What is good about the Komandor (Vladil) gooseberry and why it is worth growing
Gooseberry Commander is successfully grown in private and industrial farms. The main advantage of the variety is the absence of thorns on the shoots, which greatly facilitates harvesting and caring for the bushes. We will tell you in detail about the intricacies of growing the variety and its agrotechnical requirements that must be observed to obtain a high-quality harvest.
What kind of gooseberry is this?
Commander (Vladil) is a mid-early gooseberry variety. The berries ripen from late May to late June, and the harvest is harvested from mid-July to late August. The average yield is 3.7-6.9 kg per bush.
Reference. In case of a large harvest, the berries are formed small.
The fruits are harvested as they ripen, in dry and sunny weather. The harvest is sorted, all damaged berries are discarded and dried for 2-3 hours. At a temperature of +18°C and air humidity of 80%, the Komandor fruits are stored for 4-5 days, at +5...+8°C – for a week.
History of origin and distribution
Gooseberry Commander was bred in 1995 at the South Ural Research Institute of Fruit and Potato Growing by Professor Vladimir Ilyin, in whose honor it received the second name Vladil.
The parent plants were the African and Chelyabinsk green varieties, from which the Commander took the best qualities.
The variety was included in the State Register of Russia in 1995 and is approved for cultivation in the North-Western, Volga-Vyatka, Middle Volga, Ural and West Siberian regions.
Characteristics and description of bushes
The bushes are strong or medium-sized (up to 1.5 m high), slightly spreading, dense. The shoots are thin (2-5 cm in diameter), straight, pubescent, almost without thorns, green-brown. Places that are exposed to the sun for a long time take on a pinkish tint.
The buds are oval in shape with a pointed tip. The leaves are 3- or 5-lobed, with a convex base, large or medium-sized, glossy, green, with blunt and short teeth along the edges. They are located alternately on light green or yellowish slightly pubescent petioles of medium length.
The flowers are small, yellow-green, cup-shaped, collected in inflorescences of 2-3 pieces.
Temperature resistance
This is a frost-resistant variety. It tolerates air temperatures dropping to -25...-35°C, but in winters with little snow it needs additional shelter.
Moisture and drought resistance
The bushes can withstand short-term drought. A prolonged (more than 10 days) lack of moisture has a negative impact on the development and fruiting of plants.
Resistance to diseases and pests
The variety is resistant to powdery mildew, late blight, anthracnose, moths and sawflies. It can be affected by rust, stem drying, white spot, gray rot, mosaic disease, gall midges, aphids, moths, spider and currant bud mites and currant glass flies.
Characteristics and description of fruits
The berries weigh on average 5.6-7 g, covered with smooth, thin and delicate burgundy-brown skin.
The pulp is dark crimson, juicy, with a small amount of black seeds, characterized by a sweet taste with a slight sourness.
Application area
Vladil berries are consumed fresh, used to make preserves, jams and compotes, frozen and ground with sugar.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Vladil's advantages:
- stable high yield;
- thornless shoots;
- resistance to a number of diseases and pests characteristic of the crop;
- drought and frost resistance;
- lack of tendency to cracking of fruits;
- possibility of universal use of berries.
Disadvantages of the variety:
- poor transportability;
- short shelf life of fresh berries.
Growing technology
In order for the bushes to develop well and bear fruit, it is important to plant the seedlings correctly and in a timely manner, choose the most suitable place on the site and comply with the agrotechnical requirements of the variety.
Optimal conditions
When buying planting material, the choice is 1- or 2-year-old seedlings.
Open-rooted instances must have:
- 2-3 strong growths with a maximum height of 25 cm;
- axillary buds in a dormant state;
- trunks are uniform gray in color;
- developed, lignified and not overdried rhizome, about 25 cm long, consisting of several core and many additional shoots.
There shouldn't be any leaves.
Reference. Saplings with an open root system are purchased a maximum of 3 days before planting.
Plants with closed roots should have 2-3 strong growths 30 cm high (for 1-year-old seedlings) or 40-50 cm (for 2-year-old specimens) and leafy shoots.
24 hours before planting, the seedlings are inspected, all dry and damaged areas are removed, the shoots are cut to 3 buds, the rhizome is soaked for 12 hours in a solution of a growth stimulator (Kornevin, Heteroauxin) with the addition of potassium permanganate.
For planting, choose a place that is well-lit and protected from cold gusty winds with a groundwater depth of 1.5-2 m.
Lack of light causes a decrease in yield, and waterlogging of the soil causes rotting of the roots.
The culture prefers loose, light, fertile soil with good air and moisture permeability and low or neutral acidity.
Six months before planting, the area is cleared of plant debris, dug up to a depth of 40 cm, and spilled with a solution of copper sulfate (300 g of the substance per 10 liters of water) at the rate of 1 liter per 10 square meters. m for disinfection and for every 1 sq. m add 10 kg of humus, peat or manure and 100 g of superphosphate. Dolomite flour or lime is additionally added to acidic soil.
Landing dates and rules
For Commander, spring (March, before sap flow) and autumn (until mid-October) planting is acceptable. In spring, gooseberries are planted everywhere, in autumn - only in the southern regions.
Landing rules:
- In the selected area, prepare rows at a distance of 1.5 m from each other.
- Every 1-1.2 m, dig planting holes measuring 65x55 cm.
- Fill each third with nutritious soil mixture (half of the excavated soil, 10 kg of humus or rotted manure, 250 g of wood ash, 300 g of powdered lime and 30 g of urea in the case of spring planting.
- Pour 10 liters of water into the holes and leave for 3-4 hours.
- Place the seedling in the center of the hole at an angle of 45° and straighten its roots.
- Fill the voids with soil so that the root collar is buried 5 cm.
- Water the plantings at the rate of 5-10 liters of water for each bush.
After the soil has dried, the tree trunk circle is mulched with compost mixed with the remains of the nutrient soil mixture in a 1:1 ratio.
Further care
The frequency of watering depends on the weather: in hot weather, bushes are watered every 2 days, in cool periods - weekly at the rate of 3-5 liters of water for each plant.2 weeks before harvesting, reduce watering to prevent the skin of the berries from becoming sour.
After watering or rain, the soil is loosened to a depth of 5 cm and cleared of weeds. To retain moisture, the soil is mulched with hay or compost.
Fertilizers applied from 2 years after planting gooseberries according to the following scheme:
- end of April - manure infusion (1 liter of liquid mullein or 300 g of chicken manure per 10 liters of water);
- autumn, 20 days before frost - 100 g of superphosphate and 20 g of potassium salt per 1 sq. m of tree trunk circle.
Formation of bushes engaged during the first 3-4 years. Before planting, the shoots are shortened, and by the next season 4-6 new growths up to 40 cm in length are formed on them. Of these, 3-4 developed shoots are selected and shortened by a third, and the rest are completely cut off.
2-3 years after planting, the root shoots are removed, leaving 3-5 branches, and 2 strong growths are left on 1-year-old shoots. Starting from the 4th year of life of the bushes, pruning consists of removing branches that thicken the crown and compete with skeletal ones.
For bushes over the age of 6 years, rejuvenating pruning is carried out, annually completely cutting off 3 shoots, which bear little fruit and give a growth of less than 30 cm per year.
Reference. To prevent Vladil's branches from breaking under the weight of the crop, special supports are used, installed at the beginning and end of the row.
Possible problems, diseases, pests
Diseases and pests that can affect Commander bushes:
| Disease/pest | Signs | Treatment/prevention |
|---|---|---|
| Rust | Orange, brick, or copper bumps appear on the berries and the inside of the leaves. | Before flowering and after harvesting, plants are sprayed with copper oxychloride. |
| Drying of stems | Cracks with fungal spores appear on the bark. | Dry stems are cut off, all cracks process Bordeaux mixture. |
| White spot | Light gray spots appear on the leaves. | The leaves and soil are sprayed with Bordeaux mixture, Nitrophen, or copper sulfate. For prevention, the procedure is repeated after harvesting and before flowering. |
| Mosaic disease | Withering and falling of foliage, the appearance of light green or yellow stripes, circles and spots along the inner veins of the leaves. | There is no treatment. Infected plants are dug up and burned, and the area is planted with green manure. |
| Gray rot | Falling and rotting of fruits, leaves and shoots. | The affected parts of the plants are cut off, and the bushes are treated with Fitosporin. |
| Moth | Gray caterpillars that feed on leaves. | Pests are collected by hand, the soil is spilled with boiling water in the spring, the bushes are sprayed with chamomile infusion, “Commander”, “Aktellik”, “Kinmiks” or “Iskra”. |
| Currant gall midge (shoot and leaf) | Small brown insects feed on leaf sap and wood, causing shoots to dry out and break. | Before flowering and after harvesting the fruits, the bushes are treated with Fufanon or Karbofos; for prevention, the plants are sprayed with an infusion of wormwood, mustard powder, and tomato tops. |
| Currant glass | These are caterpillars that live in cracks in the bark and eat away the wood from the inside. | The ground under the bushes is loosened to a depth of 10 cm and wood ash, mustard powder, ground red pepper and tobacco dust are scattered there. |
| Aphid | Small insects settle on the inside of leaf blades and suck the juice from the leaves. | The leaves are sprayed with a solution of laundry soap, an infusion of hot pepper, and the preparations “Aktara”, “Karbofos”, “Aktellik”. |
| Currant bud mite | The insect settles in flower and leaf buds and eats them from the inside. | The bushes are sprayed with a solution of colloidal sulfur. |
| Spider mite | Pests settle on the lower part of the leaves, suck the juices out of them and entangle them in white cobwebs. | Plantings are sprayed with “Commander”, infusion of wormwood or potato tops, and treated with acaricides “Bankol”, “Apollo” or “Sunmite”. |
Wintering
2.5-3 weeks before frost, bushes and soil process copper sulfate, and 4 days after this, water-recharging irrigation is carried out, pouring 20-30 liters of water under each bush.
After a day the plants feed superphosphate and potassium salt, the tree trunk circle is mulched with peat or straw.
In the case of winters with little snow, the branches are bent to the ground, secured with metal brackets and covered with agrofibre.
Features of cultivation depending on the region
The Commander's grooming requirements do not change depending on the climate of the region. The only difference is the timing landings: planting bushes in the fall is only permissible in the southern regions.
Pollinator varieties
Commander is a self-pollinating crop that does not require pollinating varieties. However, the yield increases if several bushes of this variety are planted in one area.
Reproduction
The most convenient way to reproduce the Commander is by layering. To do this, in September - October, zero annual growths are selected on 6-year-old bushes, bent to the ground, secured with staples, sprinkled with a layer of soil 10 cm high, watered, mulched with sawdust and cared for as an adult plant.
In the fall, when the cuttings sprout and take root, they are separated from the parent plant, dug up and divided into parts according to the number of sprouts. Each part is planted in an individual peat container filled with a mixture of equal parts of sand, peat, compost and garden soil.In spring, seedlings are planted in a permanent place.
Vladil is also propagated by cuttings and dividing the bush.
Reviews from summer residents
Gardeners speak positively about the variety.
Inga, Nizhny Novgorod: “This is a very worthy variety. We have 5 varieties of gooseberries growing on our property, but the first one we eat is Commander. Its berries, although small, are very tasty, and they are easy to pick because there are no thorns on the shoots.”
Vera, Voronezh: “At first, the variety didn’t impress me; it didn’t bear fruit at all for 4 years, and I was already thinking about getting rid of the bushes. But then it grew sharply and began to produce crops. There are a lot of berries, we don’t have time to eat them, so I make jam and compotes from them.”
Conclusion
Commander, or Vladil, is a mid-early gooseberry variety, among the indisputable advantages of which are thornless shoots, stable yield, frost resistance, the ability to tolerate short-term drought and immunity to a number of diseases and pests. The disadvantages of the variety include a short shelf life of fruits and poor transportability.