Description of the “Gift of Moldova” pepper: what is good about the variety and how to grow it correctly
Bell pepper grown not only on farms for industrial use, but also for personal use. Agronomists are constantly creating new varieties of crops and improving the quality of existing ones. Let's look at the Podarok Moldova pepper variety: features and possible difficulties in growing it.
What kind of variety is this
The famous variety - Gift of Moldova - was included in the State Register in 1973. It performed well and was one of the first to be imported into the Soviet Union.
Characteristics and description
The Gift of Moldova is a mid-season crop: the ripening period ranges from 119 to 124 days. The bushes are compact, reaching a height of 35–45 cm, and do not require a large area, tying up or special care. They feel great both in greenhouses and in open beds.
The fruits are large, smooth, dark red at the stage of biological ripeness. The wall thickness is no more than 5 mm. The taste is sweet, juicy. Peppers are suitable for canning and fresh consumption.
With constant and timely care, 5–8 kg of cone-shaped fruits are collected from 1 m2. Each weight is 60–90 g.
Reference. The variety is suitable for stuffing due to the thickness of the walls of the peppers and their uniform size.
Preparation for cultivation
Before disembarking seeds soak for disinfection in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for about a day.
The ground for future picking is dug up and humus is added. If the soil is heavy, add a little sand to it. Do not plant the crop in the place where tomatoes grew last year.Good predecessors are pumpkin, legumes, and cabbage.
For seedlings, soil is bought in the store or prepared independently from humus or peat, sand and turf soil.
When growing in open ground, choose a high ridge to retain heat sufficient for the root system.
Growing seedlings
If you plan to cultivate peppers in a greenhouse, seedlings are sown in February, if in open ground - at the end of March. The period for growing seedlings is about 1.5 months.
It is advisable to plant seeds immediately in separate containers. The culture is difficult to tolerate picking and any transplantation, so these procedures are performed carefully.
Seedlings are provided with sufficient sunlight - at least 14 hours a day. When the first leaves appear, the plants are fed with a mixture of:
- 3 g superphosphate;
- 1 g potassium sulfate;
- 0.5 g ammonium nitrate;
- 1 liter of water.
Water the sprouts with this solution, 100 ml for each.
After 4–8 leaves appear, the seedlings are hardened off by taking them out into the open air. Starting from 20 minutes, the time is gradually increased to 2 hours.
Peppers dive into open ground in early June, when the threat of night frosts has passed and the ground has warmed up sufficiently; to the greenhouse - in early May.
Important! The distance between sprouts should be about 40 cm, between rows - 60 cm.
Further care
Caring for the Gift of Moldova comes down to basic procedures:
- watering;
- weeding;
- feeding
To obtain beautiful and juicy fruits, it is important to provide the crop with sufficient moisture, so many people grow peppers in a greenhouse, since it is easier to organize timely watering there. In open ground, special attention is paid to watering.
Pepper does not tolerate being near other plants, so the soil is regularly weeded.The variety is fed 2-3 times during the growing season (the first time during budding). Use slurry mixed with water in a ratio of 1:10.
Important! Before applying fertilizers, moisten the soil so as not to burn the root system of the crop.
Features of cultivation and possible difficulties
Plants do not require leaf cutting and are resistant to major diseases. To increase the number of fruits, the first flower and pods are picked from the bushes.
There are no particular difficulties in cultivating the Gift of Moldova.
Diseases and pests
Despite the good immunity of the variety, especially to Fusarium wilt, with improper care, untimely watering and the presence of sudden temperature changes The following diseases may occur:
- Spotting. Leaves and fruits suffer.
- Gray rot. The causative agent, the fungus Botrytis cinerea, infects the upper parts of the stems. Brown, depressed spots appear on them, which grow over time.
They are treated with fungicides and removal of affected plant parts.
Among the pests that the Gift of Moldova is susceptible to are: slugs, spider mites and aphids. Insecticides are used against them, but when the fruits ripen, it is better to use a solution of nettle and garlic so that the vegetables are harmless to the body. The bushes are treated 2 times with a week break.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
The gift of Moldova has many positive qualities, thanks to which it has established itself among gardeners:
- Versatility in cooking. The fruits are consumed fresh, added to salads, main dishes and canned.
- Good transportability and attractive appearance of vegetables. Strong and elastic pulp allows the variety to endure transportation over long distances without losing its presentation.
- Compact size bushes that do not require gartering, pinching, pruning or shaping.
- High seed germination rate (more than 80%) and the possibility of using planting material collected from your own harvest.
- Easy to care for.
- Adaptation to different climatic conditions (temperate latitudes, Volga and Far Eastern regions).
- Immunity to major diseases.
Among the disadvantages of the crop, instability to sharp temperature fluctuations and relatively thin walls of the fruit are noted.
Reviews
What do people who grew it write about the variety?
Tamara, Rostov-on-Don: “I always order the seeds of this pepper for myself, even though I mainly grow large, thick-walled varieties. I take a gift from Moldova for my family, we consume the fruits as they grow. Excellent seeds and peppers, looks just like the photo on the packaging and very tasty.”
Evgeniy, Krasnodar: “The Gift of Moldova is an excellent variety for open ground. It always brings a lot of fruit, albeit not very large ones.”
Yuri, Perm: “I recommend everyone to grow this variety. It is extremely unpretentious and easy to care for, and always produces a large amount of fruit with excellent taste.”
Conclusion
Pepper Podarok Moldova is suitable for growing in the Russian climate. Over the years of its existence, it has earned an excellent reputation among professional agronomists and amateur gardeners.
High productivity of the variety is observed not only in the southern regions, but also in the northern and eastern regions. The vegetable is unpretentious in care and resistant to diseases characteristic of the crop.