The response of black currant cultivars and selections to spring frost

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Abstract
Summary Repeated night frosts at East Mailing in March and April 1977 severely damaged Baldwin, Greens Black, Tor Cross, Wellington XXX and other early-and midseason-flòwering black currant cultivars. Damage to the late-flowering cvs Amos Black, Black Reward, Consort, ‘Mailing’ Jet, and Seabrook’s Black was graded very slight, moderate, slight, slight and severe, respectively. Selections in several progenies, covering a range in flowering seasons from very early to very late, showed from nil to slight damage. Frost room tests on single node cuttings indicated that some of these selections carried intrinsic frost resistance comparable with that of cv Ben Lomond. In certain selections this was combined with late flowering for frost avoidance. The mean percentage kill of buds plus flowers in the frost room was closely correlated with the rate of cooling. The results obtained suggested that a cooling rate of about —0.025°C min-1 with a minimum temperature of —3.25° B would differentiate satisfactorily between types showing a wide range of frost responses.

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