First results of vertical cordon training system for red and black currants in Romania

Currant fruits day by day become more attractive to consumers due to their nutritional high value and especially, antioxidant properties.
In this regard, special attention was paid by farmers to produce and deliver more attractive and larger fruits to the fresh market.
To support this need, we tested for the first time, three different cultivars of Ribes sp. (‘Jonkheer van Tets’, ‘White Versailles’ and ‘Black Reward’) in a vertical training system using one (Vertical Axe), two (Parallel U) or three cordons (Trident) in comparison to the traditional bush system (control) used in Romania.
First results showed that the number of fruiting buds was bigger in the Trident system.
Even the total yield plant^‑1 was smaller than at the control, the productivity of each cordon was higher in the Parallel U training system.
The berries in the clusters ripened more uniformly than in the control bushes and the overall quality was improved.
The vertical training systems proved a big potential for further currant plantations and we expect this to be adopted especially in small and intensive fruit farms.

XII I8nternational Rubus and Ribes Symposium: Innovative Rubus and Ribes Production for High Quality Berries in Changing Environments

A. Asănică, F. Stănică, A. Iacob, L. Perojuc, M. Ungurenuș

Ribes nigrum, Ribes rubrum, vertical cordons, pruning, training, fruit quality

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2020.1277.38