Subject: INFO: Blue Honeysuckle, a Fruit for Even the FAR North

From: [email-masked] (Bob Batson)
Date: 16 Jun 1996 20:14:41 GMT

Blue Honeysuckle, a Fruit for Even the FAR North

  The article by Dr. Maria N. Plekhanova excerpted below originally
appeared as "Blue Honeysuckle: A New Berry From Russia" in _Pomona_
29(1), Winter 1996, 46-48, published by the North American Fruit
Explorers, Rt. 1, Box 94, Chapin, IL 62628. NAFEX member obtained the
article from a Russian friend.

      Sweet blue honeysuckle, a new berry plant, has currently
    gained wide popularity with gardeners in the Russian north, in
    the zone of risky horticulture. Practically in any amateur's or
    farmer's garden, from three to 15 plants may be found. Large
    nurseries are eagerly growing the blue honeysuckle bushes and
    sell[ing] them to the population. Commercial plantations of the
    crop, each covering from 10 to 25 hectares [25 to 62 acres], are
    concentrated mostly in western Siberia.
      The major advantage of blue honeysuckle that facilitated its
    rapid spread over Russia is its extra-early ripening. The taste
    and color of berries reminds one of highbush blueberry. Blue
    honeysuckle ripens 10 to 14 days earlier than strawberry.
    Ripening occurs when the orchards produce very few
    vitamin-containing products, therefore blue honeysuckle makes a
    good addition to the people's diet, as its berries contain 6-8%
    sugars, 2-3% acids, 40-170 milligrams of vitamin C per 100
    grams, and from 1,200 up to 1,800 biologically active
    polyphenols per 100 grams. Berries can be consumed fresh or
    frozen. They are used for producing jam, juice, fruit and
    berry infant food mixtures, [and] beverages, as well as for
    obtaining natural food pigment or dark red color, which is used
    in caramel and marmalade production.
      By 1995, over 50 blue honeysuckle varieties had been
    registered in Russia. All of them were developed from Lonicera
    caerulea ... Among the species forms, those with bitter-tasting,
    hardly edible berries prevail. Good-tasting sour-sweet berries
    with nice aroma are characteristic only of L. caerulea var.
    kamtschatica that grows in the Asiatic part of Russia on the
    Pacific Coast, in Kamchatka Peninsula and in eastern Siberia.
      It is from seedlings of that particular strain from Kamchatka
    that the first varieties of blue honeysuckle, namely `Sinyaya
    Ptitsa', `Goluboye Vereteno', `Gerda', `Fialka', `Morena', etc.
    have been selected. All of them are noted for large fruit ...
    One berry reaches 1.5 to 2 grams in weight at a length of 3 to 4
    centimeters. Ripe berries are easy to detach from the pedicel;
    they can easily be harvested both manually and with a
    berry-picking combine.
      The other advantage of blue honeysuckle is its outstanding
    winter hardiness, allowing for cultivation of the crop as far
    north as far north as agriculture in open ground is even
    possible, even beyond the Polar Circle. In winter, the plants
    can stand frosts down to -46 degrees Celsius [-51 degrees
    Fahrenheit] without being damaged. In springtime, flowers
    withstand frosts of -8 degrees Celsius [18 degrees
    Fahrenheit]...this crop is only suitable for cultivation in the
    northern temperate climates. In the south, winters with frequent
    fluctuations from cold to warmth will damage flowering buds....
      Blue honeysuckle is a thick upright bush from 1.0 to 1.8
    meters, 1.5 to 2.0 meters in diameter. These are the dimensions
    reached by the bush on the 10th to 14th year after planting.
    During the first years, the plant grows comparatively slowly,
    but a yield of 300 to 500 grams of berries [per bush] can be
    obtained in the second to third year after planting. Maximum
    yields of 2 to 5 kilograms per bush are obtained from 7- to
    15-year-old plants. Blue honeysuckle is a long-lived plant that
    can be grown in a garden for 25 to 30 years.
      Blue honeysuckle is a cross-pollinated plant, like apple,
    plum, or sour cherry. A good yield of berries is obtainable only
    by planting two to three different varieties together.
    Bumblebees and bees act as pollinators, for blue honeysuckle is
    a good nectar plant that flowers in early May.
      Concerning soil requirements, blue honeysuckle is not
    demanding. Soil acidity may vary from acid to neutral, with pH
    from 5 to 7. Humus content in soil should be high; its
    deficiency can be compensated for with organic fertilizers. Blue
    honeysuckle grows well on moist land, but swamped places are
    inappropriate. The highest yields can be obtained in open, sunny
    places.
      The best season for planting blue honeysuckle is autumn.
    Spring planting is absolutely unacceptable, for plants start
    growing at an air temperature around 0 to 2 degrees Celsius [32
    to 36 degrees Fahrenheit] when the soil is not ready for field
    work....
      No pruning is performed on young plants. After 8 to 10 years
    of fruiting, lightening or thinning type [of pruning] should be
    applied.
      In order to obtain annually long shoots and, consequently,
    good yields, application of nitrogen mineral fertilizers is
    recommended in spring., and of phosphorus and potassium in
    autumn. Soil around plants should be mulched with organic
    matter.
      Blue honeysuckle is resistant to fungus diseases of leaves and
    berries. Protection from birds is required at harvest season....
      The plant is propagated by green cuttings, bush division, and
    ... tissue culture. Seed sowing is used only for breeding
    purposes.
      The N.I. Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry (VIR),
    the Russian plant genebank, holds the first place in Russia in
    domestication of blue honeysuckle and other wild-growing fruit
    and berry plants. Its collection of blue honeysuckle varieties
    and species is the most complete one in Russia and numbers over
    400 accessions....
      Professor Maria N. Plekhanova (Dr. Biol.), author of the
    present paper, has been carrying out research on wild and
    cultivated blue honeysuckle for 20 years.... Currently, Dr.
    Plekhanova is implementing a program of blue honeysuckle
    breeding in Russia....
      For more details, please contact Prof. Maria N. Plekhanova at
    this address: N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry, 42, B.
    Morskaya Str., 190000, St. Petersburg, RUSSIA.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Reprinted with permission from the May 1996 _HortIdeas_. Copyright 1996
by Greg and Pat Williams. _HortIdeas_ (ISSN 0742-8219) is published
monthly. Annual subscription rates: U.S., $20 second class or $22 first
class; Canada and Mexico, $26; Overseas, $30 surface mail or $35 air
mail. Single issues: North America, $2.00 each; Overseas, $3.00 each,
surface mail, or $3.50 each, air mail. For more information or a
subscription, write: HortIdeas, 460 Black Lick Road, Gravel Switch, KY
40328, USA.

-- 
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bob Batson                              L 39 12 14 N  94 33 16 W
[email-masked]                             Kansas City
TCS - Mystic Fire Priest                USDA zone 5b
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Under the most controlled conditions, the experimental apparatus will
do exactly as it pleases.