Tukay grape variety

The dream of many domestic grape breeders has always been and remains the breeding of varieties and hybrids suitable for cultivation in the harsh climatic regions of central Russia, Siberia and the Far East. Some researchers succeeded to a certain extent, and as a result of their work, new forms with a very short growing season or high frost resistance were born, but the quality of their fruits left much to be desired. Few varieties for northern viticulture can today boast high ratings for their gastronomic characteristics and appearance. One of these forms is the Tukai variety, which has all the necessary characteristics to be recognized as a quality northern grape.

The history of the appearance of the form is rather confusing. According to some sources, it was received by Alexander Ivanovich Potapenko at the time when he worked at the Novocherkassk Research Institute of Viticulture and Winemaking. Other sources attribute the authorship to an Altai breeder - Rostislav Fedorovich Sharov from the Biysk Center of Siberian Viticulture. And the fact that our hero is absent in the ampelographic collections of breeding institutions, but is distributed only in the areas of amateur winegrowers, looks quite strange.

There is no such confusion regarding the parental couple from which Tukai descended. By all accounts, the cross was made with the participation of the old Hungarian variety Zhemchug Saba and the Central Asian Yakdon. Both of them belong to the classic European-Asian species Vitis vinifera, due to which their brainchild fully meets the high standards of product quality, but at the same time has such a short growing season that it bears fruit without problems in Siberia. Many growers in non-traditional regions of cultivation of culture deservedly give our hero the palm in taste and aroma of fruits among the varieties of grapes they cultivate. However, the disadvantage of the noble origin of the hybrid is its weak resistance to frost and fungal diseases, which requires considerable efforts from the owners to care for it.

Agrobiological characteristics

The vigor of the bushes is high. The morphological characteristics of the variety are in many ways similar to those of the parent variety Pearl Saba. Leaves are medium in size, rounded or cordate, five-lobed, with a slight degree of dissection between the lobes. The surface of the leaf is dark green with light color of veins, reticulate-wrinkled or finely bubbly; on the reverse side, you can notice a weak cobweb pubescence. The profile of the leaf blade is wavy. The upper side cuts are of medium depth or shallow, mostly open, V-shaped, less often slit-like. The lower notches, as a rule, are very small, barely marked, and sometimes they are absent. Petiolate notches are found in very different shapes - lancet, vaulted, or lyre-shaped with a pointed bottom. Petioles are of medium length, green, sometimes with reddish longitudinal stripes. The denticles along the perimeter of the sheet are uniform, triangular with straight edges and sharp tops. The flowers of the grapes are bisexual, which ensures their good fertilization with their pollen, and the absence of a predisposition to pea berries. At the same time, rainy and damp weather during the flowering period can provoke shedding of some of the flowers, which makes the brush too loose. Young growth ripens perfectly, almost to the very tips of annual shoots. At the same time, the vine turns brown.

Tukai's clusters are large and very large. The most outstanding can grow up to one and a half kilograms, while the average weight fluctuates around 600-800 grams. The large-fruited variety is directly dependent on the volume of accumulated perennial wood, and therefore, with age, the plants form more massive clusters.The shape of the bunches can be cylindro-conical or winged, the structure is from loose to moderately dense. The combs are rather long, branched, reddish-green in color, not lignified. The grapes are medium-sized, rounded, with a diameter of 17-19 mm, painted almost white, additionally accentuated by a light waxy bloom on the surface. The average weight of 100 grapes is about 200-300 grams. Within the bunch, they do not wrinkle or deform due to their free arrangement on long legs. The pulp of the berries is very tender, juicy, characterized by an excellent balanced taste and mild, but memorable nutmeg aroma. The squeezed juice is colorless with a sugar content of 17-19 g / 100 ml and a titratable acidity in the range of 5-6 g / l. In cool seasons, a slight unobtrusive sourness can be felt in the taste of berries. The skin is quite dense, but not tough, it can be chewed and eaten without problems. Subtle seeds also do not negatively affect the taste of grapes, the overall tasting characteristics of which are rated very high - no less than 9 points. For a hybrid capable of growing in harsh climates, this is truly an excellent result.

The direction of use of the crop is mainly dessert. The grapes are excellent for fresh consumption and are well-deserved popularity, including among buyers. For good "marketability" it lacks the large size of berries, but consumers appreciate it for its excellent taste and aroma as it is. In addition, Tukai is one of the best northern varieties in terms of suitability for long-term storage. A number of testimonies indicate that with an optimal microclimate in the storage room, our hero may not deteriorate until April. This allows you to significantly extend the period of its implementation, as well as to increase the profitability of cultivation due to the sale in winter, when the price of fresh grapes is much higher. His transportability indicators are also excellent, allowing you to move the collected clusters over long distances without fear of deterioration of their presentation. Another option for using the crop is processing into juices, compotes, preserves and jams. All these products are obtained from the berries from which they are prepared, with an amazing taste and aroma. In winter, during a period of deficiency of vitamins and minerals in the human body, they will be on the table at the right time.

It is not for nothing that our hero is considered a northern ultra-early ripening variety. The period of its growing season, from mass budding in the spring, to the readiness for picking ripe fruits, is 90-95 days. And the sum of active temperatures required for grapes during this time does not exceed 2000-2100 ° C. It is worth noting here that such modest heat supply indicators allow us to grow our hero at the latitude of Yekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk, not to mention the regions of the middle zone of the European part of the country. The only, but quite serious problem in this respect is the weak frost resistance of Tukai, inherited from the parents. The perennial parts of the bushes are severely damaged already at -21 ° C, and therefore the cultivation of the variety is carried out with shelter for the winter almost everywhere. In areas with the most severe climatic conditions, this procedure is carried out especially carefully, using multi-layer shelters using available organic insulation and moisture-proof materials.

The yield of the variety is usually average or above average - 15-17 kg of grapes per bush, subject to decent care. At the same time, plants require serious rationing by shoots and yield due to the large number of inflorescences on fertile shoots.If this is not done, then the bushes will be overloaded, the size of the bunches will decrease significantly, their quality will deteriorate, the vine will lag behind in growth, and in regions with a short summer, there may even be problems with the ripening of shoots and crops.

Ripe bunches, if necessary, can be left hanging on the vine for a long period of time without the risk of damage to the fruit by adverse natural phenomena or wasps. The strong skin prevents the berries from cracking even in the event of rainy weather, and is also a good protection against insects that would not mind eating the sweet pulp of the grapes. The variety demonstrates good resistance even to gray rot, although grapes are severely damaged by other fungal diseases.

Agrotechnical features

For the rapid growth of Tukay and obtaining high yields from it, the winegrower needs:

• Choose a site for planting, sufficiently provided with sun, heat, moisture and mineral nutrition;
• provide vigorous bushes with a sufficient nutritional area - at least 4.5-5 square meters;
• to carry out a reliable shelter of plants for the winter, for which, from the first years of life, begin to form them according to stumpless squat schemes;
• carefully ration the fruiting bushes of grapes, loading them in the spring with no more than 45 eyes, in time carrying out a fragment of sterile shoots and thinning out excess brushes;
• take seriously the protection of the vineyard against mildew and powdery mildew with the help of multiple complex fungicide treatments according to the protocols for the protection of susceptible varieties of pathogens.