Blackberries: reproduction, cultivation. Blackberry Diseases

The blackberry is a branchy half-shrub with elongated or protruding stalks of the Rosaceae family growing throughout the Northern Hemisphere. This culture with a strong root system, capable of penetrating deep into the soil, so it does not freeze even in severe winters. Also, due to the complete occurrence of the central root, the plant can easily withstand short droughts. And now many are wondering - how to grow blackberries?

Care

The culture is demanding enough to care, because with inappropriate care of the plant, its appearance can not only worsen, but yields may also drop noticeably. Blackberry is considered a warm and light-loving culture. He loves the land with a neutral and weakly acid reaction. The soil for planting it should not be dense, but in the aisles one should get rid of weeds. During the numerous flowering it is important that the earth is moist, but you can not let the water stagnate. The plant does not tolerate waterlogged and flooded areas, and care for the blackberry can become much more complicated.

After rain or watering, the soil is required to plow to a depth of 8 cm, while trying not to break the small roots. The rows must be mulched with loose organic mixtures. If the blackberry grows on wet, poorly drained soil, then the coating is not recommended.

Watering the culture

It is believed that the plant is drought-resistant, but it prefers moisture. In view of this, it is not necessary to allow the drying of the earth, especially the ripening of the fruit. From the prolonged drought, the overground part of the culture is very afflicted: young shoots do not have time to ascend properly, the already established buds begin to fall, and the existing berries dry and crumble.

In addition to the stable soil moisture, care for the blackberry requires some moisture. In this regard, during a long drought, it is necessary to spray the bushes in the evenings.

Young bushes in the first year of life after planting should be constantly watered, keeping the soil moist. Watering is done only by a warm, stationary water drop method. At the end of summer, irrigation is reduced to a minimum, and in the late autumn, under each bush, it is necessary to pour up to 30 liters of water, so that the plant does not freeze in winter.

Top dressing

Like all other garden cultures, the blackberry needs a balanced diet. Increased absorption of nutrients occurs at the stage of active formation, growth and flowering. It's about May-July, when the blackberry blooms. Reproduction also falls on this period. During this period, they feed the bushes with mineral fertilizers. However, culture should not be superseded, because this can have a bad effect on the yield and condition of bushes.

At the stage of dissolution, the plant needs potassium, so you need to add any potassium top dressing or pour the bush with the ash mixture (200 g of ash per 10 liters of water). In the season of filling the fruits, foliar fertilization is carried out with complex mineral organics, the leaves are sprayed with a solution supplemented with potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus. Any top dressing is applied to the ground only after it has been wetted.

How to add organic matter

The blackberry, the description of which we have given, grows on the same place for about 10-15 years, therefore, after planting for 3-4 years, organic fertilizers (peat, compost, repelled manure), and also fertilizing with a diluted chicken litter Flowering.

Organic matter is usually added to the autumn digging, for which the row spacing is loosened and added to 1 sq. M. M. Not more than 5 kg of manure, interfering with 40 g of potassium sulfate and 30 g of superphosphate. In the spring period, as soon as the first ovaries are formed, the plant is fertilized with any nitrogen fertilizing (urea or ammonium nitrate). But at the end of the summer you can not give mineral fertilizers - this can lead to rapid development of culture, and bushes can not adequately prepare for wintering.

Blackberry trim

In spring, even before the budding buds are formed, the branches broken and dry after winter are cut off, as well as the tops of the shoots caught by frost to the first healthy ovary. Shrubs of the original year of formation are subjected to a double shortening: in May, for the activation of the growth of the lateral stalks, the upper part of the shoots is cut to 5-7 cm, and in July, 8-10 cm of the crowns of those branches that have grown longer than 50 cm are cut. 6-8 of the most durable processes, others simply removed.

How to trim mature shrubs

In adult bushes, in addition to broken and frozen stems, in spring all the weakened shoots are shortened, leaving 5-10 healthy shoots on the bush. The lateral branches are cut in such a way that they have 8-12 ovaries. Pruning of blackberries is also conditioned by the fact that during the vegetative phase it is necessary to remove the root shoots formed over the summer, preserving only those that have grown since the spring (just that they will bear fruit next year).

Spring branches should be shortened in the autumn time at a height of 1.8-2 m. In addition, it is required to cut off all diseased stems, it is important to cut out all the processes of the second year under the root after they have finished their fruiting.

Blackberry: Reproduction

Experienced summer residents use several methods of plant breeding.

1. The apical taps. This method is ideal for the propagation of spreading varieties. In the period from July to August, alongside the original bushes, they make paths 30 cm deep and spread out the unripe tops of shoots. After that, they are covered with soil. Before the winter sprouts must take root, but not ascend. With the advent of spring shoots can be detached from the uterine culture and put in a permanent place.
2. Root cuttings. From the end of September to the middle of October, you need to dig out the bush completely and remove all branches, and cut the root system into blackberry cuttings (Up to 1 cm in thickness and 7 cm in length). Harvested raw materials are stored in sand, peat in a cool place. In the springtime, as soon as the soil warms up, it will be necessary to make grooves up to 15 cm deep and place the root parts there every 20 cm. Then cover the planting material with moist soil and water well. During the summer, constant loosening, watering and weeding are carried out. In early autumn, healthy seedlings should appear. Up to 300 new plants are acquired from one mature mother bush.
3. Root shoots. Any blackberry shrub can bring up to 20 young shoots from the root every year. In the period from May to June, when the branches reach 15 cm in length, you should choose strong stems, carefully separate them from the main bush and then immediately land on a permanent place. Such an event can be performed in the autumn, but bushes can not survive the wintering, and the blackberry will not grow.
4. Reproduction by bush division. This method is used only if the culture does not start up the shoots. The bush is excavated and divided into 5-6 parts, in each of which 2-3 healthy young branches are preserved. The resulting raw materials are planted on a permanent terrain.
5. Seeds. Most of the varieties at seed dilution are able to contain the parent indicators to the maximum. Seeds usually gather at a stage of sufficient maturity and for winter are placed in a cool room for stratification. In March, they take out the seed material, soak for a few days in a growth stimulator or melt water, and then plant in a container up to 8 mm deep. Seeds are constantly watered and stored at a temperature of 20 degrees. Plant plants in the open soil can be after the formation of 4 leaves. Blackberries, grown in this way ( its reproduction was described above) begins to yield crops only for the 4th year.

Diseases of culture

To regularly be content with abundant fruit, you need to monitor the health of the bushes, prevent the presence of weeds in the inter-row, prolonged stagnation of water or drought. The main diseases of blackberry:

• Anthracnose - affects berries, can be detected from the end of spring, causes uneven and delayed development of fruits.
• Rust is a disease that destroys young leaves and stems. Externally it looks like brown spots, lowers productivity up to 60%.