Rowan / Mountain Ash (Sorbus aucuparia) ALAJA KRUPNAJA

Rowan / Mountain Ash (Sorbus aucuparia) 'Alaja Krupnaja'

An outstanding Russian variety with massive clusters of scarlet berries, excellent astringency-free taste, and extreme frost resistance.

The 'Alaja Krupnaja' (translated as Scarlet Large) variety is a direct continuation of the masterpiece breeding by the famous I. V. Michurin. It is highly prized for its incredibly large and heavy fruit clusters, which make harvesting remarkably easy. It combines a pleasant sweet-sour taste without any unpleasant astringency with a high pectin content, making it an absolute star for both home and commercial production of jams, jellies, and healthy juices. Moreover, it is ideal for organic cultivation.

Main advantages of the variety:

• Massive clusters: Heavy, rich corymbs weighing 200 to 300 g ensure fast and efficient harvesting.
• Excellent taste: Sweet and sour with a spicy rowan note, yet completely devoid of astringency (rated 4.3 out of 5).
• Storability: Fresh fruits can be stored for up to 3 - 4 months.
• High yield: A reliable variety with yields exceeding 21 t/ha.
• Self-fertile, extremely frost-hardy, and perfectly suited for chemical-free growing.

Origin and Registration

• Origin: Russia (I. V. Michurin Federal Scientific Center). Authors: I. V. Michurin (original material), A. S. Tichonova, and T. K. Poplavskaja.
• Crossing and Registration: Created through a very interesting cross between the Moravian sweet rowan (Sorbus aucuparia var. moravica) and a hybrid of European rowan and pear pollen mix. Registered in 1999.

Variety Characteristics

Shrub / Tree

• Vigor and Habit: Medium vigor tree or shrub. Forms a regular, moderately dense, wide-pyramidal to round crown. Branches extend from the trunk almost at right angles, with their tips pointing upwards.
• Shoots and Leaves: Shoots are thick, grey-brown, with numerous large lenticels. The pinnate leaves consist of oblong leaflets.
• Pollination: The variety is fully self-fertile.

Fruit

• Size and Arrangement: Very large, uniform fruits with an average weight of 1.7 g (some up to 2 cm). They grow in visually attractive, exceptionally large and heavy clusters (200 - 300 g).
• Color and Shape: Cylindrical, slightly flattened shape with a bright scarlet-red (red-orange) color.
• Taste and Composition: Pleasantly sweet-sour, without undesirable astringency. They contain 8.4% sugars and an extremely high proportion of health-promoting P-active substances (625 mg/100 g).

Resistance and Requirements

• Frost and Diseases: The variety is perfectly adapted to harsh climates—it features very high frost resistance and excellent disease resistance.
• Organic Cultivation: Cultivation is undemanding. Thanks to its overall vitality and natural resistance, the variety is tailor-made for organic growing without chemical sprays.

Cultivation Recommendations

• Fruit Use: Primarily intended for technical processing. Due to the high pectin content, it makes top-tier jams and jellies (which are gourmet accompaniments to meat and cheese). It is also excellent for producing wines, liqueurs, syrups, and teas.
• Fruiting Wood: It bears fruit mainly on short fruiting spurs and fruiting twigs, which ensures an even distribution of the crop.

Harvest, Yield, and Storage

• Harvest Time: Mid-late variety. Ripens at the turn of August and September.
• Yield: Very high and reliable. Average yields reach over 21 t/ha.
• Storability: A huge advantage is that harvested fruits can be stored for 3 to 4 months, extending your processing season.