Irga

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Irga (lat. Amelanchier) - well-known berry culture; tree of the Rosaceae family. Under natural conditions, it grows in the United States, Africa, European countries, the Caucasus, Japan and Russia.

Description

Irga is a high-yielding deciduous shrub or tree, reaching a height of 6 m. The crown is dense, the bark of the trunk and branches is velvety, dark brown, hard. The leaves are simple, solid, oval or roundish, dark green on the outside, whitish on the inside.

The flowers are inconspicuous, numerous, can be white or cream, collected in shields in several pieces (usually up to 12 pieces). Flowering takes place in the first - second decade of May, lasts 7-10 days. The fruits of the irgi are small, spherical, sometimes oval, up to 6-10 mm in diameter, can be purple or black with a blue tint, always gray-gray.

Fruits ripen in July-August, have a pleasant sweet taste. Irga is a fast-growing plant that gives abundant root shoots. The root system of the culture is powerful, some roots go to a depth of 2-3 m. Irga actively bears fruit, starting from three years, and up to 40 years.

In horticulture, the culture is not popular, it is rarely grown for berries. After all, the fruits of the culture do not ripen at the same time, and the birds willingly eat them, not allowing them to harvest. On the territory of the Russian Federation, the plant is most often used as a decoration or protective stripes.

The subtleties of growing

Irga cannot be called whimsically a culture, for it neither location nor soil composition plays a special role. Irga is able to grow normally on almost all soils, however, he does not like damp areas and lowlands. Swampy and saline soils will also not please the plant. Irga is photophilous, there is more harvest in sunny areas. In addition, in the sun, the berries have a richer and sweeter taste. The plant is frost-resistant, neutral to wind and drought. Temperatures above 35C also do not affect plant development.

Reproduction and landing features

Irga is propagated by seed, cuttings and root shoots. The third method is considered the most common. Cuttings and propagation by root shoots are carried out either in early spring or in autumn. Immediately after planting, the plants are watered and mulched abundantly.

Sowing seeds is carried out immediately after collection. First, ripe berries are collected, laid out in one layer on a plate and stored for seven days. Then the seeds are separated, dried and sown in seedling containers filled with a nutritious and moist mixture consisting of fertile soil, peat and river sand. Seedlings hatch a couple of weeks after sowing.

A pick is carried out when 4-5 true leaves are formed on the plants. With this method, the plant begins to bear fruit in the fifth year, which is a significant disadvantage. Very often, experienced gardeners plant the game on mountain ash or hawthorn, and sometimes even on a pear.

Care

In the first 10 years after planting, the plant needs regular weeding, loosening and feeding. Formative pruning is carried out for 10-11 years, thickening branches and shoots with weak growth are removed. With thinning pruning, only 10-12 healthy trunks are left. Shrubs that are too tall are pruned.

Top dressing of irgi is carried out in the fall, both mineral and organic fertilizers are introduced into the soil. Without top dressing, the plants give yields of poor quality. To reduce the ability of birds to peck fruit, shrubs are protected with a special mesh material.

Despite the fact that irga is rarely affected by harmful insects and diseases, it needs preventive treatments with 1% Bordeaux liquid. Insignificant damage to plants can be caused by leaf rollers and swamps. In the fight against them, it is recommended to use organophosphate preparations, which are used to treat bushes before flowering crops or when larvae are found.