Muromets grapes: characteristics and description of the variety

The Muromets grape variety lives up to its name – it's a high-quality domestic variety with great hardiness. Reviews suggest its frost resistance is even higher than the official description. The berries don't have a distinctive or sophisticated flavor, but they are sweet and large, and the yield is decent. This variety is considered reliable, trouble-free, and high-quality.

Description of the variety

Muromets – variety A blue grape variety, it is suitable for cultivation in any region of Russia where it can be grown. This variety is not new; it was developed in 1962 and remains popular among gardeners. Muromets vines are especially common in northern regions. The variety's parents were the Severny and Pobeda grapes, crossed by I.M. Filippenko and L.T. Shtilin, who worked at the I.V. Michurin Central Garden Laboratory.

Structural features

As the variety's name suggests, the bushes have a monumental appearance: Muromets is a vigorous vine with a thick trunk and branches, and powerful roots. The shoots reach 2-3 meters in length. The vines are covered with a thin, cobweb-like hair. The roots are brown or brownish-red.

The vines bear large to medium-sized leaves with an elongated central lobe and a serrated edge. The leaf blade typically has five lobes, but can be three- or seven-lobed. The interveinal areas of the leaf are light green, with prominent veins and a lighter shade than the main leaf surface. The lower portion of the main veins can have blue-red tones. The leaf surface is matte, sometimes wrinkled on the outer surface, taking on a gray-green hue. The petioles are brownish-red.

The flowers are bisexual, and pollination is high. The clusters are conical in shape and moderately densely packed with berries. They range in size from medium to large, weighing between 400 g and 1 kg.

Characteristics of berries

Muromets is an early-ripening variety (105-110 days from the start of the growing season). In the temperate zone, the fruits on the main shoots are ready for harvesting in early August, and in the southern regions, in late July. The berries on the side shoots ripen a month later.

The fruits are large, approximately 20-23 mm in diameter, and have a round, slightly elongated shape. The berries are dark red or dark purple in color. The skin is thin, imperceptible when bitten, and covered with a fine waxy coating. The fruits have an attractive appearance, which increases the commercial value of the harvest.

The pulp is fleshy and crisp. The few seeds (2-4 in each berry) are small. The sugar content in the fruits is 17-18%, and the acid content is 7-8 g/l. The berries have a sweet, tart taste and a subtle aroma.

By purpose Muromets is a table wine varietyThe berries have a pleasant fresh flavor and are well-suited for canning. They score 8.6 on a ten-point tasting scale.

Yield of the variety

Muromets – high-yielding varietyOne bush can yield 4-7 kg of fruit, with 1.3-1.6 kg per square meter of planting. Each berry weighs 4-5 g.

Most of the shoots forming on a bush are fruit-bearing—7 to 9 for every ten vines. The optimal number of clusters that can ripen well is 1.1-1.5 per shoot.

Sustainability indicators

Variety is distinguished by its comprehensive stability:

1. Muromets is practically not susceptible to fungal diseases, including mildew and oidium.
2. Frost resistance – grapes can withstand temperatures down to -25…-27°C.
3. Good drought tolerance.
4. High adaptability – the bush easily adapts to different growing conditions, young plants quickly take root after planting.

Muromets grapes exhibit weak resistance to gray mold and are also susceptible to chlorosis, bacterial canker, and bacteriosis. Among fungal diseases, they are susceptible to anthracnose and rubella.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

The following qualities make this variety popular among gardeners:

• good yield with low demands;
• the possibility of cultivation in the north due to the early ripening period and frost resistance;
• resistance to powdery mildew, both true and false;
• nutritional value of berries – pleasant taste, small number of seeds;
• crop shelf life, transportation options;
• attractive, marketable appearance of fruits - berries are large, beautifully colored;
• high level of survival of planting material.

Disadvantages of the variety:

• susceptibility of grapes to bacterial and some fungal diseases;
• the likelihood of fruit cracking after watering or rain preceded by a long drought;
• cases of pea-shaped berries without any violation of care, which worsens the commercial quality of the bunches.

Features of agricultural technology of the variety

Caring for grapes Muromets grapes generally require standard cultivation, but a responsible approach to cultivation is essential. All measures should be taken regularly, without missing fertilizing or preventative spraying, and the bush should be pruned, thinned, and irrigated throughout the season. This way, there will be no problems with the grapes.

Features of variety care:

1. Muromets cuttings take root easily and grow quickly in their new location. In northern regions, spring is preferred for planting; in the south, with mild winters, landing They are held even in winter – from October to March.
2. Grapes are sensitive to soil acidity and do not like either alkaline or acidic soils. Neutral soils (pH 6-7) are considered optimal.
3. As the cuttings begin to grow, they produce all their shoots. This quality will require careful pruning later. No more than 40-45 vines should be left on a bush. Select shoots with a diameter of 6-12 cm.
4. Fruit-bearing vines should be pruned to a level of 9-10, maximum 12 buds.
5. It is recommended to carry out preventive treatments of bushes, primarily with preparations that prevent the development of gray rot.
6. On the grape vines in spring Muromets tends to produce too many inflorescences. This shouldn't be ignored, as overcrowding is critical for the variety. Thinning should begin at the flowering stage, before ovary formation, leaving 2-3 inflorescences on each shoot.
7. The volume and number of clusters on Muromets vines do not correspond to the bushes' ability to produce a high-quality harvest. As a result, the berries lose sweetness, become smaller, and overloaded vines often break. The second stage of thinning involves removing excess clusters. If the clusters are potentially large (600-1000 g at maturity), it is recommended to leave one per vine; if their final weight is unlikely to exceed 400-500 g, two clusters per shoot can be left.
8. If some of the berries in a grape cluster are small ("pea-sized"), it's best, albeit labor-intensive, to pluck them; otherwise, by the time the rest of the berries ripen, they will be overripe and crack. It's impossible to ship such a bunch for sale.
9. It is advisable to cut the bunches immediately after ripening to relieve the load on the shoots, although the harvest can remain on the bush for a long time.
10. If the weather is rainy, only those fruits intended for canning or jam should be picked. Fruits intended for fresh consumption or for raisins should be harvested only on a dry day; otherwise, the berries will lose their shelf life and are highly likely to crack during transportation.
11. The crop requires protective measures against wasps - destruction of nests, spraying, and traps in the form of containers with sweet water.

Gardeners' reviews

Maria, 39 years old:

"The grapes are delicious, and although they're not a wine grape, it's perfectly possible to make must from them. We tried it, and it makes a decent table wine. The pulp is quite juicy, and the small number of seeds is a welcome relief. We weren't able to make dessert wine right away; it turns out that you need to keep the bunches on the vine longer, until mid-autumn (for comparison, we harvest table wine at the end of September). However, there is one drawback: delaying the harvest increases the risk of vine breakage."

Inna, 34 years old:

"The harvest is ripening beautifully; the first grapes of the season on my plot are always Muromets. There are many fruitful vines, and there are clusters on the first-order side shoots, but they are smaller in weight. Unfortunately, the grapes are susceptible to gray mold. The affected berries attract a lot of wasps."

Peter, 46 years old:

"I had a couple of Muromets bushes that overwintered without cover for several years in a row, when temperatures dropped to -30°C. In the spring, they started growing normally, with shoots and buds remaining undamaged. But one day, they froze, and I can't even say at what temperature the bushes "broke." It was a very cold winter, with temperatures dropping to almost -40°C. But the bushes survived and fully recovered a couple of years later—shoots emerged from the dormant buds."

Variety Muromets is suitable for commercial cultivation, although it should be considered a home-grown grape. Proper care generally ensures high-quality berries, but the risk of individual fruits becoming smaller in the bunches can hinder marketing plans.