International Platovsky grapes: a gift to winegrowers from Novocherkassk scientists

Modern breeders of grapes often use varieties and forms bred by colleagues in other countries to obtain the desired result. As a result, they get new varieties of grapes with the maximum number of positive characteristics. An example of such interaction is the Platovsky grape.

To the delight of winegrowers

The Platovsky grape variety was bred by employees of the Novocherkassk All-Russian Research Institute of Viticulture and Winemaking named after Ya. I. Potapenko, crossing the Hungarian grapes of the Dandy Hall with the Gift of Magarach received by the Yalta residents.

Photo gallery: Platovsky grapes and its parental forms

In 2002, the staff of the institute filed an application with the State Commission of the Russian Federation for Testing and Protection of Breeding Achievements for inclusion of Platovsky in the State Register of Breeding Achievements. In 2003, this grape received the status of a variety and was zoned for cultivation in the Crimea and the North Caucasus.

The Platovskiy grape variety was announced as technical, that is, intended for the production of wines and juices. However, when grown for personal consumption, it is eaten fresh as a table. The seedling begins to bear its first fruits already in the second year of growth on the site.

For the short ripening period of berries (110-115 days), gardeners call this variety Early Dawn.

Platovsky's bushes do not grow very quickly, especially in the early years. Young shoots ripen well - about 80%. Platovsky flowers are bisexual and therefore become an excellent pollinator for other varieties.

Small clusters weighing about 200 g are cylindrical in shape. Small, round, juicy berries, weighing approximately 2 g each, are quite dense in clusters. When ripe, they are light amber-yellow in color, turn pink in the sun. The berries taste sweet and sour, the skin of the grapes is thin. Sugar in berries accumulates more than 20%, and acids contain 8.5-9 g per liter of juice. The dry wine made from Platovsky berries was rated 7.4 points by the tasters.

Small bunches of Platovsky grapes weighing about 200 g have a cylindrical shape

The variety gives high yields: on average, more than 37 tons of grapes are harvested from one hectare, the maximum yield can reach 48.9 t / ha. Private gardeners remove 5-6 kg of berries from the bush and more. Ripe bunches, without losing taste, without crumbling or cracking, even in bad weather, can remain on the vine for up to a month.

Platovsky shows a very high resistance to winter cold (up to -29 ºС) and to diseases of downy mildew, gray mold. It is tolerant to phylloxera, that is, it is capable of producing crops even with a strong infection of the vine by insects.

Video: Platovsky grape variety

We grow Platovsky

Like all technical varieties, Platovsky is undemanding to care, but there are still some nuances of growing this grape:

• the optimal formation for this variety is a horizontal double-sided cordon on a high - up to 1.2 m - trunk;
  

  The optimal formation for Platovsky grapes is considered to be a horizontal two-arm cordon on a trunk up to 1.2 m high

• the fruit vine is cut short, leaving 3 to 4 eyes. The maximum permissible load on a bush is 60–80 buds;
• during the season on Platovsky, all infertile and weak shoots, stepchildren are certainly removed. This is necessary, since the growth force of this variety is not very large, it should not waste energy and nutrients aimlessly, but direct them to ripening berries;
  

  On Platovsky, stepchildren must be removed throughout the season so that the bush spends all its strength on the formation of berries

• propagating Platovsky by grafting, the stock is chosen for him so that he has great vigor. This will enhance the growth of shoots on the scion and, accordingly, will increase the yield. Most often, for this purpose, they use (if possible) the Kober 5BB variety;
  

  The best rootstock for Platovsky grapes is Kober 5BB

• in order to more actively accumulate sugar, during the ripening of the bunches, all leaves shading the berries are removed from the vine.

Compare Platovsky with similar varieties

The positive and negative aspects of grapes can be identified by comparing it with similar varieties and forms that have a similar ripening period. Competitors to Platovsky can take varieties such as Crystal and Citron Magaracha.

Table: comparison of Platovsky grapes with similar varieties

Information about varieties collected on the Internet clearly shows that Platovsky is superior to Citronny Magarach in terms of crop maturation and frost resistance, but inferior to him in other characteristics. With Crystal, the characteristics of Platovsky are very close. The first has superiority only in that it is not damaged by gray rot.

Reviews of gardeners about Platovsky grapes

I have a Platovsky bush for three years. I spent the winter on a trellis from the very first year. Kidney preservation is almost 100%. The April 2014 frosts also survived well. Last season it gave the first harvest after the signal one. Of course, I didn't make any wine out of it, I just ate it. It seemed very pleasant to the taste, somehow refreshing. Planted to try to make brandy. My growth strength is above average (well, this is my subjective assessment). It grows on my L-shaped trellis, the vertical part of which is 2.5 m high. The shoulder is on the first wire (50 cm from the ground), the sleeves are on the second wire (40 cm from the first). In the third year of life, annual shoots grew to the entire length of the vertical trellis, to a canopy (about 50 cm) and still hung down, that is, more than two meters. But the perennial vine is thin. Something like that. Yes, she is not sick, even last summer I was absolutely clean.

I am not a gourmet, or maybe not yet very spoiled. I liked the taste, I didn't feel the "grass", but grapes are more versatile than wine. There is pulp. Shaped like a wine three-arm fan. This variety forgives many mistakes.

Platovsky is my 6th year. Satisfied with the variety - early, stable, tasty. The first 2-3 years grew weak, now rushing. On a single-plane trellis, I covered it only with polyethylene from rain, I do not practically normalize it (I remove the 3rd brush, where there is, usually clearly two).Eaten from the bush, delicious. The vine grows well, today it is 1.5 m, the thickness is average. Does not overload, brushes match the description. This year the bush took 5 m of running trellis, there was such an opportunity. Tied up well. This year, I plan to supply one of Platov's crackers, if they don't eat it. By the way, it grows 2 m south of the apple tree, it falls clearly into the edge of the crown, west-east. Now that the bush has gained strength, fully meets expectations, I am satisfied with it.

Platovsky, judging by the gardeners' reviews, is a very attractive grape variety with many positive characteristics, but it feels and shows its best qualities in the more southern growing zones.

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