Actinidia colomicta

It is found in the Far East : in China ( Hebei , Heilongjiang , Jilin , Liaoning , Sichuan , Yunnan ), Japan ( Hokkaido , Honshu ), Korea ; in Primorye , the southern part of the Khabarovsk Territory , the Amur region , the southern and central regions of Sakhalin , on Iturup , Kunashir and Shikotan ^[3] .

Actinidia kolomikta grows in many types of forests: in cedar and fir-broad-leaved, broad-leaved-spruce and fir-spruce forests, but the most favorable conditions for its growth are created in fir-spruce forests with cedar and deciduous trees. Here it reaches its maximum size and forms thickets on the shores of keys and on clarified areas. It also develops well on clearings and burns, on glade and forest edges. Being an extra-tier plant, actinidia kolomikta is also a characteristic part of the undergrowth along with Maak's honeysuckle , Manchurian hazelnut , chubushnik , Eleutherococcus spiny , and Manchurian aralia - “fucking tree”, Amur grape and Chinese lemongrass ; prefers well-drained humus soils, where it is often found in large quantities. In the form of a small bush with annually frosting shoots it grows along the edges of stony placers, rising to the mountains of Southern Primorye to an altitude of 1300-1400 meters above sea ​​level . At the northern boundaries of the range rises in the mountains no higher than 150 m.

Cultivated as an ornamental and fruit plant. In culture since 1855.

Actinidia kolomikta - woody liana . Trunks up to 2 (5) cm in diameter with slightly flaky bark.

Shoots are shiny, dark brown, smooth, with curly or erect branches, climbing to a height of 14 m or more. Young shoots with numerous longitudinal and dot light lentils . In contact with the support, the non-woody vegetative sprout starts to twist it in a spiral in a counterclockwise direction. This happens when the support thickness is no more than 10 cm. In the presence of a thicker support or in the absence of its support, its upper part of the shoot bends down steeply and twists around its own shoot.

An interesting feature is the leaves with varying color. At the beginning of growth, they are bronze, then green, before flowering, the ends of most leaves become bright white, and after flowering, pinkish, then raspberry red. In autumn, the leaves turn pink, yellow, light yellow or violet-red. The spotliness is especially pronounced in plants growing in illuminated places, but absent in bush plants that are found at the upper limit of distribution in the mountains.

Leaves are alternate, on petioles 2–7 cm in length, elliptic, less often ovate, with a heart-shaped or rounded base, long-pointed, and dvukoostropilchatye; leaf plate thin, shortly pubescent along the veins, bottom without bristly hairs, 5–13 cm long, often asymmetrical .

Blossoms from 5 years, in the second decade of June. Duration of flowering - up to 20 days.

Flowers actinomorphic, white or slightly pinkish on the outside with a delicate pleasant smell; on thin stalks, drooping, same-sex, dioecious , less common are bisexual. Perianth double, sepals and petals of five. Calyx remains with the fruit, drying out. Stamen flowers about 10 mm in diameter, usually arranged in three-flowered shields ; pistillate and bisexual flowers up to 15 mm in diameter, located one by one in the leaf axils. Pistil with multiple nodule; columns 8-12 (16), articulated at the base, arcuately bent at the top, terminating in capitated stigmas. Many stamens , they are free. Ovary is upper, naked. Blossoms in June.

Fruits - dark green berries with 12 or more dark longitudinal stripes, oblong, elliptical, less often rounded. When mature, soft, sweet and aromatic, up to 3 cm long and 1.5 cm wide. Seeds are numerous (up to 90 pieces in a berry), small, dark brown or yellowish with a mesh fine-cellular surface; 1000 seeds weight 0.82–1 g. ^[4] Fruits from 9 years, the fruits ripen in late August - mid-September unevenly, easily ripen when ripe. Edible fruits.

Plant grows about 150 days. In the first three years it grows fast. Vegetatively reproduces well. Under favorable conditions, lives up to 80-100 years.

I. V. Michurin wrote: “It is safe to say that in the future actinidia will occupy one of the first places among the fruit plants of our region that are capable of completely replacing the grapes by the quality of their fruit ... not only to replace it in all forms of consumption, but far surpassing it in the quality of its fruit ... "

To taste, its fruits resemble strawberry , banana , watermelon , apple , but most often - pineapple , they have tonic and healing properties ^[5] .

The fruits of actinidia Colomikta have extremely high antiscorbutic activity. In terms of the content of ascorbic acid, they approach the hips and are superior in this respect to orange , lemon and black currant ^[3] . Fruits are harvested mature and are processed predominantly fresh. Less often they are dried and dried at 60 ° C. Fruits are rich in ascorbic acid (up to 1430 mg% per raw material); also contain sugars (4.2–9.8%), tannins and pectins , pigments , trace elements ^[6] , organic acids (0.78–2.48%). Leaves contain up to 0.1% ascorbic acid ^[4] .

Glycosides and phytoncides , which regulate and stimulate heart activity, give a high medical value to the fruits of actinidia. Used as a vitamin remedy for the prevention and treatment of avitaminosis ^[6] . In folk medicine of the Far East, fruits are used as a prophylactic and therapeutic agent for scurvy , as well as for various bleeding, tuberculosis , dental caries , whooping cough , stomatitis , bronchitis ^{[4] [5]} .

Fruits of actinidia, juice and alcohol tincture expand blood vessels, reduce blood pressure , make the walls of blood vessels soft, elastic and strengthen them. Apply actinidia to stimulate cardiac activity, as an antiscorbutic and fortifying agent, as well as for colds and respiratory diseases. The extract of actinidia berries is a useful remedy for radiation injuries , which promotes the binding and excretion of radionuclides from the body, as well as preventing the absorption of radioactive isotopes of potassium and chlorine ^[5] .

In the fruits of all types of actinidia, a specific substance is found - actinidin . It affects the human body like the enzyme papain , which is contained in the fruits of the melon tropical papaya tree and contributes to the digestion of food, in particular meat. Berries actinidia beneficial effect on the work of the stomach, they are especially useful for people suffering from constipation ^[7] .

Adult plants of this actinidia are decorative. Fruits are suitable for the fresh use, and also for all types of processing. At the same time, it is important that significant amount of vitamin C is stored in processed products ^[5] .

Actinidia kolomikta is the most winter-hardy species of the genus, it can be successfully cultivated in open ground in the northern regions of horticulture with a frost-free period of 105–160 days and the sum of active air temperatures above 1,400 ° C ^[8] .

As the fruit and berry culture, actinidia received official recognition in Russia in November 1999 ^[7] .

In 2012, in the State Register of Breeding Achievements Approved for Use, there were 28 officially approved Kolomikt Actinidia varieties, including: the selection of the Far Eastern Experimental Station VIR ( Vladivostok ) - one, the Research Institute of Horticulture and Medicinal Plants " Zhigulevskie Gardens " - two, Moscow Experimental plant breeding stations VSTISP Russian Agricultural Academy - 25 varieties. Since 2013, five new actinidia kolomikta varieties, created in the VTSTIS of the Agricultural Academy ^[8] , are protected by patents in the Russian State Register and are patented.

Planting and care

For planting using seedlings under the age of four years. The ratio of male and female plants is 1: 3, 1: 5. Seedlings are located at a distance of at least 1.5-2 m one from another. The depth of the planting pit is 50–60 cm. Drainage is placed on the bottom (stones, pebbles, broken bricks) and the fertile land is mixed with humus and mineral fertilizers (a humus or compost bucket, 100–200 g of superphosphate , 30 g of potash fertilizers , 20 g ammonium nitrate or ammonium sulfate ). In the soil where it grows actinidia, you can not make lime . It is not recommended to dig up the near-stem circle, only small loosening is allowed. Actinidian lianas need durable supports (tapestries, ladders) 2–2.5 m high. In the south and in central Russia, plants are not removed from the support. In dry weather, in the morning and in the evening, young plants are sprayed with water. Plants are very sensitive to frost in late spring ^[3] .

Reproduction

Actinidia is propagated vegetatively with stem summer cuttings with three buds or seeds. Semilignified trees that have begun to turn and cut begin to shine in June - before and during the flowering of the vines. Especially quickly they take root when they are treated with a root or a solution of indolylbutyric acid .

Even easier than cuttings, seedlings grown from seeds adapt to new habitats. Only freshly harvested seeds are used, since small seeds of actinidia quickly lose their germination. Sowing can be carried out in the spring after the so-called fractional stratification of seeds during the winter in wet sand. In early November, dry seeds are removed from the sand, wrapped in a light cloth and soaked for four days, changing the water daily. At the end of this period, the soaked seeds, wrapped in cloth, are buried in clean, calcined, pre-moistened sand (a wooden box is suitable for this purpose) and kept for two months in a room at a temperature of 18-20 ° C. During this time, once a week, the bundles with seeds are taken out, unrolled for 5 minutes for airing, then wrapped, washed under running water, gently squeezed and then placed again in the sand.

Two months later, a box of seeds is buried for two months deep under the snow, and only after that is stored in a cool room with a temperature of no more than 10-12 ° C. After 20-30 days, nakliuvshiesya seeds are sown in a box with fertile soil, which is kept at room temperature.

In the phase of three or four true leaves, seedlings of actinidia are transplanted into open ground. In the fifth to sixth year of life, the plants bloom and produce the first berries. Actinidia fruits one place more than 50 years ^[7] .

Varieties

Actinidia varieties Kolomikty are classified mainly by the shape and size of the fruit. The main method of breeding varieties of actinidia is the selection of seedlings: first, select the best specimens from seedlings obtained from wild actinidia seeds, and later from seedlings grown from seeds of local origin ^[9] .

At the end of 2011, 31 varieties of Actinidia Colomicta were registered in the State Register of Varieties recommended for use in the Russian Federation ^[10] .

Skoroporodnymi are considered varieties, entering into fruiting for 4-5 years, include large-fruited varieties with an average mass of fruits of not less than 2.1-3 g, fruitful include lianas, giving 2.1-3 kg. Fruits can crumble to varying degrees (5-40%), the taste of almost all forms and varieties - dessert, with a pleasant aroma. A strong aroma causes soreness. Early ripening varieties in Siberia begin to ripen in the 1st decade of August, varieties of the average ripening period - in the 2nd decade, late maturity - in the 3rd decade of August. Maturation in actinidia is prolonged: in hot weather - for 7–10 days, in cool weather - for 2–3 weeks ^[10] .

For a complex of economic and biological features and high economic efficiency indicators for amateur gardening and production testing in the conditions of the Central Black Earth economic region, the following varieties are recommended - 'Forty', 'Aromatnaya', 'VIR-1', 'Krupnoplodnaya', 'Parkovaya', ' September ',' Early Dawn ' ^[5] . The fresh tasting evaluation of berries allowed the selection of the best flavors of actinidia Kolomikta 'Aromatic', 'Parkovaya', 'Early Dawn', 'Soroka', 'September', 'Festive' varieties ^[5] .

• ' Waffle' . Received at the Moscow branch of VNIIR . Medium ripening. Productivity 0,8-1 kg from a bush. Requires pollinator. Krone sredneroslaya, shoots of medium thickness. The leaves are of medium size, olive green, bare, smooth, soft. Ovary is bare, oval, without edges. Fruits weighing up to 3.2 g of oblong-oval shape. Peel from olive green to dark olive color. The taste is excellent, sweet. The flesh is tender, with a strong aroma. Tasting score - 4.75 points. Frost resistance - 36.7 ° C. The variety is included in the State Register in 1999 ^[11] .
• ' Magpie' . Bushes sredneroslye. Medium ripening. Winter hardiness is high. Productivity is stable ^[5] . Fruit weight - up to 2.5 g, maximum - up to 2.7 g. Fruits are cylindrical, strongly elongated, weakly compressed from the sides, the base is round, the top is blunt-rounded. The color is olive-green, uniform, the surface is smooth. The core occupies a third of the diameter of the berry, flattened. Seed chambers - 16 seeds in them - an average of 40 pieces. The stem is 1.1-2.2 cm long. Ascorbic acid is up to 2,200 mg per 100 g. The taste is sweet, with an actinidic aroma.
• ' Queen of the Garden' . The variety obtained in the Moscow branch of VNIIR . Early ripening. Relatively winter-hardy, resistant to diseases and pests. Requires pollinator. Sredneroslaya liana, shoots of medium thickness, without hair. The leaves are of medium size, yellowish-green, bare, smooth, soft. Fruits weighing 3.4 g, highly elongated, cylindrical, weakly compressed laterally, uniform olive green. The taste is sour-sweet, with a strong pineapple flavor. Maturing term - early. Productivity 0.8 kg from a bush. The grade is included in the State register in 1999. Tasting score 4.88 points, frost resistance - 35.8 ° C ^[11] .
• ' Gourmand' . Received at the Moscow branch of VNIIR . Medium ripening. Relatively disease resistant. Sredneroslaya liana, shoots red-brown. The leaves are dark olive green, the base of the leaf is heart-shaped, without pubescence. The berries are cylindrical in shape, squeezed, the skin is olive-green, thin. The average fruit weight is 4.4 g. The taste is sweet, with pineapple flavor, very good. Included in the State Register in 1998. Tasting score of 4.6 points, frost resistance - 36.4 ° C ^[11] .
• ' Large-fruited' . The power of growth is above average, the ripening of fruits is early and harmonious (in the Novosibirsk region from mid-August to the first decade of September). Fruits are large (average weight 2.15 g, maximum - 3.45 g), leveled, of the correct elongated-cylindrical shape, green, sweet-sour with a weak aroma of kiwi. Slightly showered when fully ripe. Seeds are large, numerous. Leaves are green light green, rounded. Productivity is above average — 1.0–3.2 kg / bush ^[10] .
  Among the plants of the cultivar “Krupnoplodnaya”, the self-fruiting form “Krupnoplodnaya 1-29” was selected, which ensures a set of over 30% of berries under an insulator, which makes it possible to classify this sample as a self-fruiting one and grow vines without using male pollinators ^[5] .
• ' Commander' . Received at the Moscow branch of VNIIR . Winter hardiness is average, resistant to diseases and pests. Male pollinator plant. Sredneroslyaya liana. The leaves are of medium size, green, motley with white and crimson spots at the tip. The base of the leaves is heart-shaped, without extinguishing. Inflorescence 1-3-flowered. Flowers without ovaries. Frost resistance - 34.5 ° C. Included in the State Register in 1998 in all regions ^[11] .
• ' Folk' . Received at the Moscow branch of VNIIR . The average term of ripening, winter hardiness is average. Resistant to diseases, slightly affected by pests. Self-infertile. Sredneroslyaya liana, brown shoots. The leaves are medium in size (8 × 5 cm), yellow-green, oval-shaped, pointed leaf tip. The base of the leaf is heart-shaped, without pubescence. The berries are cylindrical, slightly compressed. The average fruit weight is 3 g. Peel is yellowish-green, the gap is dry. The taste is sweet and sour with strawberry flavor. Tasting score 4.73 points, frost resistance - 35.8 ° C. Included in the State Register in 1998 ^[11] .
• ' Adam' . Male form.
• ' Dr. Szymanowski ' .

The first two or three years of landing suffer greatly from cats . They are able to completely destroy the young plantations. Cats do not eat leaves, but gnaw at the base of annual and biennial shoots, eat the sap of the plant, acting excitingly on them. Adult plants with a coarse lower part of the cats are not damaged. To protect the creepers from cats, it is recommended to use hoses cut in various diameters. The hose is superimposed on the stem and in three or four places is connected by wire ^[12] .

The resistance to phyllossticosis is high, the disease is noted annually and does not exceed 0.5-2.0 points ^[5] .

• Kolbasina E.I. Berry creepers and rare shrubs . - M .: Publishing House of SMEs, 2003.
• Petukhov A.V., Kordyukov A.V., Baranchuk-Chervonniy L.N. Atlas of vascular plants in the vicinity of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. - 2nd ed., Corr. and add. - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk: Aikon, 2010. - 220 p. - ISBN 978-5-904209-05-6
• Kozak N.V. Introduction and features of the technology to maintain the collection of rare fruit lianas - actinidia and Chinese magnolia in the Moscow region // Fruit and berry growing in Russia: Coll. scientific works dedicated 125th anniversary of the birth of N.I. Vavilova. - 2012. - T. XXXIV . - p . 341-347 .

• Actinidia Kolomikta (English) : information on the site GRIN .
• Actinidia on the Encyclopedia of Ornamental Garden Plants website
• Actinidia kolomikta : information about the taxon in the Planterium project (a determinant of plants and an illustrated atlas of species). (Checked January 18, 2014)