History of origin
Carrots (daucus carota subsp. sativus) Children's sweetness obtained in research and production. In 2010, it was included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements, recommended and approved for cultivation in the regions of the Central Black Earth region of the Russian Federation.
The authors of the variety Children's Sweetness are Z. S. Vinogradov and A. S. Semin.
Carrot Children's sweetness is one of many created on the basis of the Polish variety Amsterdamska (daucus sativus Amsterdamska). Spojnia scientists received it at the end of the last century. The undoubted advantages of Amsterdam carrots are their undemandingness to soil and weather conditions. They were the reason that the Polish variety gave rise to new Russian ones, in particular, Children's sweets.
Description of carrot variety Children's sweetness
The plant forms a spreading rosette of dissected foliage of medium length. Its color is bright green. Root vegetables of the Children's Sweet variety are dense, smooth, cylindrical in shape, with a pointed tip. The surface is smooth, the flesh is without a core. The color is bright orange, uniform throughout the entire volume. Under favorable conditions, carrots reach 20 cm in length and weigh about 200 g. Mature root vegetables are distinguished by a high sugar content (8.4 g) and carotene (18 mg) per 100 g of product. Due to its sweet taste, it is used in baby food, consumed fresh and after heat treatment.
During the growth period, the root crops of the Children's Sweet variety often protrude above the surface of the ground
Why are carrots bitter?
carrot fly
Very often, carrots become bitter due to damage by carrot fly larvae.
Bitterness is just a reaction of the root vegetable to damage that looks like this
A sign of carrot fly damage is leaves with a red-violet color. Such plants are immediately removed.
Solanin
Formed when the top of a carrot is exposed. During storage, solanine gradually penetrates into the tissues of the root crop and the carrots begin to taste bitter. There is only one way to combat this: when growing, do not allow the tops to become exposed.
Fungal diseases
Simply put, rot. Fungi destroy carrot tissue, which leads to a bitter taste in the apparently intact part of the root vegetable.
The remaining reasons are not dangerous to health, but are laid down during the growth period:
- insufficient watering;
- too much mineral fertilizer;
- late harvesting of root crops and, as a consequence, their overripening;
- insufficiently fertile land.
If proper agricultural practices are followed, the vast majority of these reasons will disappear by themselves and the carrots will be sweet, juicy and crispy.
Another reason for bitterness: trying to grow the second generation from seeds obtained from an F1 hybrid. In the second generation hybrids, the properties of the wild carrot ancestor begin to dominate. And the root of the wild ancestor is not only bitter, but also has a woody core.
It should be noted that in fact, the benefits of carrots are greatly exaggerated. The myth about improved vision (myopia) as a result of eating carrots is another English hoax, which, along with the Pharaoh Hound and the Afghan Hound, has survived for decades. Only, unlike the last two, the story about carrots did not pursue commercial goals, but was supposed to hide the fact that radars were used on RAF aircraft during night flights during the Second World War.
The second argument against excessive consumption of carrots is that carotene is found in many foods besides carrots. There is 10 times more of it in young nettles than in carrots. Orange color is not a sign of the presence of a large amount of carotene. Melon, broccoli, and all traditional greens also contain beta-carotene. Vitamin A and carotene accumulate in the liver and are used as needed. There is no need to eat foods with carotene every day.
But it is very easy to overdose on a vitamin if you consume too many carrots.
All of the above applies to carrot juice. It is even easier to overdose than just a root vegetable. No one will be happy about non-infectious hepatitis or the birth of a child with a pathology if a pregnant woman is passionate about carrot juice as a natural and healthy product.
Characteristics of carrots Children's sweetness
The variety belongs to the mid-early variety. It is frost-resistant and can be sown in spring or before winter, when the air temperature drops to +5 ⁰C. Baby sweet carrots are drought-resistant and require regular watering in the first half of the growing season. The taste is excellent, the variety is recommended for making juices, purees, and winter preparations. Root crops are highly transportable and have a long shelf life if the necessary conditions are met - temperature and humidity.
Maturation period
To achieve technical ripeness of the Children's Sweet variety, 110 to 130 days are required after the appearance of the first shoots. Most often, root crops are dug up and stored in the second ten days of September. When sowing before winter, harvesting begins 2-3 weeks earlier than usual. Carrots can be used fresh starting in July, but during this period they are not sweet enough and cannot be stored for long.
Important! The readiness of root vegetables can be judged by the presence of white hairs on them.
Carrot yield Children's sweets
Growing vegetables on an industrial scale gives a yield of 290-330 c/ha. When conducting varietal tests, the greatest result was achieved in the Voronezh region - 647 c/ha. On personal plots, the average yield is 4-7 kg/m2.
The performance of this characteristic is influenced by several factors:
- Illumination of the area.
- Soil quality.
- Compliance with sowing deadlines.
- Annual crop rotation.
- Timely thinning of plants.
- Regular watering, loosening, removing weeds.
Growing carrots in the shade not only reduces yield, but also prevents the root crops from accumulating enough sugars
Resistance to diseases and pests
The Children's Sweet variety is not particularly resistant to diseases and damage from insect pests. To increase these indicators, it is necessary to carry out pre-sowing disinfection of the soil and seeds, follow the agricultural techniques for growing carrots, harvest the crop in a timely manner, do not cause mechanical damage to the root crops, and store them correctly.
Growing regions
The carrot variety Children's Sweetness is recommended for cultivation in the Central Black Earth Region, but despite this, it can be successfully cultivated in most other regions. To obtain a guaranteed harvest, sowing dates should be adjusted depending on climatic conditions:
- In central Russia, planting should be carried out in the third ten days of April.
- In Siberia - in early May.
- In the southern regions - in mid-March, while the soil remains moist.
Advantages and disadvantages
The sugar content in the Children's Sweet variety is twice the average for carrots.
The sweet root vegetable is ideal for preparing baby food and diet food.
Pros:
- excellent taste;
- juiciness of root vegetables;
- possibility of cultivation in most regions;
- high transportability;
- storage duration;
- resistance to low air temperatures;
- stable and regular harvest;
- obtaining seeds with preservation of varietal characteristics.
Minuses:
- low immunity to major diseases and damage from insect pests;
- the need to hill up root crops protruding above the surface;
- high demands on soil fertility.
Application
In addition to making purees and porridges for baby food, sweet carrots can become the basis for a wide variety of dishes. Vegetables are perfect for making freshly squeezed juice, either using carrots alone or in combination with other fruits and vegetables, for example, apples. The high-sugar root vegetable is an excellent ingredient for numerous desserts - casseroles, soufflés, pancakes, pies, cookies and even carrot candies.
You can find recipes for refreshing carrot ice cream on the Internet and in cookbooks. You can eat this familiar vegetable in pickled form, as well as in a variety of salads, main courses and soups.
Sweet carrots are a storehouse of vitamins , natural carotene and sugar necessary for the body. Due to its sweetness and bright color, this species is perfect for introducing a healthy vegetable into the diet of children and showing them that proper nutrition can also be quite tasty. In addition, adults will also enjoy sweet carrots, since they can easily be widely used in preparing a wide variety of dishes.
Features of planting and care
Baby sweet carrots prefer light, loose loamy or sandy loam soil. It is carefully dug up, weeds are removed, and complex mineral fertilizer is applied immediately before sowing. On the prepared beds, furrows are made 2-3 cm deep with an interval of 20 cm between rows. Seeds are sown in late April, early May, when the air temperature reaches +16-20 ⁰C. Granules are placed at a distance of 3 cm from each other, regular seeds - more often.
Before the first shoots, the furrows are watered twice a week; after the seedlings appear, they are reduced to once. Three weeks before harvesting, moistening is stopped.
To obtain high-quality vegetables, it is necessary to thin out the seedlings several times. First, leave a gap of 2 cm between the plants, and later, when the diameter of the root crops reaches 1.5 cm, increase it to 5 cm.
Important! To prevent removed plants from attracting carrot flies, they must be immediately removed from the site.
Each watering is completed by loosening the soil and hilling the tops of root crops
Carrot pests
Like any vegetable, carrots have their enemies. The main pest is the carrot fly. It is easy to recognize its appearance - the leaves begin to curl.
The main reasons for the appearance of carrot flies:
- improper care;
- muffled landings;
- a large number of weeds;
- excessive watering and so on.
The main pest of carrots is the carrot fly.
To fight, you can use special drugs - Intavir, Actellix. If there are less than 30-35 days left before harvest, insecticide treatment is prohibited. Only manual removal of infected leaves will help here, and this is not too much joy, as it will take a lot of time. It is better to prevent the appearance of the pest by providing proper care.
Pest and disease control
In case of unfavorable weather conditions or violation of agricultural practices, the risk of diseases in carrots increases. Children's sweetness. Plants should be inspected periodically to begin treatment at an early stage.
Bacteriosis
The very first signs of the disease are yellowing of the lower leaves. Later they turn brown, and sunken brown spots appear on the roots. There is no treatment for the disease; diseased carrots are removed and disposed of.
Root crops infected with bacteriosis emit an unpleasant odor
Brown spot
A fungal infection occurs as a result of a violation of growing technology. The foliage first turns brown and later dries out. After the disease spreads to the root crops, they begin to rot.
At the first signs of brown spot, diseased plants are burned and the soil is treated with a solution of copper sulfate
Powdery mildew
White spores appear on the petioles and leaves, which gradually become denser. Later, brown spots form at the site of the lesion, the foliage dries and falls off. Pollination with ash and spraying with fungicides are used as treatment.
When affected by powdery mildew, root crops stop growing
carrot fly
The insect is considered the main pest of carrots, and it is not the fly itself that spoils the root crops, but its larvae. Despite the fact that the Children's Sweet variety is considered more resistant to pest damage, the damage it causes cannot be underestimated. Insecticides are used to control carrot flies.
For prevention purposes, it is necessary to promptly loosen the soil, thin out the seedlings, and prevent waterlogging of the soil.
Important! A month before harvesting, the use of chemicals is stopped.
The first symptom of carrot fly infestation is a change in foliage color to purple-red.
Harvest and storage
Harvesting begins in late August - early September . Winter carrots ripen earlier. The degree of maturity of root crops is judged by the beginning of drying of the lower leaves on the tops. Dry weather is chosen for harvesting. The collected vegetables are first sorted, dried, and then placed in winter storage.
How and when to collect
Vegetables are harvested in late summer - early autumn, at which time root crops stop growing.
The carrots are carefully lifted with a pitchfork and pulled out of the ground by the tops , shaken off the ground and transferred to a dry room to dry.
After that it is sorted. Undamaged, healthy specimens are selected for storage . Their tops are cut off and placed in winter storage. The rest goes for processing.
Storage features and keeping quality of the variety
The vegetable storage facility creates optimal conditions for long-term storage of crops. The air temperature must be maintained within 0...+5°C, humidity - 90-95% . Increased humidity leads to rotting of root crops. The room must be constantly ventilated.
With proper storage, the keeping quality of the variety reaches 95% .
