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nafex - [NAFEX] Black currant questions

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  • From: "Moyer, Richard" <ramoyer@king.edu>
  • To: "'nafex@lists.ibiblio.org'" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [NAFEX] Black currant questions
  • Date: Wed, 3 Mar 2004 12:16:53 -0500

Kevin wrote:
>I often hear that there are improved varieties of black currant but have
not
>heard what the "improvement" is, except for yield but I can't imagine a
>fruit bush being more productive than my Consort and it is immune to
>WPBR I am told. So, I now just ignore all the hoopla about "improved"
>black currant varieties and let the world go on rotating in blissful black
currant ignorance.

May I add to Ed's experience:
After spending a summer evaluating ~100 black currants at the NCGR in
Corvallis, I can say that there are a number of currants much superior in
flavor and at least equal in yield to Consort. This is not a minor
difference in fresh flavor, or differences in personal preference, but a
quantum leap, IMO. Note that threatened NCGR "punishment" for bone-headed
field workers was to eat (unripe) black currants, as there are some dogs in
the collection, flavor wise. Almost all improve in sugars for weeks after
turning black, similar to blueberries.
See http://whitmanfarms.com/tree_pages/Catalog/catalog_currants1.html
for a list of Black Currants available for purchase. From her list, Ben
Lomand (Lomond), Blackdown, Minaj Smierou (Shmyrev), Risager and Silver
Geiter are superior flavored to Consort, and may work in your area. Ed M.
may weigh in on how these do in the east. Minaj has some rust resistance.
'Titania is immune', if you can find it. Ben Lomond a vigorous, healthy
plant to boot. There are equal or better flavored currants to these being
examined for high disease resistance with hopes of release in a few years.

Why does fresh flavor matter? Those of you at the NAFEX Conf in NH, recall
the last farm we visited. They had several rows of 'Consort' (plus one
other?) in the U-pick area of the farm. The proprietor said they made a
good jam, but hardly anyone paid to pick them because the fresh flavor was
so disgusting to the avg. US palate. 'Consort' is not a money maker for
him. For more black currants to make it into US kitchens, freezers, and
mouths, they need to have fresh taste appeal, which usually means sweeter.
Fortunately, Russian and Swedish breeders have been selecting for these and
other traits, as Ed M. noted. As per recent discussions, it takes time to
get these into the US, and they need to be screened for resistance to mildew
and rust under our conditions.

Why do we promote currants and gooseberries locally? Our forecast next 3
days is low 70s, and we get freezes into 3rd week of May. Currants and
gooseberries are more reliable yielders here than any other fruit we grow,
excepting Juneberries (saskatoons). How do we eat them? We've adapted and
learned to prefer them, because they're what we have. Guess you could say
my wife and I are 'breeding' children (5) to prefer the fruit we grow, as
much as breeding/selecting fruit for the taste preferences we already have.

If 'Consort' works for you, great, but it's a poor cultivar to (re)introduce
N. Americans to what's possible in black currants.
Richard Moyer
Zone 6, East Tenn

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