A variety of garden strawberries (popularly called strawberries for a long time) Zeng Zengan appeared a very long time ago, but until now it remains one of the most common in our gardens.
History of Zenga Zengana
The history of the variety began in Germany in 1942, when the issue of deep freezing vegetables and fruits was relevant. The basis was taken strawberry Marche with very dense berries that do not lose shape after thawing, but with low taste. After multiple marches of Marche and good-tasting varieties, under difficult military conditions, in the summer of 1945 in Luckenwald, several successful plant varieties were obtained.
However, with the end of the war, the direction of breeding work changed, now productivity, good taste, resistance to diseases and pests, and the possibility of growing under various climatic conditions came to the fore. The parents of the most successful three clones, which survived the tick invasion in 1949, were Markee and Sieger. Selecting and propagating the most productive seedlings, in 1954, breeders introduced a variety called Zenga Zengana.
Description and characteristics of this wild strawberry
The Zenga Zengana variety was included in the State Register in 1972 and zoned in the following regions:
- Northwest;
- Central;
- Volga-Vyatka;
- Central Black Earth;
- North Caucasian;
- Middle Volga;
- Lower Volga;
- Ural.
Zenga Zengana strawberries are late-ripening varieties. The bush is tall, compact, with dark green smooth leaves, peduncles are on the same level with the foliage or under it. Plants form a small number of mustaches, since all the effort is spent on the formation of the crop. From one bush you can collect up to 1.5 kg of berries.
Stalk flower stalks of Zeng Zengan are located below the level of leaves, berries can fall to the ground
The plant is not of a repair type, it produces a crop once in about mid-June. The first berries are large - up to 30 grams (average size 10-12 grams), finer by the end of fruiting. Fruits grown in the sun have a rich dark red or burgundy color, in the shade - bright red.
Wide-conical Zeng Zengan strawberry berries, without a neck, dark red in color, with deeply pressed seeds
The berries have a rich sweet-sour taste, very fragrant, with dense pulp, do not contain voids. The skin is shiny, achenes are deeply recessed into the pulp. The purpose of the variety is universal: the fruits retain their shape and great taste in jam, compotes, in freezing.
Bushes without transplantation can bear fruit in one place for 6-7 years. The variety is able to grow on any soil, which makes it unpretentious and reliable.
Video: Zeng Zengan berries compared to other varieties
//youtube.com/watch?v=sAckf825mQI
Planting and growing strawberries Zeng Zengan
Although this variety is appreciated for its unpretentiousness, you still have to work hard to grow a good harvest.
Site selection
First of all, you need to choose a place to land. It should be sunny, well ventilated, without stagnation of water.
The best predecessors for strawberries will be:
- bean
- radish,
- carrot,
- beet,
- bow,
- garlic.
Planting a number of berry crops that are prone to the same diseases is undesirable:
- black currant
- raspberries
- gooseberries.
A favorable neighborhood will help preserve the harvest: slugs cannot stand the smell of parsley, marigold scare off the nematode, and onions and carrots drive the pests away from each other, thereby helping out strawberries.
Soil preparation
Although the variety is not picky about the soil, neutral loams are the best option. The soil must be cleaned of weeds, fertilized and, if necessary, lime. To reduce acidity use:
- dolomite flour (from 300 to 600 g per 1 m2 depending on soil acidity);
- chalk (100-300 g per 1 m2);
- ash (1-1.5 kg per 1 m2).
The crushed eggshell will also be useful for deoxidation, and the earth will receive the necessary trace elements. The topsoil after mixing the deoxidizer is mixed well.
2-3 weeks before planting, the soil must be fertilized. For this, at 1 m2 need to make:
- 5-6 kg of humus;
- 40 g of superphosphate;
- 20 g of potash fertilizers:
- potassium sulfate;
- potassium carbonate;
- potassium nitrate.
Wood ash is also a potash fertilizer. Potassium chloride is undesirable, given the sensitivity of strawberries to chlorine.
Transplanting
You can plant seedlings in spring and autumn. But it should be remembered that the best plants take root at this temperature:
- air + 15 ... +20 ° C;
- soil +15 ° C.
The berry should not be thickened, the optimal planting scheme:
- 25-30 cm between the bushes;
- 70-80 cm between rows.
It is better to plant seedlings in the evening or in cloudy weather.
In healthy and well-developed plants, leaflets are torn off, leaving at least 5, and roots too short are shortened to 8-10 cm. Planting is carried out as follows:
- Prepare the wells and pour 150-200 ml of warm water into each.
- At the bottom of the holes, earthen mounds are formed and plants are placed on them, carefully straightening the roots.
When planting strawberries, you need to ensure that the growth point is at ground level; when deepened, the bushes will melt
- Sprinkle seedlings with earth, carefully compacting the soil.
- Watering planting and mulching the earth around the plants with humus, straw, sawdust. Moss, leaves and freshly cut grass cannot be used.
A layer of mulch up to 10 cm thick will protect the beds from drying out, reduce water consumption and help fight weeds
Video: how to plant strawberries
Care Features
Caring for the Zeng Zengan variety is simple. It will take several top dressings per season, namely:
- In early spring, nitrogen fertilizers are applied. One tablespoon of urea is dissolved in 10 liters of water, and no more than half a liter of solution per plant is watered under the root.
- Before flowering feed:
- complex fertilizers (Nitroammofoskoy or Ammofoskoy);
- potash fertilizers;
- organic fertilizers.
- After the harvest. First weed and loosen the earth, remove old leaves, then bring superphosphate under the root.
After top dressing, plants must be watered. To moisten the strawberries of the Zenga Zengana variety is very careful, since it does not tolerate excess moisture. In dry weather, once every 5-7 days is enough, the earth should be soaked 20-30 cm deep. The best way to water is drip irrigation, because the water goes directly to the roots of the plants.
Video: how to organize drip irrigation
After watering, you need to loosen the soil and remove weeds. Mustache must be cut off promptly to increase yield. Growing strawberries on agrofibre significantly facilitates planting care, which protects berries from contact with the soil and prevents weeds from developing.
Combining strawberry planting on agrofibre with drip irrigation, you can achieve the best yields
Breeding methods
Due to the fact that the Zenga Zengana variety forms few mustaches, it can be propagated by dividing the bush or by seed method.
- Division of the bush. You need to dig a 4-year-old plant, remove the dry leaves and shake it slightly so that part of the earth is crumbled. Then lower the roots into a basin of water, and after soaking, carefully divide the bush into separate sockets.
The horn (rosette with spine) may begin to bear fruit as early as next season
- Sowing seeds. From large, fully ripened berries, cut off the top layer, dry and rub in the hands to separate the seeds. Before planting, they are stratified: placed between layers of gauze, moistened with water and incubated for 2 weeks in a refrigerator at a temperature of 5 ° C, avoiding drying out. Then the seeds are sown in boxes, pots or peat tablets and covered with a film, which is removed after the appearance of sprouts. When 3-5 leaves appear on the plants, they can be planted in the ground.
Video: how to grow strawberries from seeds
Pest and Disease Control
The variety is rarely affected by diseases such as powdery mildew and verticillosis.. However, it is unstable to leaf spot and is often affected by a strawberry mite. The flower stalks of Zeng Zengan's strawberries are weak, because of which the berry lies on the soil and is infected with gray rot, especially in rainy years.
Gray rot
The main disease of strawberries of the Zeng Zengan variety is gray rot. This fungal infection spreads very quickly and can destroy up to 90% of the crop.
If damaged by gray rot, the berries overgrow with a dense coating and rot
Since the main problem may appear with cool and rainy weather, it is advisable to inspect the bushes regularly, and if a disease is detected, take measures to eliminate it:
- collect and destroy all affected berries;
- use chemicals: Apirin-B, Switch, 1% Bordeaux liquid;
- spray with iodine (10 drops per 10 liters of water) and a solution of mustard (dissolve 50 g of powder in 5 l of hot water, after two days of infusion, dilute the composition with water in a 1: 1 ratio).
Nevertheless, the main ways to combat gray rot are preventive:
- do not thicken the landing;
- weed in a timely manner;
- deoxidize the soil;
- mulch with straw or pine litter;
- plant garlic to strawberries;
- after three years, change the landing site;
- timely destroy diseased berries;
- after harvest, remove leaves;
- during fruiting, try to pick berries from the ground.
Brown spotting
The disease begins with the appearance of brown spots on the edges of the sheet, similar to tan marks. They grow, merge and lead to drying of the leaves.
Brown spots are similar to burns caused by fire.
Landings should be handled:
- fungicide Oksikh;
- Bordeaux liquid (3% - before budding, 1% - before flowering and after picking berries).
Opponents of chemical control agents can spray diseased bushes with this solution:
- 10 l of water;
- 5 g of potassium permanganate;
- 2 tablespoons of soda;
- 1 vial of iodine;
- 20 g of soap (add after other components).
Strawberry mite
A strawberry tick is a microscopic insect that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Plants affected by it can be identified by deformed leaves, which gradually change color to brown and dry. As a result, the growth of the bush slows down, and the berries are smaller.
Strawberry mites deform leaves, causing them to dry out
For prophylaxis, plantings can be sprayed with 70% colloidal sulfur solution. If the pest has already infected the plants, then Actellik or Spark M should be used.
Reviews from experienced gardeners
The inconsistency of reviews about the Zenga Zengana variety is related to the cultivation of strawberries in various climatic conditions, on different soils. Deterioration may also be due to improper reproduction. So, the grade changes when planting seeds or when taking outlets from old beds.
This variety has long been a benchmark in productivity in Europe. But recently, due to its medium size, susceptibility to rot and average taste, it has lost its significance. On industrial plantations in advanced farms, other varieties are replacing it. The typical form of the berry is clearly visible - the first ones slightly flattened, and then more rounded. I also add that the color of ripe berries is dark red or even burgundy. And the flesh is dark and without emptiness. The weakness of the flower stalks is considered a drawback of the variety and therefore the berry lies on the soil and is often affected by gray rot. Especially in the raw years. But the great taste and high yield explains the popularity of this old reliable variety from Germany. Yes, and another distinctive characteristic of the variety is the leaves are dark green, smooth, shiny. A mustache does not form very much, since the outlet immediately begins to lay several horns - this determines the high yield of the variety.
Nikolay Country Club
//club.wcb.ru/index.php?showtopic=1055&st=0
I am not particularly enthusiastic about the taste of Zenga Zengana (I prefer sweet varieties, such as the same RU). Zenga is for sour lovers. Among mine, this is probably the most acidic variety. But sugar is also high. Therefore, it is pleasant to eat. Good refreshing. And I like the berry color saturation. And, of course, Zenga earned respect for its productivity and unpretentiousness. (This year, ripening began in a week of extreme heat, so gray rot - namely, this rot weakness of Zenga Zengana, failed to clear up). Hard worker variety. It guarantees quantity with good quality (but it’s true that by the end of the collection there will be a bunch of little things that are too lazy to collect). The main worker of my strawberry.
Ivann
//club.wcb.ru/index.php?showtopic=1055&st=0
As my grade is very fruitful. The size of the berries is rather average. This year it often rains heavily. In the end, there are problems. The tick enters, but not critically, on individual bushes, we respond immediately. But to taste ... The first berries were not impressive, but the last ones are really tasty and sweet. As a result, I keep it on jam, for freezing and stewed fruit.
Irina Matyukh
//www.sadiba.com.ua/forum/showpost.php?p=793647&postcount=3
And here it is sweet, practically without acid.
Vlada
//club.wcb.ru/index.php?showtopic=1055&st=0
I note that: 1. the berries of the second harvest are minced significantly, 2. the yield of the variety drops noticeably in the second year. I did not find more advantages in this variety, compared with new breeding. She said goodbye without regret.
gala
//forum.prihoz.ru/viewtopic.php?p=545946#p545946
Czech comrades write interesting things about Zeng. Here is what I understood thanks to a friend of Google: The famous German variety, whose name has become a symbol for strawberries. ... (before) the variety stood out for its exceptionally high yields and delicious, dark red berries. ... The yield was 2-3 kg / m2, masterfully beat yield indicators of all other varieties. Susceptibility to fruit rot was moderate. A great advantage was its excellent adaptability to any type of soil. Zenga Sengana grew well everywhere, there were no problems regarding the tendency to any disease. ... But this, unfortunately, is not at all what exists at present. What now goes like Senga Sengana has little in common with the original variety. Over the past 20 years, unfortunately, due to improper vegetative propagation, there has been a proliferation of very different planting material - new clones of the variety with degraded properties have been obtained. The old Senga Sengana variety produced more than 20 t / ha of berries and did not suffer so much from rot. Today's Senga Sengana clones have yields of about 10 kg / ha and are heavily veined, in addition to reducing berry size. According to the research of a number of research institutes in Germany, it seems that today no one in Europe has the original Senga Sengana variety ... The serious topic of the possible degeneration of the variety is raised ...
Ivann
//club.wcb.ru/index.php?showtopic=1055&st=0
You might think that the Zeng Zengan variety is outdated and there are many varieties that are superior to it in terms of characteristics. However, it is too early to write off this reliable, productive and unpretentious strawberry, it will still be able to please us with a crop of fragrant sweet berries.
