Many gardeners are familiar with the Bianca grape. This variety is indispensable for lovers of homemade wine. The grapes delight us with a consistently high yield. Bianchi's unpretentiousness allows us to reduce the labor costs of gardeners to a minimum.
Description of the variety
Bianka occupies a place of honor in summer cottages. Just a few bushes will provide the gardener with material for making high-quality homemade wine. Description of the variety attracts:
- medium-sized bush;
- the vine is strong, developed;
- fruiting rate more than 90%;
- active shoot growth (regular trimming required);
- excellent rooting of cuttings (85%);
- leaves are dark green, five-lobed;
- the bark is light brown.
With proper care, Bianca grapes produce healthy berries for making wine, vodka, and liqueur. The drinks produced are distinguished by a vanilla-almond aftertaste.
Characteristics of the Bianca variety
The variety differs from other technical grapes. It gives a stable harvest with minimal labor costs.
Productivity
Bianka allows you to get a harvest of 200 kg from 1 hectare. Planting 2-3 bushes on a small summer cottage will provide the gardener with the required amount of material for making homemade wine. The opportunity to grow organic grapes is especially appreciated. This is achieved due to the variety's resistance to disease.
Brushes
During the ripening season, Bianca is covered with tassels. Their characteristics:
- cone-shaped;
- length 20-25 cm;
- average density;
- bunch weight 120 g (maximum - 170 g).
To gain sugar content, you need to ensure uniform lighting of the brushes. It is recommended to regularly trim the shoots (chicking).
Berries
The grapes have small berries:
- weight of one - 1.5-2 g;
- color yellow-green (changes to yellow as it ripens);
- thin skin;
- 3 bones inside;
- taste sweet and sour (28% sugars);
- the pulp is watery;
- alcohol content reaches 14%;
- high acid content (7%).
To reduce acidity, gardeners keep the bunches on the vine for up to 3 weeks. During this period, the acidity level decreases to 3%. The taste of the berries becomes floral-honey.
Frost resistance
The vine has high frost resistance.The buds retain the ability to form ovaries when the temperature drops to -27 degrees. Lower temperatures cause the vines to die. But she is recovering quickly.
The gardener will receive a harvest in this case as well: fruiting is carried out on the shoots of last and current years.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
The Bianca variety has advantages over other varieties for technical purposes:
- stable yield;
- frost resistance;
- high sugar content;
- high alcohol content;
- unpretentiousness;
- early ripening period (120 days from awakening of the vine to harvesting);
- resistance to major diseases.
But the disadvantages are upsetting:
- the brushes are damaged by wasps (insects can destroy the entire crop);
- low transportability;
- low keeping quality.
The grown crop requires immediate processing. With high yields, this is a serious problem for the gardener.
Features of cultivation and care
Even an unpretentious variety requires compliance with the rules of cultivation and care. It is recommended to follow the advice of agricultural technicians.
Preparing the landing site
Bianca prefers to grow in sunny places protected from cold northern winds. Before planting it is recommended:
- check the acidity of the soil (neutral, slightly alkaline or slightly acidic reaction is required);
- clear the prepared area of weeds;
- achieve the required soil structure: it must be loose, moisture- and breathable;
- assess the level of groundwater (water should be no higher than 3-4 m).
It is necessary to prepare the landing hole in advance. Its size: 70 cm x 70 cm x 70 cm. The soil is removed and neatly folded next to the hole. Drainage is poured down. The thickness of the backfill is 7-10 cm.Broken brick, expanded clay, pieces of paving slabs are suitable. Then the soil is mixed with mature organic matter and mineral complex and returned to its place. It is recommended to prepare the hole in the spring for planned autumn planting and in the fall for spring planting.
Landing
It is recommended to plant Bianca in early spring or mid-autumn. When planting in spring, the soil temperature should be 7-10 degrees Celsius. In autumn, planting should be done 2-3 weeks before the onset of steady cold weather. During this time, the bush will have time to take root well. The plant must be planted in a planting hole. Its size should allow for the placement of the root system. The planting should be mulched. It is not recommended to fill the grafting site with soil: this will avoid the formation of root growth.
Trimming
Grapes need formative and preventive pruning. Formative is carried out in the fall. Preventive - during the period of formation and ripening of bunches. It is recommended to lighten maturing brushes to increase sugar content.
Bianca overloads the bush with berries. In regions with a short warm period for the ripening of the clusters, excess clusters should be removed.
Feeding and fertilizers
The variety is responsive to the application of mineral and organic fertilizers. Mineral complexes are added to the soil in spring and autumn according to instructions. Mature organic matter (humus, compost) - only in spring. The application rate is a bucket for 1 plant.
Diseases and pests
Bianca grapes demonstrate excellent resistance to the main fungal diseases: mildew, oidium. The variety is not affected by phylloxera. But wasps and birds willingly feast on the tender berries.
To protect against pests, it is recommended to use protective nets and place baits (for wasps).A good result is achieved by using individual covers (for small planting areas).
