Triton

Triton is an exceptional and commercially highly valued blackcurrant variety, Ribes nigrum, developed in Sweden at the prestigious Balsgård research institute, and released into wide production and European registers in 1989. It was developed on the basis of complex crosses involving hybrids of Consort and Magnus. Due to its high and stable productivity, excellent technological juice quality, and outstanding resistance to frost and fungal diseases, it represents one of the leading companion and main varieties for professional plantations and amateur plantings throughout Europe.

It is a fully self-fertile variety. It is characterized by an exceptionally high level of self-pollination and abundant flowering, so it reliably and stably produces maximum yields in pure single-variety orchards without the need for other companion varieties in the planting. It is an excellent universal pollinator for all other blackcurrant varieties. It flowers medium-early, and the flowers are very attractive to bees and show high natural resistance to late spring frosts.

The shrub is medium to vigorous, with firm, elastic, and semi-upright shoots that form a compact, well-branched, and very orderly bush reaching 1.2 to 1.5 meters in height, which does not lodge under the weight of the crop. It enters full bearing very early, as early as the second year after planting, and produces regular, stable, and uniformly high yields. It forms long, attractive, uniform, and richly filled clusters.

It belongs to the group of medium-early blackcurrant varieties. In our region and under continental agroecological conditions, it ripens in mid- to late June, usually a few days before or at the same time as the leading variety Titania, at the peak of the raspberry season.

Harvesting takes place in the second half of June and in early July. It is characterized by uniform and simultaneous ripening of all berries within the same cluster, which makes it fully suitable for mechanized harvesting with dedicated berry harvesters and shakers, during which the berries do not crack, crush, or leak juice.

In fresh condition, it can be successfully kept in cold storage for 7–14 days. It has an exceptionally high content of soluble dry matter, acids, anthocyanins, and an extremely high level of vitamin C, which makes it an excellent and highly sought-after raw material for industrial processing. It is widely used for the production of premium cold-pressed direct juices, syrups, jams, jam concentrates, marmalades, liqueurs, as well as for large-scale deep freezing as whole-fruit “rolend” quality.

The berry is medium-sized to large for blackcurrant, with an average weight of around 1.0–1.2 g, exceptionally uniform within the clusters, and regular in its round shape. The skin is firm, elastic, smooth, and glossy, and at full maturity it is intense coal-black in color. The flesh is dark purple, firm, compact, and very juicy. The taste is refreshing and acidic, with a pleasant, balanced sugar content and a very strong, specific, recognizable, and noble blackcurrant aroma. After full ripening, the berries separate easily, cleanly, and dry from the stem without juice leakage.

It is characterized by high genetic resistance to American powdery mildew, Sphaerotheca mors-uvae, and currant rust, which is a major cultivation advantage and makes it an absolutely ideal variety for organic, ecological production without the use of aggressive chemical products in commercial orchards and home gardens. It also has outstanding resistance of the wood and buds to extremely low winter frosts, tolerating temperatures down to -30°C during full dormancy without damage.

The root system is surface-level, shallow, and distinctly fibrous, which makes this variety highly sensitive to summer drought and high temperatures. It requires fertile, humus-rich, moderately moist, lighter, and well-drained soils with a slightly acidic reaction, along with mandatory provision of regular irrigation, preferably a drip irrigation system, during June, July, and August, so that berries in later ripening waves do not remain small and shriveled on the shrub. In lowland areas, the installation of shade nets is recommended in order to prevent leaf scorch during hot summer days. The shrub renews and spreads naturally very well by forming new strong shoots from the basal part every year.

Our blackcurrant fruit plants are produced exclusively by vegetative propagation, by rooting mature cuttings under controlled conditions from healthy mother plantations, and are supplied as own-rooted plants. This guarantees complete varietal purity, virus-free quality, and long shrub life.