Investigation of Seven Red and White Currant Varieties

Abstract

The investigation was carried out in the period 2007 – 2010 at the Kostinbrod experimental field of the Institute of Agriculture, Kyustendil. It comprised six red currant varieties and one white currant variety – Nataly, Rannaya sladkaya, London Market, Fays Prolific, Red Dutch, Premier and Zitavia (white currant). Most of the studied varieties had clusters of medium length and just Fays Prolific developed short clusters. Rannaya sladkaya formed the greatest number of blossoms per cluster (13.68) as distinct from Fays Prolific that formed the fewest blossoms (8.90). The average number of berries per cluster varied from 5.82 (Fays Prolific) to 8.28 (Red Dutch). Regarding berry weight the studied varieties could be classified as ones having small sized fruit (0.53 – 0.67 g) and only Red Dutch had very small berries (0.42 g). In spite of its small berries, Red Dutch turned out the most fruitful variety while the white currant variety Zitavia had the lowest yield level. A negative correlation between yield and fruit weight was reported. In the certain climatic conditions the investigated varieties demonstrated unsatisfactory performance with respect to the studied traits and especially Zitavia, Fays Prolific and Premier and therefore they could not be recommended for launching into production. The rest of the varieties might be used in hobby gardening or selection work.