The Meteor raspberry variety is often found in the offers of nurseries and seedling traders. They describe it as an unpretentious, fruitful, frost-resistant variety. We will acquaint gardeners with its characteristics, advantages and disadvantages. Let's talk about the main features of agricultural technology.
History of breeding, description and characteristics of the Meteor raspberry variety
Ivan Vasilievich Kazakov - an outstanding breeder, academician of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, being the author of more than twenty varieties of remontant raspberries, also created the variety Meteor (although it is not remontant). The variety was obtained by crossing the old Russian variety Novost Kuzmina and the variety Kostinobrodskaya (Bulgarian Rubin). From the first parent Meteor inherited:
- endurance;
- high winter hardiness;
- great berry taste.
The second parent passed:
- resistance to major fungal diseases;
- early ripening period (for Meteor it turned out even earlier than for its parent) - mid-June;
- powerful stems up to two meters high, which do not require a garter;
- high yield (50-70 centners / ha or 1.5-3 kg per bush);
- transportability of berries.
The variety has been on state variety trials since 1979, and was registered in the State Register in 1993. Zoned in the following regions:
- Middle Volga;
- Central Black Earth;
- Volgo-Vyatsky;
- Central;
- Northwestern;
- Northern.
Shoots are erect, with a drooping tip, practically without thorns. The few soft spines hardly prick. The variety does not differ in drought resistance, therefore it requires abundant and frequent watering. It is heavily affected by shoot gall midges and spider mites, and is also prone to purple spot and overgrowth.
Berries at Meteor have the shape of a blunt cone, their size is average. The mass of the berries is in the range of 2.3-3 grams. Color - ruby.
The taste of berries is sweet and sour, exquisite. Berry picking from the stem is good, without saping, which leads to good transportability. Berries contain:
- sugars - 6-9%;
- acids - 1.5-1.7%
- vitamin C - 15-30 mg / 100 g.
Due to the dessert taste, the berries are used fresh, and are also suitable for freezing, drying and canning.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Among other early-ripening varieties, Meteor stands out for the earliest ripening of berries and the highest winter hardiness. Of all the varieties in the State Register, it is almost the only one approved for cultivation in the Northern Region. The exceptions are Barnaulskaya (a good variety, but it has an average ripening period and half the productivity) and Novosty Kuzmina (highly susceptible to diseases, the berries are absolutely not transportable). Summing up, we list the advantages of the variety:
- Super early ripening.
- Good winter hardiness, allowing you to grow raspberries in the harshest conditions.
- Resistance to major fungal diseases.
- Strong stems that allow you to grow plants without the use of trellises.
- High productivity.
- Dessert berry taste.
- Transportability of fruits.
- The universal purpose of products.
Of the shortcomings, only a tendency to be affected by purple spot, overgrowth, shoot gall midge and spider mite can be noted.
Video: an overview of the Meteor raspberry variety
Growing features
Raspberry Meteor has some agricultural features that should be considered when planting and growing.
For this variety, a trench planting method with a trench width and depth of 30 centimeters is better suited. The interval between the bushes is 50-80 cm. If the maximum interval is chosen, then instead of trenches, seedlings can be planted in holes measuring 30 x 30 x 30 cm. The distances between rows in both cases are set within 1.5-2 meters. After planting, the seedlings are cut by 30 cm, otherwise the planting rules are the same as for any other raspberry.
The care of the variety has no peculiarities and is carried out according to the standard rules.
Disease and pest control
Consider the signs of diseases and pests that raspberry Meteor is susceptible to, as well as their harmfulness. We will briefly acquaint the gardener with preventive measures and ways to overcome problems.
Table: diseases and pests of raspberry Meteor
| Disease / pest | Class | Prevention | Treatment |
| Purple spot | Fungal disease | Treatment with antifungal drugs according to the instructions. Effective: Abiga-Peak, Skor, Strobi, Quadris, Fitosporin, etc. | |
| Raspberry sprout | Viral disease | Virus-carrying pest control | The disease is incurable, the affected plants must be destroyed |
| Sprout gall midge | Pests | In mid-May, they are treated with insecticides (Aktellik, Bi-58, etc.). At the end of July, a second treatment with biological products is carried out (Fitoverm, Iskra-Bio, etc.). | |
| Spider mite | Eradicating treatments in early spring (Nitrafen, Dnok). | When the first signs of damage are detected, the bushes are treated with anti-mite drugs (Akreks, Fufanon, Aktellik, etc.) | |
Photo gallery: signs of damage to raspberries by diseases and pests
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- Purple spot - a fungal disease of raspberries
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- Raspberry overgrowth is an incurable viral disease
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- On the stems affected by the shoot gall midge, swellings are formed
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- In advanced cases, a spider mite entangles the leaves and shoots of raspberries with a cobweb, inside which there are pest nests
Variety reviews
Re: Meteor
I have this variety for the second year, the first fruiting, today they picked the first handful of berries, very sweet, but still too small. The first of all my varieties. Two years ago I planted three seedlings, and today it is two meters of solid wood. The shoots grow tall, but we'll see with fruiting.
I have "Meteor" at the moment, the earliest of the raspberries begins to bear fruit. The taste is good ... but the berry is too small. True, when the autumn is lingering and the bush begins to remontant, the berry for some reason is almost 2 times larger than the main summer harvest. The sea gives the growth. In connection with early fruiting, all his shortcomings are forgiven him.
I have Hussar and Meteor growing. I bought it at the Lenin state farm. The meteor really ripens early, the taste is pleasant, without delight. I bought it for "early".
I also grow these summer varieties and also have thoughts to replace Meteor with Husar due to the "painfulness" of Meteor. In my "wet" climate, my Meteor is strongly affected by fungal diseases and pests, I cut out 3/4 of annual shoots in the fall. Although in 2016, she collected 23 liters of raspberries from a single-row 4 m long Meteora bed.
Raspberry Meteor has a significant number of undeniable advantages, thanks to which it has gained popularity among gardeners and consumers. Despite some disadvantages, the variety can be confidently recommended for cultivation by both amateur gardeners and professionals for industrial cultivation for commercial purposes.
