Read and translate the text with the help of a dictionary. Selecting a site Areas with cool summers, little rain during harvest, and relatively mild winters are ideal for raspberries. Raspberries are among the most delicious and delicate small fruits

Raspberries are among the most delicious and delicate small fruits. There are summer-and fall-bearing raspberry, black raspberry, and purple raspberry. All of these are species and hybrids of the genus Rubus, and all have similar fruting habits.

Selecting a site Areas with cool summers, little rain during harvest, and relatively mild winters are ideal for raspberries. In colder regions, you can get good yields by growing either winter-hardy cultivars or fall-bearing raspberries. Roots will tolerate below-zero temperatures, but canes may be damaged by dry winter winds.

Avoid selecting a site where potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants or strawberries have grown within the past 3 years. These crops are affected by many of the same insects and diseases. So it's important that these crops be rotated from one site to another. However, it's best to plant raspberries in a site that has not been planted to any of these crops in the past 3 years. If you don't do this, fungus diseases and insect pests may still be present in the soil; they'll infect the new planting.

Raspberry plants grow best in a well-drained, fertile, loam soil with moderate water-holding capacity. Avoid heavy clay soils. Sometimes you can improve a less desirable site by tiling, increasing organic matter content, and building raised beds.

Selecting a cultivar Red raspberry cultivars can be divided into two types. Summer-bearing cultivars are the most common. These produce canes that are biennial in habit, growing one year and producing fruit the next. Fall-bearing cultivars produce canes that bear fruit on the top portion of the current season's growth in late summer and fall. There are also yellow-or amber-colored raspberries available.

Raspberry cultivars differ in fruiting habit, tolerance to pests and heavy soils, fruit characteristics, etc. Thus, it's important to choose a cultivar adapted to your needs and to the site you have available.

Preparing the soil You should be able to keep your raspberry planting productive for 8 to 12 years, so choose and prepare a good site before you establish the planting.

In the year before you plant, eliminate all perennial weeds. A good supply of organic matter in the soil improves aeration and drainage, and it increases water-holding capacity. You may apply organic matter the summer or fall of the year before you plant. You also can use decomposed compost, leaves, chopped hay or straw, peat moss, sawdust, etc. Use only materials that you think are free from insects and weed seeds.

Raspberries grow best when soil pH is between 6 and 7. Test the soil pH the year before you plant. If the soil is too acidic (pH below 5), add lime as recommended by an analysis. If you use manure, apply it in the late fall or early winter. Reduce the rate of nitrogen fertilizer applied by one-half. A good guide for fertilization is to observe plant growth. Leaves should be a healthy green; a pale green or yellow color may indicate nitrogen deficiency.

Planting It's best to purchase certified disease-free raspberry plants from a nursery. It's important that you plant raspberries at the proper depth. Primary roots of red raspberry grow mainly in a horizontal direction; it's these roots that give rise to the new shoots or primocanes.

Plant as early as you can work the soil in the spring. If you can't plant immediately, heel plants into the soil to prevent the roots from drying. Dig a shallow hole, large enough to accommodate the roots. Prune off any damaged root parts. Spread the root mass and set the plant so that the highest point of attachment of roots to cane is 1 to 2 inches below ground level. Cover roots with soil and press firmly to remove air pockets. Water the plants to settle the soil.

Harvesting Pick fruit every 3 to 4 days. When the berries are ripe, they can be pulled off the receptacle or plug quite easily. Pick into a shallow container to prevent the fruit from crushing. To extend shelf life, avoid picking when berries are wet and refrigerate as soon as possible.

2.5 Answer the questions to the text.

 1. What areas are suitable for raspberry growing?

 2. What operations should be done before planting?

 3. What types of soils should be avoided?

 4. What raspberry cultivars do you know?

2.6 Find the antonyms for the following words: warm, moist, early, deep, light, different, seldom, to sell, tolerant.

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