Variety of cherries Shokoladnitsa, description, characteristics and reviews, especially growing

Russian gardeners love and grow cherries willingly, most importantly, to allow climatic conditions. Breeders work tirelessly to develop new winter-hardy varieties of this crop. Not so long ago, a little over twenty years ago, a new variety of cherries of the Russian selection, called the Chocolate Girl, was tested. The excellent consumer qualities of the fruit and its resistance to low temperatures were highly appreciated by lovers of this culture.

History of the variety

Scientists of the All-Russian Research Institute of Fruit Culture Selection (VNIISPK) A. F. Kolesnikova, M. AT. Mikheeva and T. BUT. Trofimov was crossed cherries: the late mutant Shirpotrebnaya black and Lyubskaya. As a result, a new variety appeared, which its creators called the Chocolate Girl. From the first parent he was given the color and quality of the berries, and from the second - winter hardiness, short stature and partial self-fertility. In 1996, Shokoladnitsa was registered in the register of selection achievements of the Russian Federation in the Central region. Gardeners of middle latitudes show great interest in him.

Description and characteristics of cherry Chocolate

The tree is low (2–2.5 m), which is an advantage of the variety, since stunting has always been appreciated by gardeners. In this case, plant care and harvesting are facilitated. The crown is not very thick, compact, raised, pyramidal in shape. Shoots of medium thickness, straight, can grow up to 70 cm per season.

Ripening occurs in mid-July, which characterizes the variety as mid-season. Flowering occurs in the second decade of May. Inflorescences consist of three large flowers. According to the State Register, the variety is partially self-fertile. The description of VNIISPK contains information on the complete self-fertility of the Chocolate Girl. Scientists of the All-Russian Research Institute of Plant Production named after N. AND. Vavilov is also considered Shokoladnitsa stably self-fertile.

Fruits are flat-round in shape with an average funnel and a slightly depressed apex, large (height 1.7 cm, width 1.9 cm), their weight is 3–3.5 grams. The color is almost black with a mirror shine. The Chocolate Girl got its name due to the color of the fruit. Small bones are well separated from the pulp, the fruits are easily removed from the stem.

The pulp is dark red in color, has a dense structure, very juicy. The taste is sweet and sour, according to some reviews with a small bitterness, like a cherry. Sugar content - 12.4%, acids - 1.6%. Despite the slight acidity, the Chocolate Maker is not inferior to individual sweet cherries in sweetness. Tasting assessment according to the State Register - 4.6 points, in the description of VNIISPK indicated 3.8–4.0 points. The direction of use is universal, the fruits are consumed fresh, and they can also be frozen and dried. After processing, products of excellent quality are obtained: jam, compotes, liquors, drinks.

The variety begins to bear fruit in 4–5 years. From one tree you can get 11-12 kg of fruit. The average annual yield on an industrial scale is 78 kg / ha, the maximum - 97 kg / ha, which is not bad, but far from the best indicator for this crop. For example, the maximum yield of Turgenevka cherries reaches 200 kg / ha.

Winter hardiness of wood and buds is high, which is a big plus for the region where the variety grows. And also trees are hardy to drought. The variety is affected by coccomycosis and moniliosis, which is its significant drawback.

The main advantages of the Shokoladnitsa cherry variety are endurance to low temperatures, drought tolerance, relative short stature and excellent taste of the products.

Do Chocolate Makers Need Pollinators

Regarding the degree of autonomy of the Chocolate Girl, there are some contradictions not only in the information of official sources, but also in the reviews that grew this variety of gardeners. In the discussions on the forums, most users note a high degree of self-pollination, however, there are isolated reviews from the fact that the Chocolate Girl without a pollinator does not bear fruit at all.

Scientists involved in the study of fruit crops for self-pollination ability came to the conclusion that this various factors can influence the property and, depending on them, the degree of self-fertility can manifest itself differently.

The information accumulated by the researchers indicates the inconsistency of the self-fertility indicators of the variety in different years and various climatic conditions. One and the same variety in some conditions can show stable self-fertility, and in others it can be partially self-fertile.

The presence of pollinating trees increases the yield of not only self-fertile and partially self-fertile varieties, but also stably self-fertile. Therefore, planting near the Chocolate House varieties of cherries that bloom at similar times will be an additional factor contributing to the formation of more ovaries. For cross-pollination of Shokoladnitsa (and not only for her) it is recommended to plant Vladimirskaya cherry nearby, which is considered an excellent pollinator. And also tree productivity will increase if the following varieties grow near: Lyubskaya, Sklyanka, Student, Turgenevka.

Features of growing varieties

Agrotechnical methods for the cultivation of Chocolate Girls are generally used standard. There are some nuances associated with the characteristics of the variety, if you take them into account, the tree will not remain in debt and will thank an increased yield.

Landing

It is better to plant the Chocolate Girl in the spring, since in the region where it is zoned, there is a risk of freezing out of the seedling that did not have time to take root during the autumn planting. To place the tree, choose either a flat area, or with a slight elevation or slope, open, well-lit and ventilated. The lowlands where moisture accumulates are categorically not suitable for Shokoladnitsa because of its tendency to fungal diseases. And also cherry does not feel well on steep slopes, where the snow practically does not linger.

A well-permeable loamy or sandy loamy soil with an acidity close to neutral would be most suitable. Groundwater should be at a depth of not less than 1.5 m. Trees are planted at a distance of 2.5 m with aisles of 3.5 m.

Planting pits are prepared in advance, their size is 60x60x60, on poor soils it can be increased to 80x80x80 to fit a more fertile mixture. The top layer of the earth is mixed with humus or compost, and mineral fertilizers are added. Further, the planting process is standard, as for any other cherry.

Crowning and other trimming

The Chocolate Girl tree is best shaped into a bushy shape, like other undersized cherries. In this case, leave a stem 30–40 cm high and select the 5–6 strongest skeletal branches growing in different directions and located at least 12–13 cm apart. The rest are cut without leaving stumps. Since the second year, the focus is on thinning. As a rule, they leave shoots growing on skeletal branches and remove branches directed inward to the crown, as well as weak and interwoven ones. For 2–3 years of formation, up to 10–12 skeletal branches can be left.

When pruning cherries, thinning is more often used, less often - shortening of shoots, it is usually carried out over lateral branches. In addition to forming the crown, the following types of trimming are also carried out:

• Sanitary. Dry, diseased and damaged branches are removed in late autumn and early spring (if necessary).
• Regulatory. Such pruningheld annually, it consists in thinning the crown and is mandatory for the Chocolate Girl susceptible to fungal diseases.
• Supporting. It is also important for the Chocolate Girl, since the yield of the variety is not very high at the genetic level and it needs to be stimulated. Pruning that supports fruiting is carried out with a decrease in annual growth to 15–20 cm and bare shoots. In this case, biennial branches are shortened over the nearest lateral branches.

Video: cherry pruning rules

Watering and feeding

Drought-tolerant Chocolate Girl tolerates a lack of moisture much better than its excess, so trees are watered quite rarely, but abundantly. If precipitation falls within normal limits, it is enough to water the plants 4 times: after flowering, in the second half of June, 2 weeks before harvesting and one month before the start of frosts. During ripening, you can’t water it, because with excess moisture, the fruits become watery. Before fruiting, 30–40 liters of water are used per tree, and then its amount is doubled. In order not to expose the root system, water is poured not under the root, but into ring grooves.

They feed the Chocolate Girl according to the standard scheme, without any features. In the spring, before flowering, nitrogen fertilizers or liquid organics (water diluted poultry manure or cow manure) are added. After flowering, plants need phosphorus and potassium. In early June, you can feed urea one more time, after which nitrogen fertilizers no longer contribute. And then 3-4 feeding with superphosphate and potassium chloride (can be replaced with wood ash) is carried out with an interval of 3 weeks. In mid-September, organics are introduced in combination with phosphorus and potash fertilizers.

Disease

In the description of VNIISPK, Chocolate's susceptibility to coccomycosis and moniliosis is noted, which is also confirmed quite numerous reviews of gardeners - such characteristics to some extent reduce the value of this varieties. Recently, in central Russia, and in other regions, coccomycosis and cherry moniliosis have become a real disaster for gardeners. Fungal diseases are especially evident under favorable conditions: cool weather combined with heavy rainfall. Coccomycosis and moniliosis are extremely contagious; their spores are easily carried by the wind.

The threat of these diseases cannot be underestimated, since their consequences are not only a loss of yield, but also a decrease in winter hardiness of weakened plants. In order to minimize the problems associated with diseases, or to completely avoid them, it is important not to allow thickened plantings and to thin out crowns in a timely manner, creating conditions for good ventilation. As well as collect and destroy infected plant debris as they form.

Coccomycosis

A sign of the disease are randomly located small brown spots on the upper side of the leaves, with on the opposite side, in the places of damage, white and pink-colored sporulation pads are clearly visible fungus. Infected leaves fall prematurely. When the fruit is affected by coccomycosis, impressed, relatively large, brownish-brown spots with a light coating are formed on them. The disease usually appears in the first half of June.

For preventive treatments, as well as if the lesions are not too large, it is better to use biological products (Fitosporin, Actofit and others). When the disease spreads intensively, fungicides are used to combat it: Bordeaux fluid, Hom, Abiga-Peak, Skor, Fundazol, as well as Chorus, which is considered the most effective. Drugs recommend alternating, as there is an addiction to them. In early spring, the first spraying with a 3% Bordeaux liquid is carried out on a green cone. After flowering, they are treated with 1% Bordeaux liquid or another fungicide. In case of severe damage, spraying is repeated every 12-14 days until the end of June. In August or September, when the crop is already harvested, the last processing is carried out.

Moniliosis

The disease is also called a monilial burn. Branches and leaves turn yellow and dry, and then turn black, while they look like burned. Then, small seals appear on the affected areas. Later, the fruits are affected, grayish-black growths form on them, after which they quickly decay and crumble.

The fight against moniliosis is carried out by the same drugs that are used against coccomycosis. Processing is carried out at the same time.

Video: signs of moniliosis and methods to combat it

Pests

In the sources there is no information about the resistance of the Chocolate Girl to pest damage, therefore, most likely, the probability of attack by harmful insects is quite real. Of these, the most common are:

• Cherry Weevil. It feeds on buds, leaves, buds and ovaries. Its larvae damage the fruits, which then fall.
• Leaf aphids. Settles on young leaves and tops of shoots, feeds on their juice. Leaves are twisted into a tube, shoots cease to grow.
• Cherry fly. Its larvae damage the flesh, an unpleasant odor appears, the fruits become watery and inedible.
• Plum moth. Butterflies lay eggs in green fruits. Caterpillars, feeding on the flesh, leave waste products in it.

Photo Gallery: The Most Common Cherry Pests

To protect cherries from pests, preventive measures should be preferred. The use of chemicals can be avoided by regularly performing the following tasks:

• Collection and destruction of plant debris, weed control.
• Whitewashing in autumn of trunks and skeletal branches with a lime mortar with the addition of copper sulfate.
• Deep digging of the soil in the fall with a coup.
• Fastening of hunting belts on tree trunks in early spring.
• Preventive spraying with biological products (Fitoverm, Aktofit), as well as insecticides (Actellik, Fufanon, Spark Double effect).

Gardeners reviews about Chocolate Chocolate Cherry

The chocolate maker is self-fertile, which is a plus, of course. But the taste of the cherries themselves is not perfect there, and even a big minus, IMHO, it is susceptible to the main cherry sores - coccomycosis and moniliosis.

I still have a small tree, the first time it bore fruit. But close to him, the pollinator seems to be not noticed. The nearest is a neighbor’s felt cherry, but she doesn’t pollinate ordinary cherry. So either self-fertile, or the second young cherry next to the chocolate bar blossomed unnoticed.

I have. The fruits are cool, but we get very little. Blackbirds... (radishes, in short) all gobble up. And care, like any cherry.

My Chocolate Girl is about 10 years old. Now about 1.20–1.30 years old. But in her second year of life, the crown of her head was accidentally demolished on our site, growing from lateral branches. I thought she was so low, growing a bush. I was bought by a two- or three-year-old, I already remember badly. Almost no berries, a couple of handfuls, but sweet. My cherries, most likely, are not pollinated, since it blooms later, when they have already practically faded.

The only negative we consider is poor resistance to coccomycosis and moniliosis. This is the main minus, since now these diseases are everywhere. And the productivity of the Chocolate Girl is low - the berries are large, but they are few.

Chocolate girl - the variety is ambiguous. Its most significant advantages are the excellent quality of marketable products and winter hardiness. However, a fairly moderate yield and susceptibility to fungal diseases confuses some gardeners. Those who do not mind working hard and protecting trees from disease will receive large and juicy excellent rewards. dessert taste of berries that can be consumed fresh, as well as get a variety of homemade from them blanks.