Raspberry variety Yellow giant

The yellow giant is one of the high-quality, time-tested domestic raspberry varieties, and if you count only the yellow-fruited varieties, then, undoubtedly, one of the best. It was received in the already relatively distant 1979 at the All-Russian Institute of Selection and Technology for Horticulture and Nursery (VSTISP). Its author is a well-known Russian scientist who has devoted a significant part of his creative and research energy to the selection of raspberries, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Professor, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation Viktor Valerianovich Kichina. In the process of hybridization, two domestic varieties were used - Maroseyka and Ivanovskaya. In 1986, a selection of a promising seedling was made, which was assigned the working code K36, and since 1991, the novelty has been actively propagated under its current name. After 10 years, the variety entered the state test, having successfully completed which in 2008 it was officially included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements of the Russian Federation, and allowed for industrial cultivation in the North-West region, which includes Leningrad, Novgorod, Kaliningrad, Yaroslavl, Vologda, Tver, Kostroma and Pskov regions. Amateurs, however, did not limit themselves to these geographical frameworks, having spread the variety throughout our country and in many neighboring countries.

The main advantages of the Yellow Giant over its competitors are its unusual color, large fruit size, good taste and presentation of the berry, good yield and increased resistance to pests and major diseases. At the same time, our hero is not devoid of shortcomings, which, first of all, include the satisfactory winter hardiness of the shoots, which, because of this, require bending down to the ground in autumn for subsequent shelter with snow in frost-prone regions. In addition, the harvested berries turn out to be quite tender, and therefore it is necessary to move them over any considerable distances with great care.

By the way of fruiting, the variety belongs to the group of semi-repaired, in which the main crop grows, like traditional raspberries, on two-year-old stems, however, flowers and ovaries can also form at the end of summer on the replacement shoots, which even have time to ripen in the southern regions with a long and warm in the fall.

Agrobiological characteristics

Bushes usually show an average strength of their growth, reaching a height of about one and a half meters, but with a good level of agricultural technology, vegetative activity can increase significantly. In appearance, the plants look quite powerful and slightly spreading, but, despite this, they need to be tied to supports or trellises, without which there is a risk of damaging the stems in inclement weather, as well as leaning to the ground under the weight of the crop. Replacement shoots in the Yellow Giant are formed in moderate quantities, up to 8-10 per bush. They have significant strength and resilience, while noticeably tapering, due to which their thickness from base to top varies from high to medium. The internodes of the raspberry stems are short. The surface of young shoots has a dirty brown color, covered with a layer of felt-type pubescence and a waxy bloom of medium intensity. The ripe stem turns gray, and retains this color for the second year after its appearance. Thorns grow small, greenish or uncolored, but rather numerous and evenly distributed along the entire length of the shoots. However, this fact does not entail any special problems and inconveniences in the process of cultivating and caring for the bushes of this variety. The leaves are formed by complex, consisting of three or five single leaflets, united by petioles of moderate length and greenish color without signs of anthocyanin pigmentation.The leaf blades are oval in shape with a pointed end, medium to large size, well-pronounced wrinkling and dark green color. The leaf profile is noticeably curled. Moderately sharp "crenate" serration is observed along the perimeter. Fruit branches develop moderately long, thickened, due to which they demonstrate increased strength, have up to 4 orders of branching and bear up to two dozen ovaries. Root shoots are developing quite actively, each year each raspberry bush has up to 5-7 offspring. This allows us to reproduce our hero relatively quickly, using our own planting material, well, and in the absence of such a need, we will have to work hard to remove the growth that clogs the aisles of the raspberry tree and leads to its spreading in breadth.

During flowering, the bushes of the Yellow Giant acquire a very decorative appearance due to the numerous large flowers with long sepals. In terms of ripening, the variety belongs to the medium early. In the middle zone of our country, you can begin to feast on the first berries in the first decade of July, and the mass harvests end by the beginning of August. If your site is located in the southern regions with a relatively high supply of heat, then you can well expect to receive an additional harvest at the beginning of autumn at the tops of well-developed annual shoots. At the same time, it will be the higher, the longer the frost-free period in a given region is. In general, the productivity of our hero is assessed as high or very high. For the season, each plant is capable of producing up to 3-4 kg of raspberries from a bush. In addition, the variety responds very well to an increase in the level of agricultural technology and careful self-care, responding to this with a noticeable increase in an already decent yield. In industrial plantings on large areas, it is not uncommon to achieve a result of 15-20 tons of yield per hectare. The collection of berries is not associated with special difficulties due to their easy separation from the fruit, but you should not let the raspberries overripe, because in this case, its shedding may be observed.

By the size of ripe fruits, the variety lives up to its name, being one of the largest among the yellow-colored varieties. The average weight of the berry ranges from 4-8 grams, and the most outstanding ones can exceed the weight and 10 grams. In appearance, they have a slightly round or blunt-conical shape and a light yellow matte color due to the light waxy coating on the surface. The drupes are moderately large, well aligned, but their adhesion to each other is usually low, and therefore the fruits require careful handling, otherwise they simply fall apart into fragments. The pulp is tender, juicy and very sweet, with a pleasant, typically raspberry aroma. The sugar acid index, which is one of the objective gastronomic indicators, is very high for the Yellow Giant, reaching up to 9 units. In percentage terms, the sum of sugars in berry juice is on average 10-11%, titrated acids - 1.1-1.2%. The content of vitamin C is about 15-18 mg / 100 g of raspberries. The seeds are very few in number and, due to their small size, are practically not felt when eaten. The tasting score shown during the state variety test is not too high - 3.4 points, however, according to many gardeners, it is greatly underestimated, but in fact the taste of this variety is much higher.

The harvested crop is used mainly fresh, because it is not particularly suitable for processing into various types of preservation, in particular preserves and jams. Freezing and drying in our case are also inapplicable due to the juiciness and tenderness of the berries.With some success, the Yellow Giant can be harvested for the winter in the form of compotes. With regard to direct use in food, there are also a number of nuances. First of all, it is worth considering the low transportability of the fruits of this variety, which is why long-distance transportation can lead to the loss of the presentation. This is especially true for farmers who cultivate crops for sale, and for whom the visual appeal of raspberries on the counter is one of the most important parameters. For this reason, the handling of berries intended for sale should be especially careful, collection should be carried out in small containers, in the morning or evening hours, avoiding the heat of the day.

Agrotechnical features

From an economic point of view, plants make an ambiguous impression. On the one hand, they show comparative unpretentiousness, plasticity and adaptability to various climatic conditions, and on the other, they still require protection from adverse environmental factors, in particular, from severe frosts, to which the shoots are not highly resistant. However, in general, positive properties prevail over negative ones. Among the first, among other things, it is necessary to include the high resistance of raspberry bushes to common diseases and pests, which makes it possible to cultivate plants with minimal chemical treatments against pathogens, and ultimately obtain an environmentally friendly harvest. The drought resistance and heat resistance of the Yellow Giant are average, and therefore they cannot be attributed to obvious advantages or disadvantages.

When placed, the variety prefers rather humid gentle slopes of eastern or western exposure, and in the most sultry regions, northern directions are also acceptable. It is imperative to provide for the presence of protection from blowing winds that interfere with the accumulation of snow in winter, which is necessary to prevent frost damage to the bushes. Raspberries do not tolerate excessive soil moisture and swampiness, as well as the occurrence of groundwater close to the soil surface, provoking rotting of the root system.

Planting is carried out in early spring or autumn after leaf fall in well-cultivated land, in which there are no rhizomes of malicious perennial weeds. The distance between the rows should be at least 1.5 meters, and between plants in a row about 70-100 cm.

During the growing season of the Yellow Giant, the aisles are weeded, watered and fed raspberries if necessary, tied up the shoots, harvested, after which the two-year-old stems that have borne fruit are immediately removed from the variety.