Taifi grape variety

The cultivation of grapes by man has been practiced since ancient times. The first centers of viticulture appeared in the Middle East 6-8 thousand years ago. From this region, the "sun berry" spread both to the West - throughout the Mediterranean, and to the East - to Central Asia. At the same time, an active process of selection and selection of the best varieties of grapevines took place, which led to the emergence of magnificent varieties that have survived to this day through many centuries, and today we can see grapes on our tables identical to those grown in antiquity. Few cultures can boast of having varieties with thousands of years of history.

One of these wonderful, long-growing varieties in Central Asia, is Taifi, which is currently presented in two varieties - pink and white. It got its name from the Arabian port of Taef, from where, in fact, it was brought in during the Arab conquests. VII-VIII centuries.ekov A.D. to the original wine-growing centers of the region - Samarkand and Bukhara. Subsequently, thanks to its high quality, it gained wide popularity and significantly expanded the geography of its distribution. Today, both white and pink Taifi are still quite popular and are grown in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. In Soviet times, attempts were made to cultivate the ancient Asian variety outside its traditional range, however, due to the low frost resistance, the grapes took root only in the Transcaucasus and southern Crimea. Even in the Lower Don region, the vines covered for the winter by soil showed severe damage to the buds, which made fruiting under these conditions extremely unstable and, for the most part, rather scarce. At the same time, if the ripe bunches managed in some seasons to achieve an external resemblance to those grown in their homeland, their taste still remained very mediocre, despite the apparent apparent ripeness.

In addition to very weak cold resistance, Taifi is characterized by other disadvantages, including susceptibility to such harmful fungal diseases as mildew and powdery mildew, as well as affection by spider mites. At the same time, the undoubted advantages of this grape are the excellent taste and presentation of bunches and berries, good suitability for storage and transportation over long distances, the adaptability of plants to such negative features of the Central Asian climate as incinerating heat, regular droughts, soil salinity. In addition, it is also necessary to record the universal use of its remarkable harvest quality as an asset of the variety.

Agrobiological characteristics

Taifi pink (Taifi kizyl, Toifi antimony, Toipi kizyl, Gissori) is characterized by a strong growth of bushes. The crown of a young shoot is weakly colored, has a crimson border and a cobweb-like pubescence. Young leaves are weakly dissected with lobes bent upwards. The shoot is wine red. Fully grown leaves are wavy with raised edges, large, rounded, five-lobed with a strong degree of dissection. The upper notches are deep, closed with an ovoid lumen, or open, lyre-shaped. The lower ones are somewhat shallower in depth, as a rule open, with parallel sides and a rounded or pointed bottom. The petiole notch is open, lyre-shaped, with a sharp bottom. The denticles of the leaf blade are triangular, rather large, with sharp or slightly obtuse apices. The back of the grape leaf is not pubescent, or has a weak bristly pubescence along the veins. It should be borne in mind that the first leaves on the shoot may differ significantly from the rest. They are characterized by: an elongated shape, weak dissection and almost always a closed petiole notch with a narrow slit-like lumen.The flowers of the variety are bisexual, problems with pollination, berry peeling or shedding of flowers in most cases are not observed. Annual growth ripens well (80%). Matured shoots turn brown-red with more intensely colored nodes. In autumn, the foliage turns yellow.

Bunches of grapes grow large and very large in size (on average 27x19 cm), conical or cylindro-conical, with large "wings" on the sides, loose in consistency. The most gigantic clusters weigh more than 6 kg, while their average weight is in the range of 600-700 grams. The stems of the crest are medium in length (3-7 cm), strong, often lignified at the base. The berries are very large, cylindrical or oblong-oval with a beveled tip, and in some cases with a shallow groove at the top. The average grape length is 26-28 mm, diameter 18-20 mm, weight - 6-8 grams. The pulp is dense, oriental-like fleshy-crunchy, with a pleasant refreshing taste. The juice of the variety is colorless, with a sugar content of the order of 17-18 grams / 100 cubic meters. cm, acids - 6-7 grams / cubic dm. The peel is thick, bright red on the inside, dark pink outside with slightly purple tones, covered with dots and medium density with a protective coating of pruin. There are 2-3 seeds in the berry, medium-sized in size. In terms of mass, berry juice makes up 69% of the bunch weight, dense parts of the pulp and skin - 26%, ridges - 3.5% and seeds - 1.5%. Grapes adhere quite tightly to the brush and resist mechanical stress. The pull-off force is about 500 grams and the crushing force is 3.5 kilograms. The tasting characteristic of grapes depends on the place of its growth: the taste of the Central Asian Taifi pink is estimated at 9 points, while the Crimean - only 7.4.

White Taifi (Taifi safet, Ak Taifi, Monty) is characterized by leading varietal characteristics similar to the pink counterpart, with the exception of the color of the berries. In him, they have only a faint pink color on the side facing the sun, while the main part of the surface of the berries remains light green when ripe. Due to the thick white waxy coating, the berries of this variety acquire a color similar to porcelain.

Both varieties are harvested in a wide variety of uses. First of all, it is, of course, consumed fresh. As a table grape, it has an excellent presentation and a wonderful light taste with memorable oriental tones. Excellent portability provides ample opportunities for its implementation. The grapes are also well stored, often until spring, but the ridges wither and the berries begin to crumble. In addition, Taifi is good in a processed form. Excellent preserves, jams, compotes, marinades are prepared from it, dried into high-quality raisins, and even a very light, drinkable, pleasant to taste wine is made. Rarely does a variety have so many uses.

The crop ripens late. At least 160-165 days pass from the beginning of bud opening and until the onset of removable maturity, and the sum of active temperatures is 3100-3200 ° C. In this regard, it is suitable for cultivation only in the warmest regions with long, hot summers, and a large number of sunny days during the growing season. Even in the seemingly warm Crimea, it lacks the heat that is characteristic of the Central Asian republics. The frost resistance of the variety is extremely weak, temperatures of −15 ... −18 ° С are critical for it.

Taifi, like many other oriental grape varieties, has comparatively low fertility. Only one of the four developed shoots turns out to be fruitful, the number of bunches per fruitful shoot is about 0.7, and for a developed one - even 0.1-0.2. It should be noted right away that these parameters are relevant for Crimean vineyards. Central Asian plantations show slightly better performance, which is why the yield in these regions differs significantly.If in Crimea the productivity of a hectare of Taifi is 70-80 centners per hectare, then, grown in a climate more suitable for it, the variety is able to give birth to up to 20 tons of bunches from the same unit of area. Single bushes in Uzbekistan bring 16-20 kilograms of grapes. With a very long warm season, even a second stepchild's harvest can be obtained.

Agrotechnical features

Growing Taifi in Central Asian conditions and in domestic conditions has significant differences in the complexity of care. Often, winegrowers, chasing exoticism at first, become disillusioned with it, although in the regions of the North Caucasus, southern Ukraine and Moldova, under certain conditions, it can grow and bear fruit satisfactorily.

The variety is unpretentious to soil conditions, in its homeland it grows without problems even on salty soils, where other varieties feel oppressed, or even die altogether. When planting, first of all, it is necessary to pay attention to the issues of increasing the sum of active temperatures. It is good if the bushes are placed on the southern slope, and on personal plots in a wall culture on the south side of the house, capital fence or outbuilding. This will protect them from cold northerly winds and, in general, will provide an improvement in the microclimate for thermophilic plants. In the Central Asian republics, there is no such malicious pest of grapes as phylloxera, therefore, the culture is propagated there on their own roots. But in the regions infected by the pest, Taifi is unable to resist it, which is why planting should be carried out with grafted seedlings based on phylloxera-resistant rootstocks. You can also try grafting it on already growing bushes of other varieties.

In its native climate, it is grown with the use of powerful non-covering formations, with the help of which vigorous bushes reveal all their potentialities. There, special high supports are used, on which the plants develop well and give abundant yields. In the North Caucasus and Crimea, grape bushes need mandatory shelter for the winter, which requires their formation according to special non-standard patterns (fan multi-arm or inclined cordon), which facilitate the autumn removal of vines from the trellis for subsequent insulation. In these regions, it is not enough to cover the plants with the ground, since in this case there is also a significant death of the buds in the cold season. It is possible to count on a satisfactory overwintering only if a special heat-insulating layer is arranged, for which improvised organic materials can be used: straw, sawdust, reed mats or dry fallen leaves. A waterproofing layer must be made on top in order to prevent the vine from getting wet with thawed moisture and damping out the eyes.

Adult bushes, due to the low rates of fruitfulness of the shoots, require an increased load during pruning, followed by the removal of sterile vines. Fruit arrows of the variety are left long, cutting off 10-15 eyes. The total load can reach 50-60 buds, however, after the beginning of the growing season of grapes and the debris on the plant retain only 20-25 productive shoots. Despite the good drought resistance of Taifi, it reacts very positively to watering, significantly increasing the size of bunches and berries, and, as a result, in yield. It also responds well to feeding with moderate doses of mineral fertilizers. During the ripening period, the bunches must be clarified, which will allow them to acquire an elegant color, somewhat improve the sugar content, and also serve as the prevention of fungal diseases due to good air exchange in the fruit zone.

The main diseases of grapes will have to be actively combated with chemicals, due to the susceptibility of the variety to them.Treatments against mildew and oidium should be carried out carefully and repeatedly - up to 8-9 sprays are carried out per season. A few weeks before the intended harvest date, the grapes are stopped in strict accordance with the instructions for each specific fungicide, which should indicate the waiting time. Protection against wasps, as a rule, is not required, due to the rather thick skin of the berries, which protects against insects, but birds in the fall can also attempt on a sweet berry, which requires appropriate measures.

In general, in domestic conditions, Taifi can be considered a curiosity rather than a truly productive variety. In the south, he can find his place in amateur plantings, where, with a good location and careful care, he can give good yields. In industrial plantings, this variety is still suitable for the Central Asian climate, rather than ours.