Agat Donskoy grapes: characteristics and description of the variety

Beginner winegrowers can grow Agat Donskoy grapes. The Russian variety adapts well to any weather conditions. Adult bushes can overwinter without shelter. The variety has high productivity.

The vine is resistant to mildew, oidium, gray rot. The seedlings are taking root well. Agat Donskoy is grown in many regions of the Russian Federation.

History of selection

The Agat Donskoy variety was included in the State Register in 1992; before that it appeared under a different name - Vityaz. Parent forms:

• Dolores – frost-resistant, transportable, with good taste;
• Zarya Severa – early ripening (120 days), withstands frosts down to – 32 °C, weakly affected by mildew;
• Early Russian is not resistant to fungal infection, relatively frost-resistant (-23 °C), the pulp contains up to 21% sugars.

Selection work was carried out at the Potapenko Institute.

Grape variety “Dawn of the North” (bred by Ya. I. Potapenko and E. I. Zakharova)

Bushes of medium vigor, high yield, with well-ripening shoots. Ripens much earlier than non-frost-resistant varieties. Quite resistant to mildew. Fruits in the second or third year after planting.

The leaves are small, three-, rarely five-lobed, with a net-wrinkled surface. The flower is functionally female. The best pollinators of the variety are European-Amur hybrids. The clusters are medium-sized, conical or cylindrical, dense or medium-density. The berries are medium-sized, round, black, with a strong waxy coating, and accumulate sugar well. The pulp is juicy, slightly crispy, the combination of sugar and acid is harmonious.

Description

The grapes ripen early, the growing season lasts just over 115 days. In the middle zone, harvesting begins in the last days of August or the first days of September. In the south, the grapes will ripen earlier (mid-August).

The variety shows stable yield. From a bush grown on a personal farmstead, 50 kg of berries are harvested. For industrial cultivation – 150 c/ha. Grapes have a branched root system that goes into the deep layers of the earth.

The Agat Donskoy variety is considered vigorous.
An important characteristic is the percentage of shoots ripening; it has good indicators, up to 80% of the total number matures. The flowers are bisexual and do not require pollinators. The clusters are medium in density, cone-shaped in shape. They weigh from 400 to 600 g . Help! The productivity of Agat Donskoy depends on the quality of care.
Its indicator is great growth power. The more powerful the bush, the higher the yield, the larger the clusters, the better the taste. The taste of Agat Donskoy berries is rated 3.8 points. It is pleasant, but simple without any frills or flavor. The fruits are moderately sweet, the sugar content is average - no more than 15%. Characteristics of berries:

• weight from 4 to 6 g;
• the color of the durable skin is dark blue;
• waxy coating;
• the flesh is crispy and dense;
• round shape;
• seeds from 2 to 4.

The taste is affected by the weather. The berries are more sour if the summer is cool. Because of the rains, the commercial quality of the fruits decreases: the fruits crack and rot.

Specifics of planting, growing and subsequent care

As a rule, the crop is planted in open spaces with good sunlight and sufficient ventilation.

Agat Donskoy has a peculiarity - it can be placed near a wall or hedge, forming arches, taking into account that the plant will receive enough ultraviolet radiation.

Sunlight is necessary for grapes for photosynthesis, crown formation and fruit set. At the same time, a small shade for a short time creates favorable conditions for growth and protects the fruits and soil from drying out.

Selection of planting material

Selection of Agat Donskoy grape seedlings

You need to purchase seedlings from experienced winegrowers who monitor the preservation of the varietal identity of the shrubs and the characteristics of the hybrid. Purchasing low-quality planting material can lead to the fact that the vines end up with clusters with signs of peas, insufficient fruiting and yield. There are rules for choosing seedlings:

• It is necessary to purchase seedlings before planting.
• Pay attention to the rhizome - the root system should be well developed, the root cut of a healthy plant is always moist and white. A gray and dry cut may indicate that the planting material is stale or that the plant is diseased.
• Check the trunk of the seedling - pick off the bark, make sure that there is a light green trunk under the woody shell.
• Check the shoots - they should be elastic, and the eyes should sit firmly on the shoots.

Timing of planting of planting material

Experts recommend planting Agat Donskoy grapes in late spring or the first weeks of summer. At this time, the temperature regime stabilizes; night and day differences are not as pronounced as in the beginning or middle of spring. A parameter such as soil temperature is of great importance for good adaptation of seedlings. In cold soil, the temperature of which does not exceed +10°C, all life processes in the planting material slow down, the rate of adaptation of the plant decreases, which subsequently affects its further growth.

It is important to plant the seedlings in the ground, the temperature of which stays around +15...+18°C day and night.

Warm soil promotes the survival of the root system and the growth of cuttings.

The process of planting seedlings of the Agat Donskoy grape variety

The grape crop is a perennial plant, therefore, in order to achieve good fruiting and high yields, it is necessary to follow the rules for planting cuttings. To plant Agat Donskoy grapes you need:

• Dig holes with parameters 80x80x80 cm. The distance between holes should be from 1.5 to 2 m.
• Place drainage material – crushed stone or expanded clay – at the bottom of the hole.
• Pour soil mixture on top of the drainage. To do this, the top soil, which was removed from the hole, is mixed with humus in the proportions of 40% earth and 60% humus. 1 kg is added to this mixture, as well as the same amount of superphosphate and crushed stone.
• 4 buckets of fertile soil are added on top of the mixture.
• Pour the hole generously and install a pipe to a depth of 70-80 cm for further watering of the inner layers of the hole. This is necessary to feed the root system with water in the first year.
• A seedling is placed in the recess and covered with soil 15-18 cm thick , just above the level of the root collar.

Peculiarities

The bushes are prone to overload and require crop rationing. When overloaded, the ripening period is delayed and the plant weakens. Sustainable fruiting is achieved through rationing. Pruning is carried out, leaving 1-2 fruit clusters on each vine.

According to reviews from winegrowers, the taste of Agat Donskoy berries improves when the clusters are ripened on the vine. They believe that if the weather forecast is good, then there is no need to rush into cleaning. The longer the berries hang on the vine, the more sugar they accumulate.

Planting Agat Donskoy grapes

To plant this grape, it is recommended to choose sunny, open areas protected from drafts. At the same time, Agat Donskoy is undemanding to the composition of the soil. The main thing is that the soil has good aeration and neutral acidity. The groundwater level on the site must be at least 1.5 m.

It is recommended to plant in the spring so that the seedlings can get stronger before winter. The bushes need to be placed on the site, taking into account the fact that each one needs about 5 square meters. m of space for adequate nutrition and development.

Important! When using this type of grape as a “wall” crop, the seedling must be planted at a distance of 1 m from the building.

Advantages and disadvantages

The Agat Donskoy grape variety has advantages that winegrowers value:

• easy to care for;
• most of the vines are ripening;
• there are few stepsons, this reduces the time for their removal;
• adult bushes tolerate frosts down to – 26 °C without shelter;
• resistant to fungal infection;
• bunches are stored for 2-3 months;
• The fruits are good fresh and can be used as a raw material for making juices, compotes, and freezing.

Not everyone likes the taste of Agat Donskoy grapes. The first 3 years the yield is low. During this period, intensive wood growth occurs. Starting from 4 years of age, the harvest volume increases.

Reproduction methods

Grapes can be propagated on the site by cuttings, layering, and grafting. Using the first two methods, a gardener can easily propagate the variety himself; the last option is best left to specialists.

Propagation of the crop by seeds is not usually used by farmers.

Note! Tools used for propagating grapes must be disinfected to prevent infection of the plantings with various diseases.

Agricultural technology

It is necessary to take into account when choosing the Agat Donskoy variety that the grapes grow better in the sun and do not tolerate salt marshes and marshy soil. This variety is propagated by 2-3 year old seedlings, as well as cuttings. They are grafted onto the rootstock. Planting is carried out in autumn and spring. Agat Donskoy is grown on supports. They can be of different types:

• trellis;
• gazebo;
• stake;
• wall

Trimming

Formative pruning is carried out every year. Autumn is the best time for it, but you can do it in the spring, before sap flow begins. The main purpose of pruning is to reduce stress. It refers to the number of eyes left on the vine.

The load is calculated taking into account the age of the bush. The norm is taken as the load recommended for a fruiting bush:

• 50% of the norm for 2-year-old grapes;
• 80% of the norm for 3 year old bushes.

Donskoy agate is often pruned by winegrowers by 5-8 buds with a permissible total load on the bush of 35 to 45 buds.

Summer care

In the summer, the grape bushes are watered. Annual seedlings need more moisture. After planting them in a permanent place, they are watered weekly for the first month, then the frequency is reduced to 2 times a month. In order for the vine to ripen to 100%, watering ends in August.

A grown Agata Donskoy bush (from 2 years and older) is watered 3 times per season: 2 times during the active growing season (before buds open, after flowering), the third (moisture-charging) - before frost.

Important!

You should not water the grapes during mass flowering; they may drop their flowers.

Each bush consumes from 40 to 60 liters. The volume is reduced 20 days before the berries are fully ripened. They are stopped no later than 7 days before harvesting. This helps protect the berries from cracking. Moisture-charging irrigation increases the frost resistance of grapes. It is carried out after all the foliage has fallen.

In order for the yield of Agat Donskoy to correspond to the declared one (50 kg per bush), it is fed annually. Fertilizers are applied at the root (root feeding) or along the leaves (foliar feeding).

The first time they are applied to the soil is 2-3 years after planting. Most fertilizers are applied in the fall. The summer feeding scheme is shown in the table.

If the weather is cool (<15 °C), then there is no point in root feeding. Spraying with boric acid (solution) before flowers bloom improves immunity. When flowering ends, it is recommended to treat with a solution of zinc sulfate.

Main characteristics

A high-yielding variety, the absolute leader in nutritional value and richness of taste. Suitable for making wine and juices, it is a frost-resistant technical grade. It is also worth noting other frost-resistant varieties “northern saperavi” and “alpha”.

Ripening period

Refers to hybrids with early-medium ripening - the berries ripen by the end of August, beginning of September, 115-120 days after bud formation. Experts recommend not to rush into harvesting - the bunches only become sweeter in the sun.

Bush

The parent of “agatama” is “Don agate.”
Vigorous bushes with well-spreading shoots, strong vines, developing quickly, growing by 2.5 meters in a year. In total, it can grow up to 30 m in height. The thickness of the stem reaches up to 20 cm in diameter.

Bunches and berries

The clusters are cone-shaped, medium dense, sometimes loose, weighing 500-600 grams.

Reference! Perennial bushes with proper care produce kilogram clusters.

The berries are fleshy and juicy, dark blue, almost black, in color. They have a round shape, the average size reaches 3-4 grams. The pulp of the fruit is dense and fleshy, juicy, the skin is crispy and thick. Sugar content up to 22 grams per 100 cubic cm, acidity – 7 g/l.

Taste

It has a pronounced taste, reminiscent of the aroma of a rose. Suitable for making wine, juices, compotes, retains taste and shape when frozen.

Diseases and pests

Disease resistance is high, but prevention is needed. The risk of fungal diseases increases in summer if the weather is hot and damp. Agat Donskoy must be treated with the fungicide Fitosporin twice during the season, adding Zircon to it. These two remedies are compatible. 2 sprays per leaf are enough:

• the first immediately after the end of flowering;
• the second after 14 days.

Reference!

All chemical treatments are stopped 20 days before harvesting.

When symptoms of the disease appear, they resort to medications for this infection. The processing method and application rate are taken from the instructions.

Comparison with other varieties

You can see whether Agat Donskoy grapes have any advantages over similar varieties only by comparing their characteristics. For example, let's take Lunar and Chrysolite - grapes of approximately the same ripening period, recommended by the state register for cultivation in all regions. Unfortunately, some parameters are not given in the description of the FSBI “State Varietation Commission”. The data is supplemented with information from the Internet.

Table: Don Agate, Lunar and Chrysolite

The collected information indicates that the only indisputable advantage of Agat Donskoy is its resistance to frost and the resulting possibility of growing it in a non-covered culture in certain regions. It is only slightly superior in yield to Lunny, but is significantly inferior in this indicator to Chrysolite, which is tastier than it, according to tasters, but is more easily susceptible to diseases.

Agate and his rivals in the photo

Grape variety "Beauty of the North" (Olga)

Beauty of the North (Olga). An early-ripening, large-fruited table variety with increased frost resistance. Very fruitful and high-yielding. The bush is vigorous, with good ripening of the vines. Harvesting maturity occurs in the first half of August. The duration of the growing season is 110-115 days. Susceptible to mildew and oidium. Relatively resistant to gray rot and cracking of berries. Winters well without covering the bushes in frosts down to -25 degrees Celsius. The load on the bush is 35 shoots, leaving no more than 20 bunches. Suitable for long-term storage. The bunch is large, branched, loose. The berries are large, white.

The variety is characterized by strong growth, so it should be placed in rows every 1.5-2 meters. Requires careful wrecking. No more than two bunches should be left on one shoot. The best shape is a four-armed fan. Recommended for cultivation in the central zone only as a wall crop.

Grape variety “Early Violet” (bred by Ya. I. Potapenko and E. I. Zakharova)

The variety is winter-hardy, early, productive, and adapted to the conditions of the southeast of the country. Capable of accumulating a lot of sugar. The bushes are vigorous, with well-ripening shoots.

A valuable table variety, also suitable for making juice and semi-sweet wine. The leaves are medium in size, often three-lobed, moderately dissected on the underside, with bristly pubescence. The flower is bisexual. The clusters are medium sized, branched. The berries are medium-sized, slightly oval. The color is purple. The pulp is juicy, with a pleasant nutmeg aroma.

Grape variety “Northern” (bred by Ya. I. Potapenko and E. I. Zakharova)

The variety is winter-hardy, productive, and ripens earlier than non-frost-resistant varieties. The bushes are vigorous, the shoots ripen early. The ability to easily accumulate sugar makes the variety suitable for producing sweet wines. Fruits in the second or third year after planting.

The leaves are medium-sized, entire, less often three-lobed, slightly elongated. The flower is functionally female. The best pollinators are European-Amur hybrids. The clusters are small or medium-sized, conical or winged, loose. The berries are small or medium-sized, dark blue, round. The pulp is juicy, with a faint aroma.

Grape variety “Solovieva 58”

The berries ripen in late September - early October. The yield per bush is 3-4 kg and above. The berries are yellowish-green, covered with a brown net, and have a pleasant nutmeg-strawberry flavor. The variety produces 2-3 fruitful shoots from one eye, and up to four clusters on one shoot. If the debris is green, one shoot should be left per node. In some cold years, part of the uppermost inflorescences should be cut off. The variety bears fruit well in various formations. Recommended for cultivation in open ground in the central and southern zones of Ukraine. Taiga emerald. Similar to the Alpha variety. In contrast, it has light green berries. Ripe berries have a pleasant taste. The variety is recommended for the same purposes and areas as Alfa.