Radish Champion: description and photo of the variety, cultivation, diseases and pests and storage of the crop

Champion variety name appeared due to the high yield of radishes, excellent taste and resistance to diseases and pests.

Received at the end of the 20th century by the labor of breeders of a large Czech agricultural company, it quickly gained popularity among farmers and gardeners in Russia.

In this article, we will talk in detail about how this radish looks and show a photo, as well as give recommendations on growing and storing the crop.

Description of appearance

The aerial part of the plant is a dense semi-elevated rosette of saturated green leaves. The leaf plate is medium-sized, lyre-shaped, cirrus-notched, the tip of the blade is rounded. On its surface, slight pubescence is noted.

Features of the fruit:

The root crop ready for harvest is distinguished by a saturated raspberry-red tint. The color of the radish is completely continuous, without white admixture on the bottom.
The shape is round, some fruits can be slightly oblong, weighing up to 25 g, on average, 18-20 g specimens with a diameter of 2-2.5 cm come across.
The skin is thin and smooth.
The pulp is white, dense, juicy.

Photo

Next, you can see a photo of this variety radish:

Sowing time

The variety is early ripe, can tolerate short frosts, is not afraid of spring frosts. You can start planting seedlings in open ground quite early, you should wait for the soil to warm up and increase in air temperature during the day to 18 ° C.

Basic landing dates:

the last decade of March - the southern regions and greenhouses;
the first half of April is the middle band;
the last decade of April, the beginning of May - the northern regions.

You can get another crop by planting a new batch in late July - early August, depending on the territorial location and climatic conditions.

Productivity

Yield characteristics are average. The yield of root crops is up to 12-15 tons per hectare, for large-scale farms the indicator is modest.

Where is it recommended to grow?

It is considered that Champion is best suited for outdoor cultivation. Complex soil preparation is not performed. With a long daylight, it is recommended that you shade it to avoid shooting. For the same purposes, it will be good to plant seedlings with a daylight shorter than 14 hours.

In greenhouses and greenhouses, you can also get a decent crop of root crops, plants will feel good, because the variety is undemanding to lighting, and excess of the sun can be more likely harmful. Some practice successful cultivation in urban environments, such as in containers on the balcony.

Resistance to diseases and pests

An important goal in obtaining the Champion hybrid variety was the resistance of plants to various diseases and pests. There is bloom that reduces yield.

Ripening period

Champion gives ready-to-eat fruit quickly. Under good weather conditions, a full crop can be harvested already after 3 weeks from the moment of planting. In the northern regions, it ripens a little longer, up to 25-27 days. Rapid ripening provides an opportunity for farmers and amateurs to get several crops per season.

Crop keeping

In cool rooms without access to light, the variety demonstrates a decent shelf life of up to one and a half months. During this period, you can not be afraid of the loss of presentation or taste, as well as sagging root crops.

Breeding History

The radish champion is selected by employees of the Czech company AGROFIRMA MORAVOSEED. In 1999, it was included in the state register of selection achievements approved for use on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Distinctive features, advantages and disadvantages

The main features of the variety that distinguish it from the rest include a successful combination of resistance to adverse weather manifestations and diseases and early ripeness.

When choosing the most suitable variety for your economy, you should take into account the advantages of the Champion. Among them:

high percentage of seed germination;
resistance of plantings to frost;
compact planting due to the dense raised rosette of leaves;
universality: grown in unprotected soil, greenhouses, hotbeds, on balconies;
early ripening, several harvests during the season;
immunity to most diseases;
long shelf life without loss of product characteristics;
excellent taste.

Negative aspects are taken into account, such as:

small fruits, which makes commercial production unprofitable;
prone to the accumulation of nitrates.

Application

Most often, Champion radishes are found in areas of amateur gardeners, in private farms. It is possible to eat with benefit in raw form, as a component of salad, okroshka or a light snack.

Growing

High-quality seed is large, uniform, seeds 2.5 mm in diameter. Soaking is not necessary. Friable soils with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction are considered suitable. It is best to prepare the soil for planting in the fall. It will be enough to add a mixture of humus, compost, a little ash as fertilizer. With insufficient friability, sand is used, they are dug up to a homogeneous state. Fertilized soil is left until next year.

Shortly before planting, clumped clods of earth are chosen, loosening and, if desired, mulching of the beds are carried out. It prevents the growth of weeds, strengthens control over the level of humidity. Soil temperature should be at least 5 ° C.

Landing is as follows:

On the finished bed, holes or grooves are made with a depth of not more than 3 cm, the distance between the rows is not less than 10 cm.
At the bottom of the recesses, compost or humus is placed, covered with a thin layer of substrate. Subsequent fertilizing with nitrogen-containing fertilizers is excluded.
After planting, the soil is poured, the soil is properly moistened, avoiding erosion.

Further care is reduced to weeding, thinning with the elimination of weak gatherings, pest control. A suitable distance between thinned plants is 5-7 cm. Radishes need regular watering with a frequency of 1-3 days. It is important to prevent waterlogging of the beds, which is why fungal lesions and decay are frequent.

Diseases and Pests

Of the pests that damage radishes, are characteristic:

Cruciferous flea. Adult individuals destroy the tops, the larvae eat the roots and fruits.
Leaf beetle. It feeds on the aboveground part, causes significant damage, with a large number causes the destruction of plantations.

You can fight insects using widely available insecticides (kalbofos, fosbucid, Sherpa). In addition, there are proven ways to combat natural means:

Manual collection of adults from leaves and their destruction.
Well-proven infusion of tomato tops. It is prepared from 4 kg of green mass and 10 l of water. It is easy to replace tomato tops with potato; the action is similar.
Infusion of dandelions. Take 0.5 kg of greens, carefully chopped, poured a bucket of water. There is added 30 g of laundry soap.
Acetic solution. A glass of 9% table vinegar is diluted in 10 liters of water.

There are methods using chamomile, ash, pepper, tobacco, etc. Champion's diseases are very rare, sometimes gardeners are faced with powdery mildew, the cause of which is excessive watering and stagnation of water in the soil. The defeat is caused by a fungus, get rid of only chemicals: treatment with copper sulfate, "Fundazole."

A typical problem is shooting (flare). It is decided by the appropriate choice of a landing site, if necessary, by shadow cover.

Harvesting and storage

Layered in wooden boxes. Processing of containers with lime prolongs storage and prevents rotting from developing. In a cellar or a cool garage, the variety will please with freshness for up to one and a half months.

Similar varieties

Among the wide assortment provided to the modern grower, one can find varieties very similar to the Champion. They will be similar in terms of planting and ripening, externally they will be practically the same shape and color.

Popular options, materials for sowing are easy to find in almost all specialized retail outlets:

Double - universal, very quickly ready to harvest, unpretentious.
Carmen - early ripe, long-stored.
Celeste - a little larger, the same resistant, is stored for a long time.
Sora - coincides in size and timing of cultivation, not at all picky in care, delicious.
Charito - Also similar in forms and basic characteristics.

Thanks to the achievements of modern breeding science, we have a wonderful Champion variety, a really winning option for your garden! In the article, we examined in detail the features, cultivation, pros and cons. Now it’s easier for you to make the right choice, find the best varieties and not be afraid of experiments at the cottage!