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On grapes and grapevines
Annotation
Grapevines are confidently storming the dacha plots of Leningrad Region, though the culture is not entirely new to St. Petersburg. Under Peter the Great, grapes brought from the south were cultivated here in greenhouses. Today, thanks to the efforts of selection breeders and regular enthusiasts, breeds and hybrid forms have emerged that make it possible to cultivate grapes not only in greenhouses but in the open ground as well.
Yet, grapevine cultivation requires at least some basic knowledge. Just planting it in the ground and forgetting about it won’t work. The beginning viticulturist (vine grower) needs to master a little science behind the cultivation of this particular culture: vine formation, cutting, dry and green tying, topping and other simple operations. This basic knowledge is needed to ensure that the vine shoot yields fruit and the grape vine is esthetically pleasing in terms of its outward appearance.
For more than 20 years, hobby gardener M.V. Solovyev has been working on the cultivation of grape vines at the Novaya Ropsha nursery garden. Starting with just two breeds (Korinka Russkaya and Krasa Severa (Olga)), he has built up his collection to 60 breeds. He cultivates his grape vines both in a greenhouse and in open ground. He has selected out many breeds do to the inability of stem berries to ripen, poor vine maturation, and low frost resistance. In the end, the most suitable turned out to be the breeds developed by selection breeders F.I. Shatilov, A.I. Potapenko and the Siberian selection breeder R.F. Sharov: Pamyati Domkovskoi, Okudzhava, Dobrynya, Buratino, Dyumovochka, Zagadka Sharova, Sibirskaya Cheremushka, and others. According to M.V. Solovyev, also full of promise are the breeds developed under Baltic selection: Zilga, Yuodupe, Yuvendana, Lepsna, Palanga, and Liepaisky Yantar. These breeds are suitable for both indoor and outdoor planting.
It can be said with confidence that in the not-too-distant future, every country home and dacha plot owner will be able to boast grape vines with magnificent clusters of grapes.