Characteristics of the Volgograd tomato
One of the best varieties of tomatoes is the proven Volgograd tomato. It was bred by breeders more than 40 years ago and is still popular among summer residents. The mass of positive reviews about Volgogradskiy tomatoes over the years makes it one of the most frequently grown varieties in personal plots.
Characteristics of the Volgograd tomato
It belongs to non-hybrid varieties, which means that everyone can independently collect planting material. This significantly reduces the cost of seeds and gives 100% confidence that next year a tomato with the same characteristics as the Volgograd tomato will be obtained. Hybrid species may outperform their ancestors in taste and growth progression, but the basic characteristics often remain the same.
Description of the variety
The official description says that Volgograd tomatoes ripen 95-110 days after the first shoots appear, therefore they are mid-ripening. The plant is determinate with a height of no more than 1 meter. The Volgogradsky tomato makes up for its compactness with an abundance of peduncles. An ovary is formed under each leaf. Shoots are densely covered with wide, rounded dark green leaves.
Each bunch contains about 5-7 fruits of a round shape, flattened at the base.
Volgograd tomatoes have almost the same small fruits. Their weight ranges from 75 to 100 grams. Volgograd tomatoes ripen very amicably, which makes them an ideal variety for conservation. The pulp has a rich sweet taste, the skin is dense, but not tough, so they are also used for making salads, first and second courses.
The bush can easily do without a garter, as it is not tall and has strong shoots. If the area where the tomato of the Volgograd variety is planted is strongly blown by the winds, then the plants should be tied up.
Disease resistance
Since the Volgograd tomato was bred quite a long time ago and has practically not changed since then, it has a low resistance to various diseases of the nightshade. It is necessary to work proactively and do everything possible to prevent the disease. Otherwise, the gardener may be left with a meager harvest or even without it.
The Volgogradsky tomato variety is especially often sick:
- Late blight - damage to shoots, leaves or fruits by late blight mushrooms. Their spores are in the soil and do not die even during the most severe winters. The seeds of the Volgogradsky tomato variety can also be infected. For prevention, the bushes and the ground around them are treated with copper sulfate or other specialized preparations. Fruits and plants affected by late blight are immediately removed, but not thrown away. The spores of the fungus remain active for a long time. They need to be burned.
- Alternaria - a bacterial disease, which is provoked by a violation of crop rotation and growing conditions of the Volgogradsky tomato variety.The culture is affected by spotting and, over time, withers along with unripe fruits. For prevention purposes, Bordeaux liquid and copper oxychloride are used. Already affected specimens are sprayed with Ridomil.
- Anthracnose - an infectious disease of the Volgogradsky tomato variety. The pathogen enters the soil with contaminated seeds or fertilizers. The disease manifests itself as a lesion of ripe fruits with speckled rot. You need to get rid of sick bushes in a timely manner, taking them away from the site or burning them.
With the help of modern breeding methods, subspecies have been bred that have great resistance to dangerous diseases. Tomato Volgogradskiy - 323 early pink variety, much more resistant to late blight, but Volgogradskiy tomato - 595 later and not susceptible to anthracnose.
Yield
When buying seedlings, pay attention to the appearance
Reviews and photos of the Volgogradsky tomato variety once again proves its popularity among gardeners. The main criterion is its high yield.
Growing this variety of tomatoes makes it possible to get up to 4.5-5 kilograms of fruit per square meter. On a plot of land of this size, about 3-4 bushes are planted. How to do this correctly, you can see the videos that are publicly available on the network. But the yield of tomatoes depends on:
- the conditions in which the seedlings were grown;
- timely correct feeding of flowering and fruiting tomatoes;
- soil quality;
- weather conditions;
- soil moisture.
If the seedlings will be bought in nurseries or by hand, then you should pay attention to their appearance. Sick and stunted seedlings will give a very meager harvest, regardless of the variety. Among other things, there is a danger of introducing pathogens of fungal diseases into the ground through low-quality planting material.
Agrotechnics
Growing Volgogradsky tomatoes is possible both in greenhouses and in unprotected ground. The yield of the plant does not depend on this in any way, only the ripening time changes. Greenhouse tomatoes, the cultivation of which begins a little earlier than ground tomatoes, are harvested at the beginning of July. Regardless of the method of planting, the yield of tomato Volgogradets has good reviews.
In spring, seedlings are grown from seeds. When the first three true leaves appear, each young plant is planted in a separate pot. Transplanting into open ground occurs 55-60 days after the appearance of the first shoots. Judging by the description and photo, the Volgograd tomato is growing by this time a sufficient root system to quickly take root in the ground. In order for the seedlings to adapt well to the new growing conditions, they are pre-hardened.
Despite the fact that reviews on the Volgogradsky tomato variety speak of its unpretentiousness, the plant needs good care. Proper plant care includes:
- timely pinching is necessary for the prevention of late blight and the formation of a bush;
- watering as the topsoil dries up;
- garter with a high probability of strong winds;
- removal of diseased shoots and fruits, and sometimes the entire plant as a whole;
- weeding;
- not deep loosening of the soil, so that the roots are sufficiently ventilated;
- feeding in several stages.
After the end of the growing season, the shoots are removed from the site and burned. It is not recommended to bury the deciduous part of tomatoes in the ground, in order to avoid outbreaks of late blight on the site. The same applies to fruits affected by the disease. Diseased plants should not be used for compost, because spore activity persists for a long time.
The cultivation of tomatoes of this variety has another important detail that affects the yield and health of the plant - this is the observance of crop rotation. The correct alternation of crops on the site can significantly simplify the care of them and reduce the cost of feeding and processing from diseases and pests.
Conclusion
Among the huge variety of modern varieties of tomatoes, Volgogradets has been occupying a leading position for over 40 years. It is not only unpretentious, but also pleases summer residents with a bountiful harvest. We should also mention the taste of the fruits, because they are not inferior to many new hybrid tomatoes. But the variety has recently been rarely grown in the fields on an industrial scale, due to its low resistance to diseases and pests.
You can find many videos on the Internet where happy gardeners demonstrate unprecedented harvests of ripe tomatoes. In most cases, this is the same Volgograd. If you have high-quality planting material and follow the rules for caring for tomatoes, you can get very good yields, even from a small plot of land. Due to its compactness and abundance of peduncles, the variety gives 4.5 - 5 kilograms per square meter.