Currant diseases: description and methods of treatment. Black currant: diseases and treatment of the plant. Effective methods of combating blackcurrant diseases

From various kinds Diseases and damage can affect not only people, but also plants. Such troubles are most often encountered by gardeners who cultivate fruit crops on their own personal plot. Most often, the development of such diseases can be prevented with appropriate care. And if symptoms of such problems are identified, it is necessary to take measures as quickly as possible to save the affected plants or other crops growing on the site. Let's talk about disinfection work, thanks to which, among other things, black currants ripen; diseases and pests of the bush “leave it alone.”

Pests and diseases of black currant

Pests of black currant and their control

Quite often, currants suffer from attacks by the common spider mite. Such aggression becomes noticeable before flowering: the leaves turn whitish or red-brown, and spider mites are observed on their lower parts. Severe damage leads to the cessation of foliage growth, its drilling and drying out.

The plant can also be affected by currant glassworm, a caterpillar that eats branches. Sometimes black currants are attacked by currant gall midge - in this case, apparently healthy shoots suddenly begin to dry out or break off easily, and orange-yellow or pink larvae can be observed under the bark.

TO possible pests blackcurrant include the blackcurrant berry sawfly (attacks the berries, which take on a characteristic ribbed shape), the currant borer (damages the shoots, which is initially manifested by the drying out of their tops), as well as the willow scale insect (leads to weakening of the branches, and sometimes their drying out).

Treatment of black currants from pests

If a plant is infected with a currant bud mite, it is advisable to cut out and burn the affected shoots before the buds open. At the stage of throwing out flower clusters, it is worth spraying the currants with 2-degree ISO or a suspension of colloidal sulfur (75g per bucket of water).

Soon after flowering, spraying is carried out using 1% lime-sulfur decoction or 1% aqueous suspension of colloidal sulfur. At the stage of discarding flower clusters and shortly after flowering, it is worth treating the bushes with 0.5% ethersulfonate or 0.3-0.4% tedion.

If large currant aphids are infected, even before the buds swell, the bushes should be sprayed with 3% tritrafen. Chlorophos (twenty grams per bucket of water) with the addition of thirty grams of karbofos or twenty grams of trichlorometaphos-3 can also be used for spraying. At the stage of aphid appearance, spraying using a 0.2% solution of anabasine sulfate with soap (0.4%) gives an excellent effect.

If currant leaf and shoot gall midges are affected, you need to cut out the affected shoots and burn them immediately. Afterwards, you should spray the plant with chlorophos (20g per bucket of water) with karbofos (30g) or trichlorometaphos-3 (20g).

The common spider mite also requires collecting and burning leaves, and digging up the soil under the bushes. Plants are sprayed with 50% karbofos (20-30g per bucket of water) during flowering and shortly after.

If the plant has suffered from an attack by currant glass, it is necessary to eliminate and burn the affected branches. After flowering, spray the bushes with Iskra Double Effect (1 tablet per bucket of water) or 0.1% Aktar.

When affected by blackcurrant berry sawfly, it is extremely important to spray the bushes with 0.2-0.3% chlorophos, and dig up the soil in the fall. If the plant has suffered from currant borer, it is worth pruning and burning the affected shoots.

You can cope with willow scale by spraying plants in early spring 2-3% solution of 60% nitrafen paste (take 200-300g per 10 liters of water). In case of severe damage, the branches are cut out and burned, and soon after flowering the bushes need to be treated with 50% karbofos (20-30g per 10 liters of water).

Blackcurrant diseases and their control

Quite common and dangerous disease Such a plant is considered to be terry. With this disease, the flowers become ugly and fruiting stops. The buds can be affected by the currant mite, and flower brushes, shoots, etc. are also affected.

Sometimes black currants suffer from anthracnose. With such a fungal disease, small brown spots appear on the leaves of the plant; over time, the leaf tissues turn brown, dry out, and the leaf falls off prematurely. Anthracnose affects leaf petioles, young shoots, and stalks.

TO possible diseases black currants also include powdery mildew. This disease manifests itself as a white powdery coating on the surface of different parts of the plant; over time, the affected area turns brown. The disease leads to a cessation of shoot growth and a reduction in leaves, which can become ugly. After two or three years the plant dies.

Black currants can also be affected by septoria, which leads to the appearance of round or angular spots of brown and then white color on the foliage. Affected bushes lose their leaves early, their growth rates are greatly reduced and their yield drops.

When currants are affected by goblet rust, the plant also loses its foliage early, its berries spoil and fall off.

Treatment of black currant diseases

Terry disease is easier to prevent than to cure. To avoid such a disease, harvest cuttings only from those plants that have been healthy for three to four years, and also fight the currant mite. It is best to uproot diseased bushes, remove them from the garden and destroy them.

To prevent anthracnose, you need to spray the plants and soil with a 3% solution of 60% nitrafen in early spring or autumn (after leaf fall) (use 30-40 kg of this solution per hectare). In summer, for such a disease, a 0.4% suspension of 80% cuprosan (3-4 kg per hectare), as well as one percent colloidal sulfur (also 3-4 kg per hectare) are used. Such spraying should be carried out before flowering, after it and another week and a half later. The fourth treatment is carried out shortly after picking the berries. It is extremely important to spray the lower area of the leaf. In addition, one percent Bordeaux mixture is used. To prevent anthracnose, you need to promptly remove fallen leaves, promptly dig up the soil under the bushes, sealing the top layer ten centimeters deep.

To combat powdery mildew, even before bud break or in the fall after leaf fall, the bush is sprayed with a three percent solution of 60% nitrafen (30-40 kg/ha), immediately before flowering and shortly after harvesting, the bushes are sprayed with a 0.1% suspension of 25% caratan (1 kg/ha). ha) or 50% benlate (also 1 kg/ha). Soon after flowering, a 1% solution of colloidal sulfur is used for spraying. If the disease is particularly severe, use one of these remedies again after a week and a half.

Septoria and currant goblet rust are fought in the same way as anthracnose.

Folk remedies

Specialists traditional medicine claim that various folk remedies quite effectively help eliminate blackcurrant diseases. So, to combat aphids, healers advise using. Brew one kilogram of dry, well-ground raw materials with three liters of water. Bring the product to a boil, then wrap it up and leave to steep until it cools. Strain and dilute the finished product clean water up to ten liters. Use to spray the affected plant.

You can also use a medicine based on dissected hogweed to combat aphids. Brew one kilogram of crushed leaves, stems and roots with ten liters of boiling water and leave covered for ten hours to infuse. Use the resulting infusion to treat the affected plant.

Some healers claim that the common one will help prevent mite damage to black currants. To prevent such an attack, you just need to place fresh branches between the currant bushes.

To combat spider mites, you can prepare an infusion based on one hundred grams of crushed. Brew such plant material with ten liters of boiling water and leave for two to three hours. Wash the affected leaves with the resulting infusion.

Black currant is an excellent shrub for growing in your garden. It is worth noting that when proper care such a plant extremely rarely suffers from attacks by aggressive pests and diseases.

Ekaterina, www.site
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Currant is an extremely healthy berry, it has high taste qualities, it can be consumed fresh or canned, dried and frozen. But those who want to grow this wonderful berry on their plot will have to master not only the basic principles of planting, growing and propagation. You will also need to study the recommendations of agronomists and learn how to deal with diseases and pests of currants that can cause damage to the bushes. It should be noted that there are quite a few of them - more than seventy species.

Blackcurrant diseases that most often have to be dealt with

American powdery mildew - it is from this that young shoots, leaves and berries most often suffer. The disease is of fungal origin, manifests itself as a grayish or powdery coating, over time it darkens and becomes black. As a result of the disease, shoots, leaves and berries dry out. Young, actively growing bushes especially suffer from powdery mildew.

Powdery mildew is spread by conidial spores; the fungus overwinters in the fruiting bodies it produces; they look like dark dots on the branches. The fungus cannot penetrate plant cells, but being on the surface of branches or leaves, it grows into their structure with the help of haustoria and sucks out moisture and useful material.

Excessive amounts of nitrogen fertilizer applied to the soil can contribute to active infection of American powdery mildew.

Flycatcher or currant anthracnose is also a fungal infection, the activation of which can be caused by an excessively humid climate. In most cases, the leaves suffer from the appearance of brown spots and the further development of foci of summer spores on them. Anthracnose develops rapidly, leading to browning and drying of leaves even in summer. Green branches and fruits are most affected. Diseased plants become weak, lose frost resistance, and reduce productivity. The pathogenic fungus spends the winter on fallen leaves.

Rust, affecting bushes can be stem or goblet, which is much more common. It manifests itself in the formation of growths-pads on the leaves. orange color. Most often, plants in contaminated areas become diseased if there is excess moisture in the spring. The leaves and fruits of currants suffer - they become stained and crumble.

Effective preventive measure against rust of both types is to drain the area, especially swamps overgrown with sedge - it is on it that pathogenic spores overwinter.

Septoria, otherwise, white spotting leads to the appearance of grayish spots with a brown border on the leaves. Then black balls with spores appear on the affected areas. Their further development leads to drying and falling off of the berries and leaves. The causative agent of Septoria blight spends the winter on fallen leaves of the plant.

The most dangerous disease of currants is considered terryness. It changes the shape of leaves and inflorescences, the plant loses its characteristic pleasant smell. The development of the disease leads to the appearance of an unnaturally large number of branches and a decrease in yield. Sick plants, under favorable weather conditions, can produce a relatively good harvest, but they cannot recover.

The disease spreads in one area through currant bud mites. Also, cuttings taken from infected plants can cause the appearance of terry. To some extent, the spread of the disease can be stopped by partial pruning of the branches.

Prevention measures and treatment methods

Treating bushes with a nitrophen solution in early spring can be an effective preventative against fungal diseases. The easiest way to identify plants suffering from double bloom is by improperly developing flowers. It is recommended to remove diseased branches, and in case of severe damage, bushes completely, from the site.

Subsequent treatment against fungal diseases of currants is carried out at the end of flowering. Fungicides are used in combination with chemicals to kill pests. You can use a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture. The next spraying with fungicide solutions is carried out two weeks later, then after harvesting the berries.

To get rid of American powdery mildew, you will need to spray the bushes 2-3 times with a solution of soda ash or ammonium nitrate; additional treatment is carried out after harvesting the berries. No less effective is deep digging of soil around bushes, cleaning and burning fallen leaves, and pruning diseased shoots.

Knowing how to treat currants in the spring against pests and diseases, you can save the plants and get a good harvest.

Pests

The most numerous enemies of currants are aphids: leaf gall and gooseberry shoot. Both species overwinter directly on the branches of the plant, waking up at the moment when bud development begins. Over the summer, several numerous generations of aphids hatch, which damage leaves and young shoots.

The last generation of the season has representatives of both sexes, the females lay eggs, the larvae of which appear the following spring.

Plants affected by aphids are characterized by curled leaves, stunted development, and twisted shoots.

Diseases of red currants and their pests are not much different from those observed on black and white varieties. But the gall leaf aphid most often attacks the red and white currants. Plants suffer from red growths on the leaves and their premature shedding.

Currant kidney mite affects the buds of the plant that have not yet blossomed, causing them to die. As the buds die, the mites spread further and further along the branches. When examined through a magnifying glass, thousands of these small pests can be found in a dead bud. Moving to healthy buds, mites transmit a disease such as black spot to them. The fight against bud mites will be most effective during the period of mite transition; this occurs within a month after the death of the first buds.

Can cause no less harm to plants spider mites . Female mites spend the winter under fallen leaves; in the spring they climb onto branches and damage leaves. It is impossible to notice tick larvae with the naked eye. Warm, dry weather favors the development of the pest. The first signs of damage become noticeable in May: the leaves turn yellow and dry out.

The next pest scale insect, there are several types: willow, acacia false scale, comma-shaped. The activity of the pest leads to the death of branches and shoots: the scale insect, located on them, feeds on the juices of the plant. Types of scale insects differ slightly in external signs, shape and size, but the way they obtain food and their life cycles are similar. The scale insect overwinters in the larval phase, which can move into cracks in the bark protected from frost and wind. With the onset of spring warmth, scale insects crawl to young branches. A clear sign of the presence of false scale insects on currants can be considered the appearance of sugary secretions on leaves affected by sooty fungus.

The shoots of the plant can be severely damaged currant gall midge, its mass appearance can cause the death of bushes. The pest overwinters in the ground, the invasion of flower gall midge begins during the budding period of the plant, leaf and shoot - during the flowering period of currants.

The pest develops over several generations; the gall midge eggs laid under the bark of the plant when transitioning from the larval stage lead to the death of the bark. When examining the branches, you can notice the habitats of the larvae - by dark depressed spots.

Leaf gall midge destroys young leaves, its presence leads to the cessation of shoot growth or their abnormal branching. The gall midge pupates in top layer soil.

The larvae of the flower currant gall midge damage the buds and lead to their abnormal growth. Infestation of plants by gall midge leads to a significant reduction in plant productivity.

Gnawing pests - this group can include currant glassweed, moth, leaf sawflies, and currant bud moth. The currant glass beetle is a butterfly that lays eggs on currant branches; its larvae penetrate through bark defects into the branches and make passages in their core. Naturally, such branches soon die. An adult caterpillar is quite large - up to 2.5 cm. The glass beetle overwinters in the form of a caterpillar inside the branches, in the spring it gets out and turns into a pupa.

The most common of gnawing pests is moth. A clear sign of damage by the moth is dried berries entangled in cobwebs. Caterpillars are quite voracious and each of them can spoil a considerable number of berries. The moth pupa overwinters in the ground; in the spring, before flowering begins, it turns into a butterfly, flies out and lays eggs inside flowers or on young leaves.

The moth caterpillar reaches 2 cm in length; having penetrated the ovary, it destroys its pulp and seeds.

Leaves of red and black currants can be damaged by larvae of pale and yellow sawfly. Appearing in large quantities, the gooseberry sawfly can eat all the leaves on the bush in just a couple of days. Its larva is large, about 18 mm, and spends the winter in cocoons in the soil under bushes.

The faces of the pale sawfly are smaller, up to 10 mm long. If the weather is favorable, 3 generations of the pest may appear during the season, the second generation being the most dangerous for bushes.

Large caterpillar, up to 4 cm in size, moth, can appear in large quantities and cause significant harm to greens and fruits.

White and red currants may suffer from bud moth. Most often it damages early varieties. If the caterpillars appear en masse, they can completely destroy all the buds and leaves. The caterpillars are about 8 mm long. Young caterpillars remain for the winter, nestling in cocoons at the base of the lower branches.

Diseases and pests of currants: we take preventive measures

Since the main source of the spread of diseases and pests is planting material, you should be more careful about its quality when purchasing. If cuttings are done independently, then the material should be taken only from healthy plants.
Considering that most pests overwinter in the ground or under leaves that have fallen from a bush, it is advisable late autumn remove fallen leaves and burn them; it is advisable to dig up the ground under the bushes deeply.
Branches affected by scale insects or false scale insects should be cut out and burned; if the infection is not severe, it is enough to pluck out the affected buds.
Branches affected by stem gall midges are cut out and burned.
An effective control measure is treatment with pesticides. If the stage of plant development does not allow the use of chemicals, then physical destruction of pests can be used, for example, sawfly larvae are shaken off onto a cloth or film, then collected.
A good preventative measure is to loosen the soil repeatedly throughout the summer season.
You should also remove all spotted spider nests with moth caterpillars from the branches.

Since red currants are very resistant, pests and diseases do not bother its owners very often, especially if it has been chosen the right variety And good plot for its cultivation.

Nevertheless, you should not rely only on the innate qualities of this plant, and if necessary, be able to distinguish the results of pests and diseases, and also know how to cure your currants.

To do this, we have prepared a list of the main pests and diseases of red currants, as well as methods for combating them.

For prevention

If they do appear, do not start with “chemical bombardment” of your area, but try manual methods of removing pests. You can also use folk remedies, and against fungal diseases - biological drugs. A good non-toxic option is green soap.

And only if these methods do not bring results, and the situation worsens, you can use chemicals.

Red currant diseases

Anthracnose: This disease is caused by a fungus that attacks the leaves of plants. This disease can be identified by brown spots of various shapes. Anthracnose in the last stages leads to leaf browning, curling of its edges and drying out.

Treatment: in early spring, the soil is sprayed with copper sulfate or systemic fungicides. You can also use Bordeaux mixture and sulfur. Biological fungicidal preparations will be effective.

Powdery mildew: red currants are “afraid” of this disease too. Like the previous one, it is caused by a fungal pathogen, and traces of the disease can be seen throughout the entire area of the bush: on leaves, branches, berries. The areas affected by it are covered with a specific white coating, really similar to flour. Over time, it becomes denser, and under its action the leaves curl and the shoots become bent.

Treatment: among the chemicals that will cope well with this disease are “Topaz”, “Oxychom”, copper sulfate, colloidal sulfur, “Topsin-M”, systemic and contact fungicides. Biological drugs, for example Trichodermin, will be effective.

White spot (septoria): similar to the previous one fungal disease, while the leaves are affected by spots. Black dots may be visible on the gray spots - a sign of a deep stage of the disease. The leaves, as in other cases, curl.

Treatment: the same as in previous cases.

Goblet rust: on the leaves you can notice orange spots, which over time take on a shape similar to a glass - rest assured, this is glass-shaped rust, a fungal disease.

Treatment: as with other fungal diseases, rust is combated using the fungicides given above. Additionally you can use chemical agent"Rovral" or biological "Pentafag-S."

Currant terry: this disease is caused by a virus and, unfortunately, there are no treatments for it. Because of it, the leaves narrow, the harvest stops, and the leaves can change their color, even purple. The control method is to grow resistant varieties and control already infected plants.

Pests of red currants

Among the pests of red currants, the following are especially worth noting:

Spider mite: It can be detected by the layer of cobwebs on the leaves from which it sucks the juices. For control, acaricides are used: for example, “Aktellikom” and others. Alternative - folk remedies: laundry soap and 96% ethyl alcohol.

Currant gall midge: small, yellowish insects whose larvae feed on leaves and buds before they bloom. There are practically no effective methods of control, because best solution- cultivation of resistant varieties.

Gooseberry moth: the caterpillars of these insects harm the berries directly, entangling them with their web. Good prevention of moths is autumn digging and hilling, mulching the soil and removing spider nests. If this does not help, use insecticides or infusions of pine needles, mustard and ash.

Currant goldfish: beetle feeding internal parts shoots. Because of it, the branches dry out quickly. If there are few damaged shoots, they are removed and burned. If the threat is serious, insecticides are used.

Gall aphid: determined by the formation in the spring of spherical seals - galls - on the underside of the leaf. Prevention is effective with anthracnose agents, insecticides, such as actellik, karbofos, as well as biological agents. From folk remedies Soap solution is quite effective.

As you can see, red currants can fall victim if they are attacked by pests and diseases. The main thing in the fight against them is timely detection and sequence of actions. Remember: don’t get too excited with strong chemicals.

Tagged

Without proper care and prevention, this plant very quickly picks up viruses of all kinds, which are also transmitted by insects to healthy plants.

I’ll tell you a simple secret: you can’t keep currants in a thickened state. Pruning, digging and timely fertilization are the gardener’s main assistants.

If your favorite bush still gets sick, then you need to make a diagnosis and begin treatment.

Powdery mildew

This disease is caused by a fungus that forms a whitish coating on leaves, berries and shoots. At first light gray, the plaque gradually darkens. The most problems due to powdery mildew occur in young, actively developing bushes.

When the fungus infects the plant, it sucks out the beneficial substances from it, causing the bush to dry out. It overwinters there, in its own fruit formations, which are very difficult to notice: dark dots on the shoots merge with the bark. It spreads to other plants through spores, so it is very important to take action quickly before the disease affects other bushes.

In black currant, diseases and treatment are often associated with the application of fertilizers. Thus, powdery mildew can develop due to excess nitrogen in the soil. During the treatment process, you need to adjust the balance of fertilizers so that there is no relapse.

Diseases are mainly treated by spraying. The entire bush is subject to treatment, including the lower part of the leaves. For the procedure, choose a dry, windless evening. You can use any fungicides and folk remedies. Among the most effective recipes are the following:

Soda solution - 10 liters of water and 50 g soda ash; Currants are sprayed with this composition immediately after flowering;

1 kg sifted wood ash pour a bucket of water, add laundry soap (so that the mixture sticks to the plant better) and leave for several days. Before spraying, filter the infusion;

Before the buds bloom, you can apply the solution copper sulfate- 80 g of product per 10 liters of water.

It is imperative to prevent the disease: trim bushes, remove and burn fallen leaves in which pests can overwinter. If the climate is favorable for the development of fungal diseases, it is advisable to change currant varieties to ones that are more resistant to powdery mildew.

Control of blackcurrant diseases: anthracnose

Anthracnose, or fly beetle, is another fungus that affects currant bushes. Its rapid development is facilitated by a humid climate. First, small dark spots appear on the leaves, which increase as the disease progresses.

Brown spots caused by anthracnose affect leaves and fruits, deform them and weaken the plant. Basically, the fungus settles on green shoots that have not yet become lignified. The falling of leaves that have dried before their deadline leads to metabolic disorders, and this, in turn, significantly reduces the winter hardiness of currants. A good preventive measure is the timely destruction of infected leaves: anthracnose spores overwinter on fallen leaves. Among the fungicides that cope well with fly beetles are the following drugs:

"Fitosporin";

"Previkur";

"Acrobat";

"Ridomil".

Each of them is used in accordance with the instructions.

Rust on black currants: diseases and treatment

Orange growths on the leaves and stem are rust. For its development, too much watering in the spring is enough. If there is a pond or swamp in close proximity to the currant bush, then the plant needs to be either replanted further away or the catchment drained: it is on the sedge that the spores of goblet rust live and reproduce.

Columnar or goblet rust covers both the fruit and the green part of the currant with bright spots; infected areas quickly die and crumble.

Both types of fungus are treated with the same fungicides:

"Topaz";

"Previkur";

"Fitosporin-M".

These drugs suppress the development of the fungus, preventing the spores from maturing and spreading the next crop to other plants. In addition, you can spray the bush three times with 1% Bordeaux mixture: when the buds open, before and after flowering.

Prevention of the disease will be transplanting to a higher ground, draining the area, removing nearby sedge thickets, or using resistant varieties: “Titanic”, “Blakestone”, “Alta”, etc.

Columnar rust is not transmitted from sedge, but from coniferous trees, so the best control measure is to frequently inspect the plant and timely detection of the disease. Treatment is carried out similarly with goblet rust.

Gray spots on leaves: septoria

If areas of an unnatural gray color with a clear brown border are noticed on the currant, it means that the bush is affected by white spotting, otherwise - septoria.

At the second stage of development of the disease, the bush is covered with tiny spherical growths, in which new seedlings of spores are waiting in the wings. If they are allowed to develop and spread, the currants will begin to lose berries and leaves. Mandatory prevention will be the collection and burning of fallen leaves, since the pathogen survives the cold season on it.

Treatment of septoria is carried out with the same fungicides as in the case of anthracnose. Among the folk remedies, spraying with a solution of copper sulfate works well: 40 g per 10 liters of water. Resistance to the disease is increased by feeding the plant with fertilizers containing microelements.

Viruses: how to combat these blackcurrant diseases

While diseases can be treated, viruses carried by pests cannot be treated. If symptoms of virus infection are detected, you need to make sure of its presence and destroy the plant. The most common are two viral diseases: terry mosaic and striped mosaic.

Terry is detrimental to currant bushes. Otherwise, the virus is called reversion - the currant stops bearing fruit and degenerates. The disease is transmitted by the kidney mite, so to prevent the virus it is necessary to get rid of the pest. Terry can be determined only during flowering:

Dark, thick leaves of an elongated shape, on which there are three teeth (there are five on a healthy leaf), with coarse veins; there is no characteristic currant aroma;

Narrow, elongated petals on flowers of unnatural color (from purple and dirty gray to green); flowering is late, and the inflorescences do not set and fall off.

What to do to avoid losing your currant plantation:

1. Do not take new cuttings from bushes on which the virus has been noticed in the last 2-3 years.

2. Annual inspection of all plants so as not to miss the onset of infection. The trouble is that terry can develop for years and be spread by pests such as aphids or bud mites to other plants, along with the sap of an infected bush. Therefore, pests must be destroyed in a timely manner.

3. Emphasis on potassium-phosphorus fertilizers and foliar feeding (manganese, boron). Nitrogen can provoke a virus.

4. If you notice the terry, remove the bush. Not a shoot, not two, but the whole plant. Over the next 5 years, currants cannot be planted in this place.

Exactly the same means are suitable for combating striped mosaic. It looks like a bright yellow or orange pattern on the leaf veins.

Do not leave the health of the plant to chance, so as not to infect the rest. This is especially true in cases with viruses: if you spare one bush, you risk infecting all the others.

Currant is a berry with a bright taste. Most people like her. But in order to get a harvest that is optimal in terms of volume and quality, you will have to deal with a number of unpleasant factors.

Diseases

There are a number of currant diseases, the description of which mentions red spots. This kind of negative manifestation is especially often associated with infection or pest attack from April to August inclusive. Less commonly, this problem occurs in the fall. This problem is most likely to occur when infected with anthracnose. It appears equally often on black, red and white currants.

The damage of anthracnose is not limited to the deterioration of the external appearance of plants. The shoots begin to grow worse and the yield decreases. And even those fruits that can still be collected will turn out to be less pleasant to the taste. The first phase of the lesion is sometimes expressed instead of red spots on the foliage in the appearance of plaque in the form of shiny tubercles. Gradually, the protrusions merge and turn brown, while the foliage turns yellow and dries out.

If red currants grow on the site, the leaves will fall off fairly quickly. In the black variety they are able to hang until the end of autumn. But this is not very pleasant, because mutilated foliage only spoils the view and is unable to fulfill its function. Continuation of the disease leads to gradual infection of the fruits. Fungal spores survive the winter in fallen leaves, so you need to get rid of them persistently and completely.

The good news is that when the summer is hot and there is little rainfall, the likelihood of disease is low. But still it persists. And therefore it is worth carefully, at least once a week, inspect all the bushes in order to promptly notice the source of the lesion.

There are other currant disorders in which it drops its berries. It is worth noting that such yield loss is not always associated precisely with pathological processes. When a shrub is planted recently, it may simply not have time to reach the required condition. That’s why the plant loses berries and does a poor job of retaining them on the branches. For a similar reason, the problem also occurs on old bushes that have almost outlived their useful life. For gardeners, this is a kind of warning that allows them to prepare for planting new currants or for radically changing them to a different crop.

It is also worth checking such non-pathological conditions as:

moisture deficiency;
incorrect choice of site (excessive shadow);
lack of pollination;
mechanical defects of the bush;
action of pests.

Berries fall off, however, also due to fungal infections. This problem occurs especially often when when currant plantings cross the ten-year mark. White plaque indicates a powdery mildew infection. Anthracnose can also destroy standing crops; it is recognized by black dots on the leaves, and in its developed form by brown spots.

Currant chlorosis invariably turns out to be a formidable opponent for gardeners. The infection manifests itself in the fact that in the last days of June or at the beginning of July, a sudden change in the color of the leaves begins. Initially, the green color becomes paler (lighter), then an admixture of yellowness appears. Gradually it grows and ends with complete yellowing of the foliage, up to a deathly white hue. The leaves change color very quickly, each change in tone occurs in a maximum of 10 days, and the end is always the same - early leaf fall.

Powdery mildew

Anthracnose

Chlorosis

Due to lack of nutrition, the fruits do not develop enough. And even those berries that can be collected are small in size. There may be problems with planting the crop for next year. In trees affected by chlorosis, the tops of young shoots dry out first.

Moving further, the lesion covers the shoots and moves to the main branches. It is noted that with chlorosis, currants live 2-3 times less than a healthy plant. She suffers much more from freezing in winter. After all, tree tissue accumulates many times fewer nutritional components than is required to overcome the frosty period. You can expect the appearance of chlorosis due to factors contributing to it, such as:

prolonged drought;
flooding of gardens;
excessive concentration of lime in the ground;
long-term lack of organic fertilizers and the associated depletion of the fertile layer;
deficiency or even total depletion of easily digestible forms of iron;
poisoning with various substances.

But suppose there were no floods in the garden, the weather was not dry, there was enough fertilizer and farmers did not abuse pesticides. However, it is likely that chlorosis may occur due to other factors. Okay, just a hit is enough. toxic substances with industrial emissions, high rise of soil water or the use of obviously incompatible vaccinations. Another source of the problem is the excessive introduction of chicken droppings.

The difficulty is that it is impossible to conduct a comprehensive investigation every time involving chemists, biologists and experienced agronomists. Even soil analysis, a seemingly ordinary matter, costs thousands of rubles. For ordinary summer residents, such an amount is unaffordable. There is still a way out: train your powers of observation and learn to understand what exactly happened based on visual manifestations. Leaves turning yellow throughout the shoot are the result of soil oxygen deficiency.

Sometimes it is provoked by the farmers themselves. Currants love water moderately, but they mindlessly water it, leading to flooding. But in some cases, the root cause is stubborn cyclones that bring rain or torrential downpours. There is only one result: almost all the air has been forced out of the ground. It is extremely difficult to do anything in such a situation, so we can only count on a more successful next season.

When the weather is good but long time no organic matter was added, the likely primary source of chlorosis is the absence of worms or their migration to more favorable areas. These invisible diggers build kilometers of tunnels that facilitate access to oxygen and water. The absence of such passages, together with a limited amount of humus, creates a lot of problems. There is no way to quickly “close the issue.” First you have to add organic fertilizers with a reserve, then loosen the soil so that it remains scattered to the depth of the fork entry.

The garden or vegetable garden will have to be kept moist for some time. This is exactly what farmers do when they decide to radically break with the erroneous course of action and make amends for their plantings. If yellowing of the foliage is noticeable on the shoots from bottom to top, the most likely culprit is poor nitrogen nutrition. But the movement of yellowness in the opposite direction immediately reveals a lack of iron. Experienced farmers will immediately tell by yellowing between the veins of the leaves: the earth has lost its supply of zinc.

A currant disease called septoria blight is purely infectious in nature. Its main foci cover the leaves; berries and shoots are much less often affected. Diseased leaves are distinguished by rounded or angular spots with a diameter of up to 0.3 cm. The initial color of the lesions is brown, soon their middle part turns white, while the perimeter is surrounded by a dark brown rim. Very powerful development infection leads to the merging of spots and can even destroy the infected parts of the plant.

The appearance of black dots in the central parts of the lesions suggests a high intensity of the process. Berries and stems are also covered with separate spots of this kind. The first place to look for them is on the poles of the fruit and on the stalks. Septoria blight is caused by a fungus, so it most actively attacks currants and other plants in hot, wet weather. The threat is especially great in the second part of summer; it is facilitated by the onset of disease in plantings with unreasonably high density.

Septoria

Currant leaves become infected with septoria in the spring. The source of infection is spores released by fungal structures that have ripened on already diseased stems and fallen leaves. Characteristic feature infection is that the upper shoots suffer less and less often. Even with persistent struggle, the productivity of the bushes is likely to drop by 40, sometimes by 50%.

If you compare septoria with scab, you should immediately point out the insidiousness of the second disease. It is provoked not only by fungi, but also by actinomycetes and even bacteria. Under the influence of scab, leaves and underground parts, shoots and berries are affected, and productivity sharply decreases. It should be borne in mind that all types of plants affected by scab have a special appearance. A situation in which the disease would spread from potatoes to apple trees or berry crops is excluded. But the similarity of external manifestations, which allows us to give a common specific name for the disease, still attracts attention.

Sick plants have peeling skin. Both spots and pustules appear on them. The formation of warts and ulcers is likely. Strong activity of the pathogen leads to drying out and falling of leaves, disorganizing the movement of juices in the plant. Both the current and future harvests are at risk.

When the scab covers the flowers and buds, they also fall off, first losing their grace. If you try to save scabbed fruits, they easily begin to rot. Cracks in the peel are a convenient entry point for decomposing microorganisms. Gardeners who have planted currants should be wary of scab only under certain meteorological conditions. Critical high humidity, without which the infection is almost unviable.

In spring, the fungus begins to act when the snow melts and the air warms up to about 12 degrees. In summer, scab actively develops if:

dew often falls;
there is systematically thick fog;
It's raining heavily.

Farmers have the power to eliminate another risk factor: excessively dense planting. The danger is especially great when the row spacing is filled herbaceous plants, easily transferring spores from one tree to another. The danger of scab transfer grows in gardens whose owners do not bother with species diversity. Infection of a currant bush directly by currants is quite likely, but it will be more difficult for a fungus to transfer a bridge from an apple tree to berry crops, say.

Another important point– immune characteristics of the variety, they can vary significantly. If the branches simply dry out, the blame should be primarily on harmful insects. Only when the assumption of their invasion is rejected does it make sense to look for pathology. Please note: diseases on red, black and white currants should be treated in approximately the same ways.

Glass rust is another type of fungal infection. The external manifestation of the disease is the appearance of orange and red blisters on the leaves.

The transfer of fungal spores occurs due to gusts of wind, but initially they develop on sedge. Glass rust, like other fungal infections, requires wet weather to thrive. The name of the disease is given by the characteristic change in the color of the foliage. In the advanced phase of the disorder, it may disappear, and soon the same fate befalls the fruits. There is also columnar rust, the primary source of which is coniferous trees; this enemy attacks primarily black currants.

At first, you can only notice small spots of yellow color appearing in different places on the foliage. Below these spots correspond to orange pads. Leaf fall noticeably accelerates compared to the norm, and shoot development slows down. Currant bushes affected by columnar rust survive the winter much worse than healthy ones. Important: regardless of the reason that provokes the degradation of parts of the bush, it must be dealt with immediately.

Drying of shoots is a separate disease that appears more often on red and white currants than on the black variety. The disease is expressed in the rapid death of branches. Initially, the branches are covered with small orange dots, which are quite difficult to notice. But gradually the affected areas become larger and turn into brown protrusions. Once the spores mature, these projections will turn black.

Drying of shoots

Gray rot occurs due to the movement of spores by wind and rain. The source of infection is diseased branches and fruits degraded to the state of a mummy. A characteristic defect is brown spots on the foliage. What is important is that gray rot is often accompanied by mold and attacks primarily white currants. This concludes the list of dangerous fungal pathologies of shrubs.

Gray rot

Viral infections are even worse than fungus; sometimes they result in the complete death of the plant. It is impossible in principle to get rid of harmful microorganisms. Terry, or in other words, reversion, deprives any chance of harvesting fruit. There is no currant disease that affects it worse. Terryiness begins to affect itself already at the flowering stage, so at this moment you need to carefully examine the petals and foliage.

Normally, currants grow leaves with five lobes, but if the plant is affected by doubleness, two lobes disappear. The end parts become sharp and elongated. There are fewer teeth at the edges, and each of them is larger than normal. An unusual darkening of the foliage is noted, and the characteristic currant aroma completely disappears. Differences from the norm also appear during flowering - it occurs several days later than required.

The inflorescences themselves are pitiful in appearance and oblong, painted in dirty pink color, sometimes the green color remains. The formation of berries is excluded; the affected inflorescences will soon dry out. It should be borne in mind that there are no ways to combat terry.

Even when just one branch is sick, you need to get rid of the entire bush. Moreover, the greens have to be burned to prevent the spread of infection.

As for the striatal mosaic virus, its spread is due to:

aphid damage;
contact with ticks;
grafting infected cuttings onto initially healthy bushes;
pruning various plants without changing or disinfecting instruments.

Sick plants are distinguished from the first days of June. The main veins of their foliage acquire a bright yellow color. Like other viral disorders, currant streak mosaic is incurable. The only way to fight is through prevention. When the plant does get sick, it is uprooted as soon as possible and set on fire. In the same place, the next attempt to grow currants is made in at least 5 years.

Alternaria blight is a serious fungal infection of currants, in which its leaves are covered with gray spots with a black tint. The disease affects the stalks and cuttings. Its crushing power hits the foliage, berries, green shoots. By the end of summer, currant bushes are covered with a strong, elastic coating; it is described as a brown olive film. The causative agent of Alternaria does not destroy red and black currants. However, the development of plants is suppressed, their branches ripen worse, and they can even freeze in winter. You shouldn’t count on a normal harvest either.

It is also important to know about the signs of cercospora blight, sometimes also called brown spot. It is characterized by chestnut-colored spots, the outer edge of which is bordered by a light stripe. Gradually, the growth of spots leads to the appearance of a continuous brown layer on the plate.

Phyllostictosis spotting is noticed first on the outer side of the leaf. With this disorder, small reddish spots appear. Later they lighten and acquire a dirty brownish tint. In severe cases of the disease, diseased parts of the leaf often fall off, leaving empty holes. Ascochyta blight infects black and red currants.

Any fungal spotting leads to:

dying of foliage;
unreasonably early leaf fall;
freezing or drying out of young shoots;
general deterioration of the bush’s resistance to cold;
loss of productivity;
poor taste of the collected berries.

With verticillium wilt, the vascular system is primarily affected. The mycelium threads tend to grow as quickly as possible. But since they occupy the vessels of the root, these canals become impenetrable and rot. No matter how much moisture the root obtains, no matter how fertile the soil, the surface part starves and suffers from thirst. The signs are predictable:

yellow leaves;
dried berries;
quick death of the bush.

Verticillium wilt cannot be cured. All that remains for gardeners is to sigh sadly and destroy diseased plantings in the flames of a fire. Plus, it’s better to take care of prevention for next year.

Another thing is moniliosis, also known as fruit rot. Even those ignorant of agronomy and microbiology can recognize such a pathology. A sufficient basis for the diagnosis is lightening and flabbiness of the berries. Even these weak, puny fruits cannot stay on the branch in full. Some of them fall off and collapse to the ground before the time allotted by nature.

Each such berry must be collected and destroyed, because it is a time bomb.

Prevention

To protect currant bushes from various types of ailments, special spraying should be done. In the spring, Zircon works best. Repeated processing is also allowed, which must be done in the last days of August. An important measure of preventive care for shrubs is autumn spraying. Urea is prepared for it by dissolving it in water in a proportion of 7%.

This preparation requires treating not only the bushes themselves, but also the ground underneath them. To further enhance protection, Zircon is used again - already in April. In the spring, before the buds swell, but after the end of severe cold, the currants are doused with boiling water. Its preventive properties will be higher when adding soda or potassium permanganate. These reagents do an excellent job against fungal infections and spider mites.

An important preventative measure is compliance with the principles of crop rotation and acceptable proximity. To reduce the threat of infection by viruses (we repeat, all of them are incurable), it is necessary to combat infestations of aphids and mites. Careful selection is important planting material. In case of cold, damp weather, shelter can sometimes help. Complete drainage orchard accelerates water removal and also slightly reduces the risk of waterlogging during heavy rainfall.

Prevention of powdery mildew necessarily implies optimization of doses of nitrogen fertilizing applied directly under the bushes. Excessive volume leads to an increased risk of disease. If part of the plantings are affected by anthracnose, stop it further distribution This can be done by thoroughly cleaning up fallen leaves. It must be disposed of and is not suitable as a fertilizer. Do not replant or graft individual parts of diseased plants.

Agrotechnical prevention of currant diseases includes:

planting seedlings with the root collars extending 30-50 mm and cutting off the shoots (a maximum of 2 or 3 buds should remain above the surface);
regular watering;
rational mulching;
replacing bushes that have lived for 7 years with younger plants;
normal annual pruning;
digging between rows in the fall;
treating all damage, regardless of their origin, with garden varnish;
using wood ash to add to the bushes (this saturates the bushes with phosphorus and potassium, while simultaneously strengthening immunity to powdery mildew).

An infusion of cow dung turns out to be a strong preventive remedy. 5 kg of it is filled with water to the very edge of the bucket and placed in a warm place for 2-3 days. Next, dilute a couple of liters of the prepared composition with 10 liters of clean water. You can dilute it either in a bucket or in a watering can. But apply only by watering on the foliage from a watering can.

Preparation of celandine infusion is also possible using cut branches and flowers of the plant. They fill a regular bucket (rated at 10 liters) to the middle. After adding water, wait from 2 to 4 hours. Then you can immediately treat the currant bushes. This procedure will not directly protect against diseases, but it will destroy aphids and mites that climb into the kidneys. Namely, these organisms are responsible for the spread of many infections.

In some cases, a good preventative measure is the use of onion or garlic infusion. 1 fruit pour 1 liter of water room temperature and placed in a warm place for a week. If the room is quite heat, you can reduce the exposure time to 5 days. Direct preparation consists of diluting 20 g of solution in 10 liters of water. This infusion is effective not only against fungi and microbes, but also in the fight against aphids and mites.

You can prevent anthracnose by choosing varieties that are resistant to it: “Chulkovskaya”, “Victoria” or “Schedruya” currants. But even the seedlings of these plants are subject to careful selection. Before planting, they are dipped for 5-6 minutes in a weak (1%) solution of copper sulfate and washed in clean water. Planting is recommended only where currants have never grown before. Getting close to trees and using low-lying areas is categorically unacceptable.

When currants are treated or solutions are applied for preventive purposes, it is very important that they get on the entire bush. We must not forget that the bottom edge of the sheet also needs protection or help. You can prevent infection with goblet rust by removing sedge from the area and avoiding planting currants wherever they grow. You should also abandon the idea of growing this shrub in wetlands. Even if marshiness is moderate, it provides favorable conditions for infection.

Preventing columnar rust generally requires the same approach as controlling anthracnose. The only specific measure is feeding with mixtures containing zinc and copper sulfate. It is also worth using potassium nitrate and superphosphate. Ammonium nitrate is undesirable in this case. Of the relatively resistant varieties, agronomists recommend the “Chulkovskaya” berry.

Traditional methods

Treatment with boiling water in some cases helps to preserve currants no worse than proprietary factory products. Water hot water shrubs and the soil around them are required evenly. To make the work more efficient, it is worth mixing potassium permanganate into boiling water. Immediately after completion of the treatment, pruning is carried out, and the old leaves and old mulch must be removed. The use of Bordeaux mixture is also useful, but boiling water itself often helps to preserve the health of the bushes, especially if there are no special reasons for alarm.

It should be borne in mind that boiling water is not suitable for treating bushes. It is worth waiting a while and letting the water cool. Before starting processing, it is recommended to tie the branches together. If the plant has already “come to life”, even only in a small part, you cannot water it: you need to try to catch it between the start of warming and the formation of a green bud on the bush. Another option is to use boiling water in the winter, as soon as the leaves fall.

Treatment with colloidal sulfur can bring good results. This composition is used in the form of a suspension at a concentration of 0.5%. Shrubs are processed five times per season. It is first done before flowering, and then the composition is used immediately after flowering. Then they take breaks of 10 and 20 days. The final blow to the infection is delivered when the crop is harvested.

Prepare the suspension as follows:

take 50 g of sulfur powder;
diluted to some extent warm water to make a paste;
add water in small portions, achieving a total volume of liquid of 10 liters.

The use of celandine helps support treatment with synthetic drugs or even replace them altogether. It simultaneously attacks microorganisms and pests visible to the naked eye. To prepare a liquid preparation, 4 kg of fresh crushed shoots or 1 kg of dried green mass are usually used. Such raw materials are poured with 10 liters of water and kept under a lid in a warm room for 36 hours, then filtered. The same infusion also helps a lot in protecting gooseberries. Another option involves using powder obtained from dried shoots of celandine: you need to dust the bushes with this powder.

Fighting methods

You should not take currant pathologies lightly. The approach to dealing with them varies greatly depending on the current season. The plant needs to be treated as early as possible in the spring. Then it is possible to get ahead of the awakening of both the kidneys and aggressive microorganisms and the pests that carry them. In some cases, they begin to fight before the snow cover melts.

The very first step is to closely inspect the plants and remove any dead branches. Along with them, you will have to remove everything that has been damaged by frost, ice or snow movement. The longer this procedure is delayed, the higher the risk of problems.

Currant plantings deserve exceptional attention in the fall. Since the harvest is completely harvested, you can use any means you like without being particularly embarrassed by their harmful effects. But at the same time, of course, we must not forget about our own safety.

Watering currant bushes with boiling water in the fall is a useless exercise, because microorganisms and pests hidden in the buds are inaccessible to it.

Before treatment or prevention in the autumn months, pruning must be carried out. It is even easier for plants to experience than in the spring, because seasonal dormancy sets in and stress decreases. It is recommended to combine “business with pleasure”: since the opportunity has come to perform sanitary pruning, why not form a crown at the same time and thin it out. All shoots of the sixth and subsequent years must be removed. You still won’t get berries from such parts, but they become a fertile base for infection.

As soon as pruning is completed, the bush should be sprayed with a solution of karbofos or colloidal sulfur. Their concentration is 2% and 1%, respectively. Such compositions must be applied not only to the bushes themselves, but also to the areas adjacent to them. Only after spraying is completed against the backdrop of dry autumn is watering done before winter. Regardless of the humidity, the circle around the trunk is covered with a fresh layer of organic mulch, taking measures to prevent infected plants and their parts from getting there.

Anthracnose infection, according to agronomists, is worse than an aphid invasion. It's rare to beat him in one season. When symptoms are noticed in the fall, it is worth postponing treatment measures until spring. When the snow melts, use hot water.

But with a summer infection, delaying help for several months means significantly worsening the situation. It is recommended to immediately spray all sick currants with Bordeaux mixture, and cut off and burn the directly affected parts.

As already mentioned, no methods have been developed to combat terry. There is only general recommendations on prevention:

sanitary pruning in early spring;
removing immediately after it even single old leaves;
treating shrubs with boiling water;
systematic weeding.

Among the drugs used to combat currant diseases, Bordeaux mixture is very useful. It effectively suppresses different kinds spotting, rust and anthracnose. The same liquid helps to avoid illness. The standard schedule involves processing immediately upon completion of flowering, then with a pause of 10 days. The last planned pass is made when all the berries are removed; Of course, when symptoms of damage appear, it is necessary to treat the plantings outside the schedule.

Preparing a solution of Bordeaux mixture most often involves diluting it to 1%. For this purpose, take 0.1 kg of copper sulfate and 0.15 kg of quicklime. First, the vitriol is dissolved in 3 liters of water. The same volume is used for slaking lime, while taking well-known precautions. When both manipulations have been completed, the vitriol is poured into the lime, mixed thoroughly, filtered through a metal sieve and water is added to make 10 liters.

A good replacement for Bordeaux mixture is a solution of copper oxychloride (at a concentration of 0.3%) or systemic fungicides. As for the fight against anthracnose, the same Bordeaux mixture is used at a concentration of 1%. And of the synthetic compounds, “Phytodoctor” is recommended. When using it, you must not deviate from the instructions. When goblet rust appears, it is advisable to use phytosporin.

Returning to powdery mildew, it is worth emphasizing that some experts believe that the best option to combat it is to use iron sulfate. 10 g of this reagent is dissolved in 30 liters of water. Such spraying should be done immediately after flowering. Then it is repeated 2 or 3 times, with a pause of 10 days. From natural mixtures, an infusion of humus helps. It is prepared by taking 1 part of the substance and 2 parts of water; it takes 2 days to infuse the drug.

If powdery mildew has completely taken over an individual shoot, it will definitely have to be cut off and destroyed. A similar approach is used for nectric drying. All cutting points should be lubricated with garden varnish. Suppression of gray mold is achieved through the use of fungicides.