveal his full potential in yield and pleasantly surprise with the size of the fruits. Moreover, it is desirable to apply complex mineral fertilizers both along the leaf and under the root. Also very important is such an agrotechnical moment as the mulching of raspberry plantings. This will greatly facilitate the care of plants, simplify the normalization of shoots in rows and prevent excessive root growth from growing. Moreover, both organic mulch and dense black and black and white agrofibre, agrotechnical fabric and even film are suitable. Plants can be planted both after 50 cm and after 0.8-1.0 meters. It is desirable to normalize shoots to 10-12 pieces per meter of running row.

Strengths

• Really high yields for remontant raspberries.
• Possesses high vigor of growth. There will be no problems with reproduction, as well as with the appearance of replacement shoots.
• Slightly spiny stalks, medium-sized spines.
• Unlike their parent, Nizhegorodets, Samokhval's fruits acquired a normal, sweet, raspberry flavor. And also a thick aroma.
• Spectacular, large and very large, beautiful and shiny berries.
• Good adaptation of the variety to different growing conditions. It can be successfully cultivated both in large areas and in small summer cottages.
• Shoots are erect, wind-resistant even in open fields.
• Gardeners will have no problem breeding the novelty. This raspberry actively produces root shoots.
• Resistance to major diseases and pests of crops, as well as normal indicators of drought and heat resistance. Frost resistance at a high level.
• Suitability for cultivation in both open and protected ground (polycarbonate, glass, plastic greenhouses and tunnels).

Weak sides

• Curved, deformed fruits with different-sized drupes often grow.
• Samokhval ripens a month later than the Raspberry Ridge. In regions with an early onset of autumn cold weather, raspberries will not be able to give a significant part of the harvest.
• High price for planting material, despite the high reproduction rate.
• Descriptions vary from originators. Back in 2017, when the advertising campaign had just begun and the variety was called Nizhegorodets-2, the data were more modest. Now in the description, the indicators of both taste and size of berries have increased significantly.
• Although the shoots are erect, their tops are strongly drooping. For the convenience of collection, especially with a narrow aisle, it is desirable to tie the trellis or supports to the wire.
• There is evidence of poor survival rate of seedlings. But this is, in principle, a subjective judgment. Everything may depend on the quality of the planting material, the timing of planting, the frequency of watering and, above all, on the knowledge of the gardener himself.
• The fruits of our hero are medium-dense. This does not mean that they will flow immediately after collection. But for long-distance transportation and long-term storage, they are not suitable. Who does not believe - look at the photo of the raspberry from the originators. In almost all photos, some of the berries have well-crushed drupes. Berries with good transportability, as claimed by the originators, will not have this. Only if all the fruits were harvested overripe.
• Of course - the laws of the market, but in the description of the variety there is a lot of frank advertising and unconfirmed information. For example, berries weighing up to 20 grams.

Samokhval, of course, is worth planting and growing.Perhaps you should wait a bit for the greatly inflated price of planting material to fall. In any case, in the coming years it will be grown throughout the country and there will be enough truthful information about it directly from gardeners.

Author: Maxim Zarechny.