Garden strawberries of the Tsaritsa variety do not have outstanding productivity and enviable sizes. But this did not stop the breeders from recognizing its royal origin. The main advantages of this berry are its stress resistance, harmonious form and combination of taste and juiciness.
The history of the cultivation of strawberries Tsaritsa
The variety was bred in the climatic conditions of the Bryansk region, at the Kokinsky experimental site of the VSTISP. The queen was obtained by crossing Red Gontlet and Venta. These varieties of strawberries come from Scotland and Lithuania. Their most important characteristics - enviable winter hardiness, smooth fruits and resistance to pests and diseases - were also transferred to the Tsaritsa variety.
Shiny, regular-shaped fruits - a feature of the Tsaritsa variety
The author of the variety, Doctor of Sciences Svetlana Dmitrievna Aytzhanova, believes that this berry compares favorably with its qualities, and also has a rich aroma and good density, necessary for transportation.
The variety is included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements. Recommended for cultivation in garden plots in the temperate continental climate of the Central region of Russia.
Variety description Queen
Appearance and taste characteristics:
- bushes of the plant are semi-spreading, of medium height;
- leaves are smooth, almost without pubescence, soft, with rounded denticles;
- white flowers, bisexual, located no higher than the level of foliage;
- berries of the correct form, almost the same size, shiny;
- the flesh is scarlet, when overripe, it becomes dark red;
- the taste is sweet-sour, sugar content - up to 10%, acid - 0.9%;
- the aroma is strong.
Strawberry Tsaritsa can be safely attributed to varieties of universal purpose.
Features of the variety - smooth, saturated red berries with good transportability - make it possible to use it, including for trading activities.
The queen gives berries of the correct form, which have good transportability.
Productivity
The period of active return of the harvest of this strawberry is 2-3 years. According to gardeners, in the most successful years with suitable weather conditions, with full observance of the rules for caring for strawberries, at least 500 g of berries can be collected from one bush. But with aging, the yield usually decreases to 350 g.
The best crop yields occur in the first 3 years
Grade characteristics
Garden strawberry Queen has the following features:
- the first berries in the season weigh up to 40-50 g, the subsequent fruits grow on average up to 13-15 g;
- the average yield of a variety is from 99 kg / ha to 130 kg / ha;
- ripening period - medium (the main fruiting occurs in June);
- the possibility of reproduction - by seeds, mustache (more precisely - rosettes);
- buds for the next harvest grow in August;
- winter hardiness - high;
- drought resistance - high;
- resistance to fungal diseases - high;
- resistance to ticks, slugs - high.
Growing rules
For successful cultivation of varieties, it is important to follow the rules of planting and care developed by breeders. First, you should carefully select the site for strawberry beds. For her allot:
- flat, well blown by the wind and sunlit area;
- maximum open space (for this, about 10 meters from wild strawberries do not plant tall plants, do not place buildings and barriers).
In some cases, an area with a slight slope is permissible, while it is important to ensure that the water does not stagnate at the roots. If you plant a berry in a low, swampy place, it will certainly hurt and give a weak, small crop.
The soil
Light loamy soil with nutrients is best suited:
- on clay and heavy soils, the plant will need to conduct drainage - it is important to add coarse sand for digging;
- on sandy soils you will need at least a bucket of rotten cow manure, a glass of wood ash and 60 g of urea per 1 sq. m. square meter.
These components can be added to the ground during the autumn digging of beds. If necessary, a deoxidizing agent is also introduced into the ground.
According to gardeners, the best soil for growing strawberries is light loamy soil with nutrients
Landing
In the spring, strawberries are cleaned from old plantings in shelters, dead parts of plants, then loosened the earth around the bushes and fed.
Seedlings prepared for new plantings are planted in April or September. But the April planting is more reliable, since the seedlings take root more quickly and immediately noticeably grow.
Spring planting of strawberries is more reliable due to better survival
Plants are planted in loose, well-seasoned humus and nitrogen-mineral fertilizers. Sequencing:
- Make separate holes or grooves to the depth of the roots of seedlings.
- Be sure to spread the roots of seedlings in different directions.
- Sprinkle the bush with earth (a necessary condition - you can not fill in the central kidney, it is located slightly above ground level).
- Carefully water the bush immediately (it is better to do this in small portions, distributing water around the plant).
- Mulch (use dry grass, straw or sawdust with a layer of up to 5 cm for this).
To protect the plantings from invasion of birds, you can cover them with agrofibre (spanbond), but more reliable - with a net. Then during rains the berries and bushes will not be under cover for a long time and will not rot.
Video: landing tips
How to choose seedlings
Why are experienced breeders convinced that only the right choice of planting material will help to achieve the expected results from growing? Because many diseases and pests are brought to our garden plots with purchased seedlings.
The author of the variety of garden strawberries Tsaritsa Svetlana Aytzhanova recommends taking seedlings only:
- in breeding research centers with ongoing monitoring of seedlings;
- in nurseries in which professional biotechnologists work on reproduction (under sterile conditions, using modern methods).
Only in these cases can you guarantee their cleanliness. Such breeding centers and stations operate in Moscow (in the Konstantin A. Timiryazev RSAU), Orel, Tula, Michurinsk, Tambov Oblast and others.
Strawberry seedlings in them are necessarily sold in separate containers, with a tightly protected root system. These conditions, when landing on a permanent place, give a survival rate of 100%.
An important clarification: when buying seedlings in a pot, you should examine the roots - they should be evenly distributed over the tank. If seedlings are sold in peat containers, strong and healthy roots are usually visible as they exit through the walls.
Planting material is essential for the health of strawberry bushes.
Proper watering
Despite the well-known resistance to extreme heat, abundant watering is necessary for a higher yield. In particularly arid southern as well as southeastern regions of Russia, it is recommended to install a drip irrigation system.
Strawberries of the Tsaritsa variety need abundant, well-calibrated watering
In the southern and central regions, if hot weather is established for more than a crescent, wild strawberries will need regular abundant watering (20 liters of water under one large bush, not more than once a week). Such an amount of water will completely saturate the soil and soak it up to 30 cm in depth. That is how much space a well-developed root system takes. This is especially important:
- during the period of abundant flowering of strawberries;
- during the formation of ovaries and fruits;
- at the time of pouring and ripening berries.
At other times, even in a steppe, arid climate, it will be enough to limit yourself to infrequent drip irrigation (2 times a month). Special systems for drip irrigation make it possible to reduce water consumption to one bucket of water per bush.
It is not recommended to water strawberries with the help of sprinkling - water falling on the bushes can cause decay and moldy fruits. Irrigation is used on strawberry plantations only in very hot or windy weather, in which case the water dries quickly, without having time to do harm.
Bed Care
For healthy development, young plants need weeding and loosening of the soil - strawberries need constant access of air to the roots. To do this, avoid the appearance of a hard earth crust. The main rules of care:
- loosening is carried out with a shovel along the edge of the row and a small hoe around the bush itself (do this carefully, without digging more than 1 centimeter near the plant);
- at the same time, strawberry plantations are usually cleaned of debris, old dry leaves and weeds.
With the onset of autumn, when the earth around the bushes noticeably settles, and the plant grows violently roots, it is useful to spud strawberries. If this is not done, subsequently the roots will be exposed, the plant will weaken and may die from freezing.
Top dressing
The flowering and fruit setting season is the best time to spray with potassium-predominant fertilizer
During the growth and development of garden strawberries, you must not forget about top dressing:
- during the transplanting, the nitrogen-mineral complex is introduced, consisting of ash, nitrophosphate and urea;
- during flowering and fruit setting, spraying with complex fertilizers with a predominance of potassium is carried out (it is also important to include manganese, boron, iron and other trace elements);
- after fruiting is completed, it is useful to add ready-made Spring-Summer complex fertilizer in the form of granules.
If garden strawberries do not receive a sufficient amount of fertilizer, its berries will gradually begin to grow smaller, become less fragrant and tender. The leaves will fade, curl up and change their green color to a paler, yellow or reddish one.
It is important not to forget that too many fertilizers adversely affect the taste of the crop. In addition, overfed fruits may suffer from gray rot. In case of overfeeding with nitrogen fertilizers, the so-called fatliquoring of the bush will occur to the detriment of the appearance of the fruit.
Mustache pruning
To save energy and the full development of strawberry bushes, it is important to trim their mustache on time. It is more correct to do this twice a year:
- In the spring, just before flowering plants.
- In the fall, after harvesting.
For work, it is better to choose dry and calm weather. You cannot cut off a mustache without a tool. They must be trimmed with sharp clippers or pruners. This is done to avoid damage to the root system during a break.
The antennae is better to remove completely. But if further reproduction is planned, only the first rosettes from the bush should be left.
Pests and protection against them
Before planting seedlings on a bed, it is useful to make sure that there are no pests. If the Tsaritsa variety is resistant to the main pest - strawberry mite, then other parasites can seriously harm strawberries. More dangerous than others for her young shoots are the larvae of the May beetle and wireworm.
Wireworm - one of the most dangerous pests for young shoots of wild strawberry
Especially often, their appearance is affected by the proximity of the site to the border of the forest.
Dangerous enemies of strawberry beds - large larvae of the May beetle
The most proven way to get rid of the soil of the infield is by adding ammonia water. The landing of alkaloid lupine also helps. The substances contained in this plant - alkaloids - inhibit the development of pests, and nodule bacteria living on the roots enrich the soil with the necessary strawberry nitrogen.
During the period of the appearance of peduncles, to prevent the occurrence of harmful insects and powdery mildew, spray the plantings with a solution consisting of:
- Karbofosa (60 g per bucket of water);
- colloidal sulfur (50 g per bucket of solution).
If by the end of summer small white-brown spots form on the leaves, you need to treat them with a weak solution of manganese. If this does not help, you need to follow the instructions:
- Remove old diseased leaves.
- Treat them with Topaz fungicide.
- Pour iodine solution under the root (5 drops of iodine per 10 liters of water).
- After fruiting, also treat with Topaz.
- After harvesting, feed the plants with superphosphate.
Preparing strawberries for the winter
Among gardeners, a technique is popular - to completely mow or crop bushes for the winter. But many believe that it is enough to remove dried and diseased leaves. After all, the part located above the ground must necessarily have time to grow until late autumn, otherwise fruit buds will not appear.
- Unfortunately, to prevent the mass spread of ticks and nematodes, one really has to mow leaves. But so that winter hardiness does not decrease, you need to cut the leaves not in the winter, as many amateur gardeners do, but immediately after picking the berries. Only then will winter hardiness (and, as a result, productivity) not only not decrease, but even increase.
However, the mown leaves (most likely infected ones) should never be left on the same bed or nearby, otherwise the work done will be useless, as the pests will return to the bushes. Sick leaves should be buried as deep as possible in a compost heap, and even better - burn.
S.D. Aitzhanova
It is better to cut the leaves immediately after harvesting - so the plants will be able to recover by winter
Despite good winter hardiness, wild strawberries need a thick layer of snow or other shelter. However, it all depends on the place of growth. In the central regions, the middle Volga region, Moscow region, the Tsaritsa variety does not need shelter and tolerates winter well. In the steppe, low-snow regions, as well as to the north, it is more reasonable to cover plantings for the winter with any plant mulch or agricultural fabric.
Without thick snow cover, the root system of plants can withstand only -14-16 ° C. If the snow covers the ground with a layer of more than 25 cm, it will be able to protect strawberries even in frosts down to -35 ° C.
In a snowless frosty winter, be sure to cover the bed with spruce branches, straw, large leaves (maple, chestnut) or special covering materials. In steppe regions with strong winds, such a shelter should be reliably fixed.
In a snowless winter, strawberries need shelter
Gardeners reviews
Oh, my sister has been cultivating this variety since last year at a summer house in the Ryazan Region. But she probably used about a bucket of humus per square meter of soil, and the same amount of peat mixed with sawdust. This has to be done since spring. The first berries of the Queen were large, the subsequent not very, but sweet and dense. We drove 200 km in a bank in a car - we brought it!
Marina Kuzanova//vk.com/rastenijdoma
I grow 3 seasons. A variety of medium ripening. The berry is large, dense, transportability is good. The taste is great. High resistance to diseases of the root system and leaf spot. For all the time of cultivation, I did not record diseases of the root system. Resistance to tick is average (I have it is the most affected variety). Aphids on my site love this variety very much. The bush is low, compact, sparse. Access to the middle of the bush for processing is free. Peduncles below leaf level, do not hold the berry. It is struck by gray rot in rainy weather. The scavenging ability is good. Average productivity: annuals - 2-3 flower stalks, two-year-olds - 4-6. The variety is very balanced, the only serious drawback is the low yield.
Roman S.//forum.prihoz.ru/viewtopic.php?t=7262
I grew the Queen for the first year and I really wanted to see the fruiting, and I planted it in May, did not cut the flower stalks, the plants had not yet gained strength, so the berries were tasty, but not large, and the weight of the first was up to 50 g. But in the summer I saw the same variety on another site where the berries were just that. My mustache gave an average amount, and what else could I expect from her.
Tamara//forum.tvoysad.ru/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=7585&
Many gardeners managed to fall in love with strawberries of the Tsaritsa variety not only for their bright and fragrant fruits, but also for their ability to survive both the harsh Russian winter and the dry summer periods. With very little effort, everyone will be able to get an excellent stable crop from year to year.
