Strawberry Asia - Italian Beauty

There is nothing better than sweet, fragrant strawberries grown in your own area. But since this culture is often sick (especially fungal diseases), many gardeners avoid contacting it. Meanwhile, there are varieties resistant to pathogenic fungi - for example, strawberries Asia.

Growing history

Variety Asia appeared in the city of Cesena (Italy) in 2005. European patent 23759, patent holder - New Fruits. The variety is zoned for cultivation in northern Italy. It was originally planned to grow this strawberry for industrial purposes, but it is also suitable for amateur gardening.

Asia appeared on domestic fields about 10 years ago, and quickly won popular love. Strawberries of this variety are grown throughout Russia, and it is especially popular in the south of the country. A distinctive feature of Asia is that it can be grown with equal success both in open and in closed ground, and even without a soilless method, that is, in bags.

Grade description

Bushes of Asia are large, sprawling, medium-leafy, with tall thick shoots. The leaves are large, shiny, slightly wrinkled, bright green. The plant forms many peduncles and young rosettes, but a moderate number of whiskers.

The root system is powerful, well developed. Fruits are one-dimensional, glossy, cone-shaped, have a bright red color and are large in size. On average, each berry in Asia weighs 30-35 grams, but in exceptional cases there are specimens weighing up to 90 grams. Such giants usually have a slightly modified shape and are found in the first wave of fruiting. The peel of the berries is shiny, with medium-pressed yellow seeds and bright green raised sepals. In the stage of technical ripeness, the fruits retain a white-green tip, when fully ripened, they stain as a whole.

Bushes of Asia are powerful and well developed, fruits are one-dimensional, cone-shaped

The pulp is dense, pale red, juicy and sweet, without internal voids (subject to proper watering), it is easily separated from the stem. Strawberry flavor is pronounced. Taste is beyond praise - from 4.6 to 5 points on a tasting scale. The berries are attractive in appearance, well stored and calmly transported over long distances, so the variety is often grown for commercial purposes.

Main characteristics

The variety Asia is very in demand both in its homeland, and in Russia, and in the territory of the near abroad (Ukraine, Belarus). Most often, this strawberry is grown in the southern regions - since the variety is not frost-resistant, it will be difficult for it to withstand harsh winters. However, if you grow Asia in closed ground, that is, in a greenhouse, this kind of problems will not arise.

The variety tolerates mild winters well, but when grown in open ground it must be covered for the winter. Asia tolerates short-term drought and temperature up to -15 ° С. The ripening period is mid-early, the first ripe fruits appear in June. Asia begins to bear fruit 5-7 days later than the Alba variety and 5-6 days later Honey. The average yield is about 1-1.2 kg per bush. The berries ripen evenly, fruiting lasts about three weeks. Universal berries - they can be consumed fresh, frozen, used to prepare a variety of dishes and winter preparations.

The berries of Asia are delicious and very fragrant, ideal for fresh consumption and for harvesting

The variety is positioned as highly resistant to various kinds of spots and diseases of the root system. It is resistant to fungal diseases, but differs in susceptibility to anthracnose, powdery mildew and chlorosis.

Fruiting of strawberry varieties Asia - video

Landing Features

Grade Asia makes high demands on the composition of the soil. Loamy and sandy loamy soils with a neutral reaction, as well as black earth soils that are rich in potassium, are considered optimal for the plant. On clay, sand, sod-podzolic, humus-poor soils and peat bogs, strawberry of this variety grows very poorly.

It is ideal to plant plants on flat areas that have a slight bias in the south-western direction. Asia cannot be planted in the hills and in the lowlands - in the first case, the roots of the plant will suffer from a lack of moisture, and in the second they can rot from its excess.

The soil on the site should be structured and rested, without weeds (especially wheatgrass roots). It is best to plant strawberries after cereals and legumes, garlic, radishes, mustard, parsley, dill or sage. Avoid planting it after all species of the family Asteraceae (sunflower, Jerusalem artichoke) and buttercups, and do not grow on the same site for more than four years.

If the soil in the area has an acid reaction, lime should be liming before planting

Like most other crops, strawberries do not grow well on soils that have an acidic reaction. Therefore, if the soil on your site is just that, six months before the intended planting, it must be liming. 250-300 grams of lime are added to light sandy loam soils, and 400-500 grams to loam. Instead of lime, you can use wood ash - it is rich in potassium and very useful for strawberries. The substance is evenly scattered around the site and dig it to the depth of the bayonet bayonet. In the future, the liming procedure is repeated every 3-5 years, but the dosage of lime is reduced (¼ from the original) and it is closed by 4-6 cm.

The best way to propagate the Asia variety is to transplant young rosettes, which the bushes willingly form. You can plant strawberries both in early spring and autumn, but planting manipulations are best done in early spring - mid-summer. Landing is carried out in the southern regions of Russia from March 5 to 15, in the northern regions from May 1 to 15, and in the middle lane and the Moscow Region from April 10 to 30. Since frost resistance is not the strongest side of Asia, during autumn planting the bushes may simply not have time to take root before the cold. Gardeners with experience recommend using only first-order sockets as planting material.

If you are buying strawberries for the first time, choose seedlings with a closed root system

If you buy strawberries of this variety for the first time, buy it in specialized nurseries or stores - this significantly reduces the risk of getting an incomprehensible hybrid instead of a varietal plant. It is best to buy strawberries that are planted in plastic cups - a plant with a closed root system is much easier to tolerate both transportation and planting. Pay attention to the leaves and the central bud (rosette) of the seedling - they must be well developed, saturated green, without signs of disease.

Shortly before planting, you need to fertilize the site with organic matter (humus, last year's compost) and complex mineral fertilizers. It is customary to apply 8 kg of organic fertilizers and 30 grams of mineral fertilizer per square meter of soil.

Planting strawberries of the Asia variety is made according to the following scheme:

1. About 2 weeks before the event, disinfect the soil. To do this, take 500 grams of lime and 50 grams of copper sulphate, dissolved in 10 liters of water and heated to 70 ° C. This amount of solution is enough to process 10 square meters of soil.
2. In the prepared area, dig holes with a depth of about 20 cm. Since the bushes of Asia are large, the distance between the holes should be at least 30 cm (if there is enough space on the site, it is better to plant strawberries through a gap of 40 cm). The row spacing is 70-80 cm.
3. A little fertilizer is added to each well. There are several options for the nutrient mixture:
   1. On a bucket of compost, manure and earth + 2 glasses of ash.
   2. A bucket of compost, 40 g of superphosphate, 25 g of urea and 20 g of potassium salt.
   3. 30 grams of humus and superphosphate + a glass of ash.
4. Make a knoll in the center of the hole and place a plant on it so that the roots evenly descend. If the roots are too long and wrap in different directions when planting, trim them with pruners. Make sure that the outlet is higher than the soil level - with excessive deepening, the bush will ache for a long time and take root heavily (if at all take root).
5. Fill the hole with earth and compact the soil near the planted plant. Pour strawberries abundantly and mulch the soil near it with fir needles.

So that the strawberry does not suffer from possible frosts, you can plant it in a greenhouse - a tunnel of metal arcs covered with plastic wrap. This design needs to be aired daily, and once a week to water and weed out weeds. When the temperature outside rises to +26 ° C, the film is removed. You can plant strawberries in the greenhouse - in this case you do not have to worry about the adverse effects of the environment.

Good strawberry planting video

How to care for Asia strawberries

The agricultural technology of growing Asia is simple and slightly different from caring for any other strawberries:

1. The first thing to do in the spring is to remove the last year’s mulch, dry leaves and dead shoots from the strawberries. Fallen leaves are carefully selected by hand or with a special rake so as not to damage the bushes, and those that remain on the plants are cut off.
   

   In early spring, be sure to remove the last year’s mulch from the strawberries and cut off the dead shoots

2. Variety Asia needs abundant watering. If there is not enough water, the bushes will develop poorly and form small, hollow berries inside. Strawberries are watered as the soil dries up, water slightly warmed up in the sun is used for irrigation. To prevent plants from getting burns, water them early in the morning or in the evening, after the sun sets. Before flowering, strawberries are watered by sprinkling, and during and after it, water should be avoided on the leaves. Ideally, you should build strawberry drip irrigation. In very hot weather, you need to water strawberries more often, but in no case do not water too often with a small amount of water - such a tactic can provoke the development of diseases (primarily powdery mildew).
3. So that strawberries grow well and delight with a large number of large berries, it should be regularly fertilized. In early spring, nitrogen fertilizers are applied - a tablespoon of urea is bred with a bucket of water and poured half a liter of solution under each bush. But do not overdo it - an excess of nitrogen is fraught with shredding berries and loss of sweetness. In the same period, you can feed the plants with a small amount of potassium-phosphorus fertilizers - ash, superphosphate, potassium nitrate, etc. Complex mineral fertilizers for strawberries have an excellent effect - they are used in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. During flowering and fruiting, plants do not feed.
4. Be sure to weed the weeds, especially at the stage of berry formation - strawberries cannot tolerate them. A good option is to use black agrofiber for planting plants. This approach will prevent not only the appearance of weeds, but also excessive evaporation of moisture. Black spanbond cover the soil during planting, cut holes for strawberry bushes in it, and leave it on the site until autumn.
   

   You can plant strawberries under black agrofibre - this will prevent the appearance of weeds and drying of the soil

5. Periodically carry out shallow loosening of the soil and mulch the aisles (best of all with spruce needles). To protect plants from pests and diseases, carry out preventative treatments. In spring, spray strawberries with copper-containing fungicides - Bordeaux liquid (0.1%) or Hom, Horus, Abiga-Peak. An effective method of preventing pests is spring spraying with colloidal sulfur or karbofos. A couple of weeks before flowering, strawberries are treated with Neoron. To strengthen the immunity of plants, after flowering they are sprayed with Zircon.
6. In early autumn, strawberries are fed with fermented mullein, adding half a glass of wood ash to each bucket. Somewhere in mid-September, 20-30 grams of potash fertilizers, 2 tbsp. l nitrofoski and a glass of wood ash, and pour 0.5 l of solution under each bush. Such care will favorably affect the next year's harvest.
7. Since the variety Asia does not differ in frost resistance, strawberries need to provide good shelter for the winter. However, keep in mind that you need to cover the plantings no sooner than the freezing temperature is established on the street (that is, it will hold not only at night, but also during the day) - otherwise the strawberries may vypryat. The most common way is to cover the plants with straw, but it is dangerous because planting can damage rodents. You can cover the strawberries with spruce spruce branches or spanbond, and it is best to build mini-tunnels. In the fall, plastic or iron arches are installed above the beds, and with the onset of frost, they are pulled on them with agrofiber with a density of at least 50 g per square meter. In this case, a microclimate ideal for plants will be formed under the shelter, and you will not have to fear neither the aging of the bushes nor their freezing. Before you cover the strawberries, be sure to remove the weeds, remove the dry leaves and the remnants of the berries, and also cut off all the mustaches.

Strawberry pest table

Useful Strawberry Care Video

Strawberry Reviews Asia

From Italian varieties at the same time planted Asia, Syria, Roxane, Adria (all seedlings were purchased). Worst of all, Asia has taken root.When the soldering was already restored by its seedlings, another problem remained - chlorosis. On our soils, it chlorites the most (it is especially striking if Syria with dark green leaves grows nearby). For us, this is the main disadvantage of the variety. And so the berry is beautiful, transportable. Productivity will be fully appreciated only this year, but judging by the still green berries - rather big.

Alexander Krymsky

//forum.vinograd.info/showthread.php?t=2811&page=287

Yes, Asia is weaker and more aromatic. And in size - huge berries, almost no small ones (planted somewhere in late September). Last year, among many other varieties, I did not particularly see its virtues and planted many hundreds of other varieties, and sold Asia seedlings (it multiplies well). Still surprised that this is such a demand for her? And this year he himself is simply delighted.

Alexey Torshin

//dacha.wcb.ru/lofiversion/index.php?t16608-1050.html

Asia - after all, it's awesome! The collection began in mid-June, taking into account that my plantings were flooded in the spring and later began to grow vegetative

vikysia

//www.tomat-pomidor.com/newforum/index.php?topic=7391.140

I have Asia 3 years. Everything in her is like, except for productivity.

Berry

//forum.vinograd.info/showthread.php?t=2811&page=287

Although Asia strawberries are quite demanding and need careful care, it has many more advantages than disadvantages. And all the invested efforts are more than paid for by large, sweet and aromatic berries.