Cardial F1 is the name of a Japanese beet hybrid with a mid-early ripening season. It captivates domestic gardeners with the high quality of its roots, their incredible sweetness, disease resistance, and productivity. It is grown as an early bunching vegetable and as a storage vegetable.
Introduction to the variety
Cardial is a hybrid beet developed by the Japanese company Sakata, which specializes in the production of elite vegetable and flower seeds.
It is recommended for both industrial and private cultivation. Its cultivation is possible in the following regions of the Russian Federation:
- North-West;
- Central;
- Volga-Vyatka;
- Central Black Earth;
- North Caucasian;
- Middle Volga;
- West Siberian.
This hybrid is classified as a mid-early vegetable crop. Sow its seeds in summer and you'll get root vegetables 52-65 days after germination.
Cardial pleases the gardener with excellent technical characteristics:
- excellent yield - 4 kg of root crops from 1 sq. m of beetroot bed;
- high marketability of the crop - 88-97%;
- disease resistance (the vegetable crop is little susceptible to damage by downy and powdery mildew, rhizoctonia);
- good tolerance to heat, drought, and sudden temperature changes (the root crop flesh does not become ringed even under such unfavorable growing conditions).
Description of appearance and taste
Hybrid beet plants are characterized by their compact size. Their appearance is as follows:
- a small leaf rosette, distinguished by its erect or semi-erect type of structure;
- bush height - 38-43 cm;
- Foliage: dark green with a glossy finish, with red veins, broadly oval, medium-blistered, with a wavy edge;
- Petioles: red at the bottom.
The Cardial harvest is attractive for its appearance, uniformity, and high quality. Thanks to its beauty and transportability, the hybrid is ideal for commercial cultivation.
Its roots have the following characteristics:
- neat rounded shape;
- weight - 220-300 g (maximum possible weight - 350 g);
- smooth surface of the skin covering the vegetable;
- dark red flesh of a delicate consistency, juicy, genetically not prone to ring formation.
The hybrid's harvest is renowned for its excellent flavor, delighting the consumer with its rich sweetness. It is one of the highest-sugar varieties of the vegetable crop. The dry matter content of Cardial roots ranges from 17.1% to 19%, and the sugar content is 12.6% (sometimes reaching 15%).
Root vegetables grown in summer have excellent shelf life and are ideal for winter storage.
Agrotechnical subtleties
The Cardial hybrid beetroot thrives in warmth and sun. Select a well-lit area in your garden for growing it, one that's well-protected from wind and drafts. Pay attention to the soil. The crop thrives in soil with the following characteristics:
- fertile;
- loose;
- with neutral acidity;
- not swampy;
- sandy loam, loamy or chernozem (it is also possible to grow on peat after liming).
- ✓ Soil pH level should be strictly between 6.0-7.0 for optimal growth.
- ✓ The soil must have good drainage to avoid water stagnation.
Avoid sowing vegetable seeds in acidic garden soil. Growing in such soil will cause the vegetable to wither and become diseased, producing small, tasteless roots. If your soil is highly acidic, apply dolomite flour to the planting area. Apply 1 kg of powdered substance per 1 square meter of garden bed.
Don't allocate space for beetroot in a garden where you grew rutabagas, turnips, potatoes, or cabbage last year. These vegetable crops are poor predecessors for beetroot. Grow Cardial in areas where you previously planted tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, onions, and peas.
Before sowing beet seeds, enrich the garden soil with fertilizers:
- compost or humus - 6 kg per 1 sq. m (it is also acceptable to add rotted manure - 3-4 kg per 1 sq. m);
- wood ash - 500 g per 1 sq. m;
- ammonium nitrate - 15-20 g/sq.m. m;
- Superphosphate - 30-40 g/sq.m;
- potassium sulfate - 12 g/1 sq. m.
Spread the soil fertility improvers evenly over the area. Work them in by digging the soil to the depth of a shovel blade. Then level the surface with a rake.
In the area allocated for beets, make planting furrows in advance with the following characteristics:
- depth - 3-4 cm;
- the distance between rows is 20–30 cm.
To get even grooves, use a long plank or board.
Then start sowing, strictly following the step-by-step instructions:
- Water the planting furrows until the soil is completely absorbed.
- Place the hybrid seeds in the furrows, keeping a sowing distance of 3 cm.
- Cover them with a thin layer of garden soil, compacting it slightly with your hands.
- × Do not allow the soil to dry out after sowing, as this may result in uneven germination.
- × Avoid sowing in overly wet soil, as this may cause the seeds to rot.
If you are engaged in the industrial cultivation of the Cardial vegetable, follow the seed manufacturer's recommended sowing rates:
- 450 thousand/ha - if you grow standard root crops;
- 550-600 thousand/ha – to obtain early bunch production.
Seedlings will emerge 10 days after sowing if the soil temperature is above 10°C. Make sure the soil surface does not dry out. Water as needed until sprouts emerge.
In the future, provide care for the beet planting, which consists of the following activities:
- ThinningOnce the seedlings have two true leaves, pull out the weakest specimens. Leave 5-7 cm between plants. Repeat the procedure after 3-4 weeks (the 4-5 leaf stage). Leave 10-13 cm between beet plants.
- Watering. Water the soil in the bed as the top layer dries. Use 7–15 liters of warm, settled water per square meter. During dry periods, water more generously, maintaining a rate of 20 liters per square meter.
Pour water between the rows. Try to avoid dripping onto the tops and roots. - Loosening and weedingCultivate the soil between rows after each watering and rain. Use a hoe. Loosen the soil carefully, being careful not to damage the roots.
Regularly remove weeds from your garden. They deprive vegetables of nutrients and water, increasing the risk of disease and pests. - Top dressingFertilize the beet planting three times during the growing season. Use 10 liters of nutrient solution per 1 square meter of bed each time. Water the spaces between the rows with it.
Feed the plants for the first time after they develop 3-4 true leaves. Fertilize them with urea dissolved in water (10 g per 10 liters of water).
After 14 days, when the root crop reaches 5 cm in diameter, apply a complex fertilizer. To prepare this, dissolve the following fertilizers in 10 liters of water: superphosphate (17 g), potassium magnesium sulfate (16 g), urea (5 g), boric acid (2 g), and potassium permanganate (1 g).
30 days before harvesting, water the bed with a solution of Superphosphate (50 g per 10 l of water), enriched with potassium sulfate (20 g).
Dig up summer-sown root vegetables from late August. Yellowing of the tops will be a signal to harvest. Monitor the weather. Harvest the Cardial hybrid before frost. Otherwise, it won't keep for long. To ensure the vegetables don't spoil, don't throw them on the ground or bang them against each other.
Harvest beets on a warm, sunny day. Pull the roots out of the ground by hand or dig them up with a pitchfork. If the garden soil was wet during harvest, allow the roots to dry out and then brush off any dried dirt.
For storage, select root vegetables with the following characteristics:
- without signs of spoilage or rot;
- whole, without damage to the skin;
- diameter 10-12 cm.
- ✓ Root vegetables should have a uniform dark red color without light rings.
- ✓ The surface of the root vegetables should be smooth, without cracks or damage.
The optimal conditions for winter storage of Cardial beets are as follows:
- the air temperature in the cellar or vegetable storage is +4°C;
- air humidity level is 90-95%.
Reviews
Cardial is an excellent mid-early beetroot hybrid from the Japanese seed company Sakata. Domestic gardeners appreciate it for its high marketability, amazingly sweet flavor, good shelf life, and transportability. It is grown for both private consumption and commercial sale.