Coastal Grapes

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

Coastal grape (lat. Vitis riparia) - a representative of the genus Grapes of the Grape family. Another name is fragrant grapes. Under natural conditions, it grows in humid forests and along the river banks of the eastern and southeastern regions of North America.

Characteristics of culture

Coastal grape is a powerful liana up to 25 m long with a stem equipped with intermittent tendrils. Leaves are bright green, shiny, broadly ovate, three-lobed, serrated along the edge, up to 18 cm long. The flowers are faded, small, collected in large inflorescences, reaching a length of 10-20 cm. The fruits are spherical, fragrant, purple-black, with a bluish bloom, up to 1 cm in diameter, have a herbaceous taste, are not used for food.

Coastal grapes bloom in June - July for two weeks, the fruits ripen in September. Differs in frost and drought resistance. It tolerates frosts down to -30C. Undemanding to soil conditions. Ideal for vertical landscaping. It has a form with edible fruits and several hybrid forms. Thanks to the crossing of coastal grapes with Amur grapes, the frost-resistant Buitur variety was obtained. Also, the following varieties were obtained from the considered grape variety: Taiga emerald, Northern black, Northern white, etc.

Coastal grapes boast phylloxera resistance, are easy to cut and grafted. Seed germination is low, usually up to 10%. Seeds need preliminary stratification, which lasts about 4-5 months. After stratification, the seeds require heating for 5-7 days for 3-4 hours a day at a temperature of 28-30C.

Landing

In many ways, the health of the coastal grapes depends on the correct planting. The optimal distance between plants is 1.5-2 m, between varieties with edible fruits - 2.5 m. When growing vigorous varieties for vertical gardening of gazebos and other small architectural buildings, a distance of 2.5-3 m is observed. in several tiers, in this case the distance should be about 0.7-1 m.

Planting of grape seedlings is carried out in pre-prepared pits, the width of which varies from 40 to 50 cm, and the depth is 10-20 cm more than the root system. At the bottom of the pit, a mound is formed from a mixture made up of earth mixed with compost or humus. The heel of the seedling is placed on the top of the equipped mound, the rest of the roots are evenly distributed. The voids of the pit are filled with the remaining soil mixture and trampled down, then watered, poured in loose soil, set a peg and form a low mound

Diseases

The most common and dangerous disease of coastal grapes and other species is mildew. It affects shoots, leaves, buds, flowers and fruits. The foliage affected by mildew bends, and oily spots with a diameter of about 2-3 cm are formed on its surface. In the future, the foliage is covered with a spiderweb bloom of gray color, which later becomes brown. As a result of untimely processing, the leaves dry out and fall off. A similar situation occurs with other parts of the plant. As a rule, mildew culture is affected in May-June due to high humidity and high temperatures.

Oidium also poses a danger to grapes. It infects leaves, buds and other aerial parts of the plant. It is easy to find it - a white bloom first appears on the plant, then black dots, and then spots. Leaves and flowers affected by powdery mildew turn brown and fall off. With a strong lesion, an unpleasant specific odor appears. The disease is a consequence of hot and dry weather, or sudden changes in temperature.

Anthracnose harms the culture no less than the previous two diseases. It also infects aerial parts of plants. Through holes are formed on the leaves, and spots with a dark purple border on the berries. The shoots are deformed as a result of the action of the disease, deep wounds appear on them. In case of untimely processing, the grapes die.