Ribes
ribes
(ˈraɪbiːz)| Noun | 1. |  Ribes - a flowering shrub bearing currants or gooseberries; native to northern hemisphere |
Ribes
currant
Ribes
(currants and gooseberries), a genus of plants of the family Grossulariaceae. The plants are shrubs having a height of 1.5–2.5 m. The leaves are simple and have three to five lobes. The small flowers, which are in racemes, are bisexual or, less frequently, diclinous and dioecious. The fruit is a sour-tasting berry, which is usually black, red, or yellow.
The genus comprises about 150 species, distributed in Europe, Asia, North and South America, and Africa. The USSR has 37 wild species and 57 cultivated species, the most important of which are the European black currant (R. nigrum), the northern red currant (R. rubrum), and the golden currant (R. aureum).
The European black currant has glands containing essential oils on the underside of the leaf blades; the oils give the plant a characteristic odor. The flowers are self-pollinating, although there are some varieties that have self-sterile flowers. The fruit clusters consist of two to 18 black or brown berries. The harvest is obtained from one-year-old branches. The short twigs on which the fruits form (spurs) live one to three years. Branches four or five years of age and older are cut back. The optimal temperature for growth and development is 18°–20°C; some Siberian forms can tolerate frosts to - 40°C. The shrub needs fertile soil and plenty of moisture. It grows wild in river valleys and moist forests. The European black currant is cultivated in many European countries and in Canada. In the USSR its principal regions of cultivation are the central areas of the European USSR, the Urals, the Volga region, Altai Krai, and Primor’e Krai.
The European black currant is one of the most valuable berry crops in terms of culinary and medicinal uses. The berries contain 5–12 percent sugar (glucose, fructose, and sucrose) and 2–4 percent acid (citric and malic). They also contain vitamin C (80–100 mg in 100 g of berries), vitamin B1, carotene, pectins, and tannins. The berries are used raw, dried, and frozen, as well as in the form of jam, juice, and wine.
The most common varieties in the USSR include Pamiat’ Mi-churina, Liia Plodorodnaia, and Pobeda. Also popular in some regions are the Golubka and Kent varieties.
The European black currant is propagated primarily by woody and green cuttings and by layer cuttings. It is planted in well-drained soil protected from the wind; there should be a distance of 2.5–3 m between rows and 0.8–1.25 m between shrubs in each row. Before planting the soil is treated with organic and inorganic fertilizers. In areas with plants of fruitbearing age organic fertilizers are applied once every two or three years, and inorganic fertilizers are applied annually. Soil care consists of hoeing, weed destruction with herbicides, and mulching. The shrubs yield 6-10 tons per hectare (ha); record yields reach 20 tons per ha.
The northern red currant has self-pollinating flowers and red, cream-colored, or yellowish berries. The generative buds are gathered in groups at the edges of twigs of various ages (two-, three-, and four-year-olds), but there are also solitary generative buds on one-year-old twigs. The fruit spurs are longer-lived than those of the European black currant, remaining on the shrubs at least three or four years. The northern red currant is winter-hardy and tolerates lower temperatures than the European black currant; it requires plenty of light and is resistant to drought. The shrub grows wild along rivers and forest edges, in shrub thickets, and sometimes, in the mountains. It is cultivated in roughly the same regions as the European black currant but it has greater success in the southern regions. The berries contain 4–10 percent sugar and 2–4 percent acid (more citric acid than in the European black currant); they also contain vitamin C (up to 30 mg) and vitamin P. The berries are eaten raw or in processed form.
The principal varieties include White Dutch, White Versaillaise, Fay, and Chulkovskaia. The northern red currant is propagated by means of green cuttings and layer cuttings. Soil treatment is practically the same as for the European black currant, but drier and better illuminated plots are chosen. The shrubs yield 10–12 tons of fruit per ha, with a maximum yield of up to 30 tons.
The golden currant has dioecious flowers, with a golden yellow or orange perianth. There is a cluster of five to 15 pleasant-tasting golden, red, or black berries. The fruit spurs live four or five years, but not all of them bear fruit each year. The highest-yielding twigs are the six- or seven-year-olds. The shrubs form underground stems, or rhizomes, whose buds develop into radical branchlets. The golden currant is frost and drought resistant, and it can be grown even in sandy and rocky soils. It tolerates a small amount of salinity. The plant is encountered on mountain slopes and cliffs and along rivers and forest borders. The golden currant is used as an ornamental shrub and in forest protection zones. It also serves as the stock for growing bole forms of gooseberries and currants.
The berries contain about 8 percent sugar and 0.9–1.0 percent acid; they also contain vitamin C (43–68 mg), carotene (up to 5 mg), pectins, pigments, and tannins. The basic varieties are Crandall, Zolotistaia Ranniaia, and Plotnomiasaia. The shrubs are propagated by means of seeds and cuttings. The fruit yield is as much as 5 kg per shrub.
The most harmful pests of currants are Dasyneura tetensi, Thomasiniana ribis, Contarinia ribis, Synanthodon tipiliformis, the gooseberry moth, the currant borer, aphids, and scale insects. Particularly harmful diseases include anthracnose and rust.
REFERENCES
Pavlova, N. M. Chernaia smorodina. Moscow-Leningrad, 1955.Savel’eva, L. S. Zolotistaia smorodina. [Volgograd] 1959.
Smol’ianinova, N. K. Smorodina. Moscow, 1968.
K. V. SHAUMIAN
Ribes
Ribes
(rēb),Ribes
- noun
Synonyms for Ribes
noun a flowering shrub bearing currants or gooseberries
Synonyms
- genus Ribes
Related Words
- plant genus
- family Grossulariaceae
- gooseberry family
- Grossulariaceae
- currant bush
- currant
- garden current
- red currant
- Ribes rubrum
- black currant
- European black currant
- Ribes nigrum
- Ribes sativum
- white currant
- Ribes sanguineum
- winter currant
- gooseberry
- gooseberry bush
- Ribes grossularia
- Ribes uva-crispa
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