Strawberry "First Grader": the history and description of the variety, disease and cultivation

For each person, the onset of summer is associated with the appearance of the most delicious and romantic strawberry. The birthplace of its origin is the United States of America. Today, strawberries have gained immense popularity and are cultivated in all parts of the world. For each region, experienced gardeners try to bring out more capricious varieties of berries with high yields. By crossing, the first-grader variety was bred.

Strawberry is a special berry. Its great taste is able to fill every moment with joy and summer ease.

To date, gardeners have been able to bring out many varieties of strawberries, each of them has its own individual characteristics and can adapt to any climatic conditions of a particular region. But there are varieties of strawberries, which are able to grow and give a big harvest only in certain climatic conditions. This type of strawberry is the “First Grader”. She was taken exclusively for breeding in the regions of Western Siberia.

Grade "First Grader" brought more than twenty-five years ago. Its appearance is due to experienced breeders of the Barnaul Research Institute. For its production, high fruit varieties of strawberries “Fairy” and “Torpeda” were crossed. These varieties of strawberry culture gave the "First Grader" a lot of features.

Strawberry “First Grader” is a garden strawberry of medium late ripening and universal use.

A distinctive feature of the variety “First grader” consists in large erect bushes, the maximum height of which reaches 32 cm. The size of the diameter of each bush varies from 38-40 cm. Many large leaves grow in the sockets of the bush. Each sheet has a bright and saturated greenish tint, and there is a wax on the surface. The leaflet has a series of wavy and soft teeth.

The stalks of the bushes themselves are thick, slightly lowered, inclined towards the ground. On each individual stalk grows several buds. The flower has a cream color with a pink tinge. Due to the bisexual structure there is a constant process of self-pollination, contributing to obtaining a rich harvest. An important feature in the process of growing varieties "First Grader" is non-simultaneous flowering buds.

Strawberry fruits grow in the shape of a cone with a blunt end. The entire surface of the berries has grooves. Ripe fruits become saturated red with burgundy streaks inside the ribs. Every year the very first harvest of strawberries is characterized by the quantity and quality of berries. The bushes are dotted with ripe fruits, rather large in size and rich in color. Each subsequent collection becomes smaller.

Every gardener and gardener relates to the process of planting strawberries very scrupulously. Everyone knows that high-quality sowing will give its owner a big harvest.

An important factor is the correct location of strawberry plantings. For the “First Grader” variety, garlic, onions, carrots and parsley are ideal predecessors in the garden. Strawberries should not be planted in places where pumpkin crops were previously grown. A place for strawberry planting should be well ventilated.

Before you start planting strawberries, you need to prepare the ground. A few hours before the start of planting, it is necessary to fertilize the soil. For every square meter of land, a full bucket of humus and about 70 grams of fertilizer of a universal type is brought in, and then the plot is carefully dug up.

The distance between the beds should be 55-60 cm. Holes are dug up on the beds themselves, the distance between which should be at least 30 cm. Selected bushes are placed in these holes. They are watered and rhizomes straighten. When the liquid closes the root, the earth is poured into the hole.It is important that the kidney remains on the surface after adding the soil.

It is worth noting that for planting varieties "First grader" should choose a cloudy weather, so that young bushes after planting were in the shade.

From year to year in order for a strawberry to give its owner a rich harvest, it is necessary to provide special care for it. This applies not only to young seedlings, but also to adult plants.

1. In the first year of planting at the strawberry bushes tendrils and flower stalks are removed. Particular attention is paid to strengthening the rhizome.
2. After the winter period, strawberry bushes must be fertilized with a solution of nitroammofoski in the ratio of one tablespoon of top dressing per bucket of water.
3. Before flowering strawberries need to fertilize the soil, for example, ash or chicken droppings.
4. After harvesting, it is necessary to trim a part of a strawberry bush and once again make the feeding with nitroammophotic, but already in the ratio of two tablespoons per bucket of water.

Care of a plant is not only top dressing of the soil, but also the attentive relation to the strawberry. In some cases, its bushes need to be cut, for example, when the leaves begin to turn yellow and dry. Dry soil needs to be mulched using hay or sawdust. These funds help to preserve a moist environment in the area of ​​the rhizome and protect the fruits of strawberries from contact with the ground.

Strawberry "First Grader" does not like waterlogged soil, so watering should be carried out in moderation. Low humidity helps grow the root system and maintains the quality of the future crop at a good level. Otherwise, the plant can pick up the disease and simply die. It is enough to irrigate twice in 10 days. If the summer was hot and, accordingly, dry, then watering should be carried out more often - twice a week.

The very first watering is required by the end of April, just when the severe frosts finally disappeared. The irrigation technique is quite simple: it is enough to shed about 12 liters of warm water for every square meter of dry soil. It is desirable that the water was settled for several days. If the soil is wet, then the amount of water should be reduced by 2 times, that is, pour out 6 liters of water.

Despite the good characteristics obtained by the variety “First Grader” after crossing, it was not possible to acquire a resistant immunity to pests. The main enemy of the "First Grader" - gray rot. If this fungal infection overcame bushes and fruits, then it will be extremely difficult to save the harvest.

In fact, rot is a dangerous disease for plants, and it is impossible to get rid of it. But if you warn your garden and carry out the necessary prevention, then the future harvest will not harm anything.

The best prevention of fungal infections is in mulching the soil. Straw or sawdust placed under bushes will save the plants, especially in inclement weather, when many types of fungi feel comfortable. Mulching is a good pest control tool that allows you to increase strawberry yield by 35%.

Variety "First Grader" has become a popular type of strawberry among summer residents and gardeners. And due to its qualities and a number of features it receives many positive reviews.

The rich harvest for the variety “First grader” is far from empty words. On average, one weave of land planted with strawberry bushes brings 230 kg of berries, and in cases of ideal climatic conditions, 350 kg can be collected. The fruits of the first harvest grow quite large. The weight of one berry varies between 35-40 grams.During subsequent gathering, the size of the fruit is not so large, and the weight varies from 18 to 26 grams.

After the fourth harvest, the strawberries become significantly smaller, but they do not lose their unsurpassed shape and uniform color. In total, for full harvest, you will need to make about 7-8 approaches in different periods of summer. And all because of the uneven fruiting bushes.

From the "First Grader" it turns out delicious jam, jams and compotes, which are rolled up for the winter. Ripe berries in any collection have a captivating aroma and exhilarating taste.

An important feature of the strawberry variety “First Grader” is the dense structure of each berry. This factor allows them to be stacked on top of each other in storage boxes. In addition, the increased density allows you to maintain a beautiful view of the berries after several hours of transportation.

One of the positive qualities of the “First Grader”, noticed by many gardeners, is its resistance to winter cold and summer drought.

Of the diseases, this variety is susceptible only to gray rot, but preventive measures will avoid it.

Review of strawberries varieties "First Grader", see the following video.