Features of the fruit grape variety "Sofia"

Beautiful, large bunches of grapes, with berries of almost the same size - this is not a dream and not a fantasy. As practice has shown, in nature there are certain varieties of grapes with beautiful, huge clusters and selected, fragrant berries. These varieties include Sofia grapes.

The grapes "Sofia" is an early ripe grade. The vegetation period of the bush is about three and a half months. "Sofia" is a powerful strong plant, a vine of bright brown color with dark green leaves. On the branches of this plant, many inflorescences are formed, among which flowers are predominantly mostly female. For pollination an excellent option is the grape variety "Arcadia". Some experienced growers, in order to improve fruit set, additionally carry out artificial pollination of the inflorescences of grapes.

On the branches of the grape bushes of the Sophia variety, huge conical brushes are formed, the weight of one bunch sometimes reaches three kilograms. Fruits in the hands a lot, it fits snugly to each other, therefore, to avoid rotting the berries, the clusters are thinned.

The berries of this variety are rather large in size and have the shape of an egg. Their weight can reach up to 15 grams. The peel of the fruit is very dense, pink. The flesh of the berries is very fleshy, juicy, sweet, practically seedless.

Sophia grapes have a high resistance to various fungal infections, powdery mildew, rot and so on. However, in order to prevent diseases, it is necessary to periodically process the vine with the help of special tools. This variety does not tolerate low temperatures, so in late autumn, before the onset of the first frost, care should be taken to provide additional protection for the grapes.

Fruits negatively relate to long-term transportation, with an overabundance of moisture they crack and fall off. It is not recommended to abuse nitrogen-containing fertilizers for feeding Sofia grapes. For these purposes it is better to use phosphorus-potassium mixtures.

The grapes "Sofia" is quite productive, so you need to regularly prune the bushes to maintain the level of fruiting. “Sophia” does not tolerate drought badly, but also feels bad in rainy summer. Grafting grapes "Sofia" should also be carried out with caution. First you need to make sure that the vine to which Sofia is imparted is not inferior to her in strength and characteristics.

Grapes can be propagated by cuttings and layering. The correct pruning of grapes is made on 6-8 buds. Cuttings after pruning rooted perfectly.

During reproduction by layering, the shoots of grapes are instilled into the ground and constantly moistened throughout the season. After a year, roots will appear in the prikopannaya branch, the plant will be completely independent, can be carefully separated from the mother bush and transplanted.

The pit for planting seedlings must be prepared in advance. Dig a hole of a certain size, then lay a layer of fertile soil mixed with fertilizer on the bottom. Next, you need to pour into the hole a layer of ordinary soil. After that, a seedling is placed in a hole, gently spreading the roots, spreading evenly over the hole, covered with earth and watered well.

If a graft is grafted on a grape seedling, it must be left above the ground. To feed the bushes, it is better to use potash fertilizers, they help to increase the number of ovaries on the branches and accelerate the ripening of fruits, as well as phosphorus ones - to strengthen the root system of the plant and increase the resistance of the vine to frost in winter.

The optimal and most suitable period for planting Sophia grapes is spring, when the soil warms up well. In this case, the shoots adapt perfectly and quickly take root in a new place.

Before planting seedlings need to choose the right place for the future of the vineyard. The site should be well lit, grapes like the sun.

Experienced winegrowers advise planting seedlings whenever possible on a small elevation on the south or southwest side of the plot. If the soil on the site is clay, you should mix it with fine sand and, conversely, a small amount of clay should be added to the sandy soil.

It must be at least 3-4 meters. Digging pits for planting seedlings should be in advance, approximately two weeks before the planned planting of grapes. The optimal size of the hole 80 to 80 centimeters. At the bottom of the pit should lay out a mixture of fertile soil and 2-3 humus buckets.

Grape seedlings are carefully placed in pre-prepared holes, the roots are carefully covered with fertile soil. Then you need to pour a bucket in the pit or one and a half buckets of water to moisten and compact the ground well. After this, the pit is completely buried.

Watering grapes "Sofia" has some features. The best option in this case is drip irrigation. Using this method of watering the soil contributes to the uniform wetting of the earth.

It is strictly not recommended to allow the soil to dry out, as well as waterlogging. It adversely affects the fruits, the berries crack and rot. During the period of fruit ripening, it is better to exclude watering of the grapes. Care should be taken to ensure that large quantities of rainwater do not fall under the roots of the plant. To do this, you can lay out ruberoid on the ground under the bushes or sheets of slate, while water will flow to the sides and will not fall under the root of the plant.

Feeding grapes also has some features. In early spring or late autumn, it is necessary to add humus under the bushes and then carefully loosen the soil. As a feed, it is better to use special mixtures of industrial production, which are sold in specialized outlets. The composition of these mixtures includes nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. The nitrogen content is minimal.

Experienced winegrowers recommend independently to look for an individual approach to this variety based on the climatic conditions of the area on which Sofia is growing. At the same time, it is necessary to determine how to properly form a bush in order to get a good harvest of berries.

It should be noted that many gardeners growing Sofia grapes face such a problem as very dense brushes. The berries in clusters are formed a lot, they are tightly pressed to each other, pouring, the fruits crack and rot. This can be a consequence of bad weather, as well as improper formation of the bush.

Based on these characteristics of the variety, the thinning of the grapes should be carried out in a timely manner. Following the advice of experienced professionals, this procedure must be carried out twice during one season.

The main thing is to do it according to the recommendations of experts.

• In the period when the ovary just formed. It is necessary to carefully remove all the berries along the stem on one side. In this case, you can remove all the fruits, and you can make a small track up to two centimeters wide.Gradually pouring the berries evenly distributed throughout the bunch and fill the void.
• The second stage of thinning of clusters is necessary in the period when the berries have reached half of their size. At the same time it is necessary to remove single fruits in various places of brushes. It is necessary to take into account that this is necessary only in the case when after the first stage of thinning the berries have grown very much and are again located too tightly to each other.

When thinning grapes, up to 40 percent of the berries are removed on average. However, sometimes the growers remove about half of the ovaries in the brush, but even in this case, the clusters of grapes grow very large, with selected berries.

The Sofia grape variety does not tolerate low temperatures, so in the winter period it is necessary to provide the bushes with additional protection in order to avoid damage to the plants. Even growing bushes in the southern regions, many winegrowers put grapes on the ground and wrap them with special reed mats. It helps to protect the bushes from icy rains and temperature extremes.

In areas where snowy winters with severe frosts take place, care must be taken to protect grapes more reliably.

But if the snow falls a little, you need to build a more reliable shelter:

1. around the plant you need to make a special box of small size;
2. lay a layer of dry mulch on the bottom, carefully lay a vine on it;
3. shoots from above need to be covered with insulation, you can use for this ordinary hay or lapnik;
4. then the entire structure must be securely covered with a waterproof material, for example, a dense polyethylene film, slate, roofing material and so on.

The grapes are harvested as the berries ripen. Do not strongly perederzhivat brush on the vine, it adversely affects the taste of berries. However, many growers claim that slightly over-ripe berries are much more fragrant and tastier. Therefore, everyone must determine the optimal time for harvesting.

The taste of fruit depends not only on the duration of stay on the vine, the soil structure has a strong influence, but also the weather conditions during the ripening period of the berries.

Grapes are rich in sugars, vitamins A, C, E, B. In addition, the fruit contains many organic acids, pectins and a huge number of various micro and macro elements.

If you plan to transport the fruits of grapes, you must carefully cut off the brush, while you need to try not to damage the wax on the fruits.

The grapes "Sofia" refers to table varieties, its juicy, tasty, fragrant fruit is very pleasant to use fresh, as well as for the manufacture of various wine beverages. This is the main purpose of the Sofia grape fruit.

For more information on Sofia grapes, see the video below.