Currant Asia

Medium-early maturing variety, obtained at the All-Russian Research Institute of Fruit Crop Selection from crossing the varieties Chulkovskaya and Maarces Prominent. Breeders: L.V. Bayanova, O.D. Golieva. Under state variety testing since 2001.

Medium-height, upright, moderately dense bush. One-year-old growing shoots are green with anthocyanin 'tan', matte, straight, medium thickness.

Leaf five-lobed, medium or large size, dark green, leathery, glossy, wrinkled, straight. Leaf tips are pointed. Angle between midribs of lateral lobes is straight. Notches between central and lateral lobes are small. Leaf base has a small notch, teeth are short and blunt. Petiole is medium length and thickness, with weak anthocyanin 'tan' at the base.

Flowers are large, dish-shaped, yellow-green, green calyx, clearly visible. Sepals are yellow-green with anthocyanin streaks, twisted, widely spaced. Petals are medium-sized, narrow. Inflorescences are medium length (8.0-11.0 cm including petiole), dense, arched. Inflorescence axes are medium thickness, hairy. Petiole of inflorescence is medium length.

Berries are medium size (average mass 0.6 g, maximum 1.0 g), round, dark red, sweet-sour flavor. Calyx is closed. Chemical composition: soluble dry matter — 10.9%, total sugars — 7.4%, titratable acidity — 2.1%, ascorbic acid — 60.6%, P-active substances — 606.0 mg/100 g, pectin substances (on dry basis) — 9.5%.

Winter-hardy, high-yielding, average multi-year yield is 17.8 t/ha (2.5 kg/plant under planting scheme 0.5 x 2.8 m), maximum — 26.4 t/ha (3.8 kg/plant), weakly susceptible to powdery mildew and leaf spot diseases.

Advantages of the variety: winter hardiness, high yield, complex disease resistance, early ripening, increased ascorbic acid content in berries and high content of P-active substances.

Disadvantages of the variety: insufficiently high flavor qualities of berries for an early variety.