Diseases and pests of black currant: characterization and control

Experienced gardeners know that their favorite berry bushes can be attacked by various diseases and pests. In order not to lose the crop and save the plant, you should constantly inspect it for warning signs. It is necessary to timely treat the bushes when a disease is detected, otherwise the gardener may lose the entire crop.

If the bushes seem healthy and strong, then this means that diseases have bypassed them. But with the wrong care for them, plants can become infected with a virus and die.

There is a huge number of diseases that can hit a bush and leave its owner without useful and tasty berries. In order to learn about the infection of a plant in time, it is necessary to become familiar with the symptoms of the most common diseases.

Below are the most famous diseases of black currant, which can spoil the crop in the country.

In the period of budding on the leaf plates of the plant, it is possible to see not very pronounced points of green color. In the summer (June), they transform into watery strokes that stretch along the veins of the sheet. In some cases, instead of them you can notice green spots that occupy a large place on the sheet.

Mealy dew is a fungal disease that affects both shoots and other parts of the plant (berries, leaves). On the affected areas appears a raid of gray color, which eventually becomes darker.

When a fungus multiplies, it takes the substances it needs from the plant. If the bush is not treated, it will not develop and will soon die. The causative agent in winter is on the leaves that are in the soil, as well as on other plant residues. When the air temperature becomes positive, the fungus begins to multiply, the spores move to the bush due to the wind, insects and drops of liquid.

It is a fungal disease, a symptom of which are red or brown spots of small size on the leaf plate of the plant. In the center of it are visible dark bumps. The disease can affect the fruits and leaves, which soon begin to wither and fall. Most often it settles on young shoots, in winter the spores are on the fallen leaves.

The fungus that causes this disease is located on plant residues in winter. The process of infection begins in early summer, when the first wave of growth of young shoots ends. Shoots that grow become sluggish. The disease begins its journey from the top of the site, gradually gaining momentum.

A grower can recognize infected plants according to the following symptom: when the weather becomes wet, the shoots are covered with a gray-like patina. If leaf plates become infected, large brown spots of indefinite shape appear on them. After that they crack. Quite often, the disease can be seen in too thick plantings.

At the top of the leaf plate are yellow spots, and at the bottom - growths of orange-yellow color, where there are spores. After some time, yellow hairs form there. This disease is caused by a fungus.

In spring, the leafy plates of the bush are covered with dark dots on top, and from the bottom - with large yellow "pads" with goblet-like indentations. In winter, fungal spores are found in sedges. This herb can grow anywhere, so the plant can easily become infected.In the spring, spores are transferred to the leaves of the crop, which contributes to the deformation of the berries in the future.

Soon the fruits begin to dry out, and then completely crumble. If the disease is not treated, then it becomes the cause of the low yield of the bush.

Small gray spots with a gray border appear on the leaf plates. After some time on the bush you can see growths resembling small balls, which are spores of the fungus.

The disease begins to manifest itself if there is a large amount of chlorine in the soil. In August, the edges of the leaf plates become ash gray. They look like a dry strip, which is quite sharply different from healthy parts of the plant. Symptoms of the disease are similar to signs of potassium starvation, but there is one difference: the border between the affected and healthy tissue is distinct. If the site is recently affected, it is paler than other areas.

If the gardener cares for the bushes badly, then they can get sick with non-breeze-drying. This disease is fungal and can affect any part of the plant.

On the branches appear dots of orange. At first they are small, but over time their size will only grow. After a certain period of time, hillocks of brown color will appear instead. If you treat the disease carelessly and do not treat it, then the young processes will wither.

Gardeners can determine that a shrub is afflicted with terry before the process becomes irreversible. Each of the sections of the culture ceases to emit a characteristic currant odor. In the spring (in May), when the leaves are dissolved, and the plant begins to bloom, you can also see that the bush is amazed. Leaf plates bloom later than they should. They are three-lobed, although they must be five-lobed.

At the edges there are large rare cloves. Young leaves become small, dark green, veins thickened. In the future, these sheet plates cease to develop.

The disease can also be determined by the structure of the flowers. In the normal state, their petals grow together, have a white color and a rounded shape. Affected bushes have flowers, the petals of which are divided and have a purple color. Stamens, pistils and petals change shape: instead, you can see scales, which in form resemble tentacles stretching forward.

The tassels of the flowers become longer, dark pink or purple. Of these flowers, the fruits are often not tied, but if they are, they are small berries of ugly forms. Infected plants bloom late.

This is a virus whose pathogen can get onto a shrub through the sap of an infected plant, aphids, ticks, or garden tools when a gardener prunes sick and healthy bushes. If the plant has a striped mosaic, bright yellow patterns can be observed around the leaf veins. It is useless to treat such a disease, so it’s worth getting rid of the bush and making sure that the root particles do not remain in the soil. Then it is burned.

In addition to diseases, the plant can be attacked by various pests that feed on the substances necessary for the development of bushes, as well as on leaves or other parts of the plant. You need to be prepared for the fact that for a good harvest will have to deal with some insects.

• Kidney mites - These are small, almost imperceptible pests having a length of 0.2-0.4 mm. They drink the juice of the plant, because of what the leaves do not receive nutrients and begin to dry. The most striking sign of the attack of this insect are too swollen buds. Inside them are vitreous eggs, from which pests subsequently emerge.

• Spider mite It has a small size (0.3-0.6 mm), is located in the lower part of the sheet plates. Such an insect drinks juice from young shoots and leaves of a bush. If the plant is attacked by spider mites, then yellow dots appear on its leaves. They will then be marbled, completely yellow and dry. If you do not fight the pest, then a small, thin web will appear on the bush.

• Berry sawfly. When the insect grows, it has a length of 3-4 mm. The color of the larvae is off-white, they are located in the ovaries, they feed on the seeds of the plant. If the berries grow too much, quickly become colored and become ribbed, then this means that the bush was attacked by berry sawflies.

• Kidney mole - it is a medium sized butterfly with a yellow-brown color. Quite rarely attacks the black currant, but sometimes hibernates under the bark or at the base of the plant. Then a caterpillar appears on the culture and feeds on what it finds in the kidneys. After the bush has faded, the caterpillar is transformed into a butterfly and leaves eggs in the berries.

• Currant aphid. If the upper leaves begin to curl, red bloated spots appear on them, and the shoots are curved - it means that the plant louse has settled on the plant. Insect colonies are on the bottom of the leaves, but they can also be located on the shoots - usually there the aphids wait out the cold season.

• Ognevka. When the bush begins to bloom, insects (butterflies) leave their eggs in the inflorescence of the plant. The caterpillars feed on berries and leaves, they twist these patches of web. One insect can eat 10-15 fruits.

• Glass cup In spring, when pruning is done, you can see if the bush is hit by insects. The caterpillars are located inside the shoots of the plant, due to which wormholes appear. They eat up the inside of the shoot, make a lot of moves in it, because of which the branches dry, do not grow and subsequently die.

The first winter the insect is inside the branches of the plant. In March, these branches can be seen very well, as the berries and flowers dry on it. Then the branch itself begins to dry up.

If you carefully cut this branch with shears, you can see the black core. It is necessary to cut the branch gradually until it becomes visible clean wood, which is not spoiled by pests. Affected chunks of the branches are burned.

If the gardener is interested in what the pest looks like, he will be able to find a glass case among these scraps. It has a medium size and white color (beige head). If the gardener cut the stem to the ground and saw only the black core, then this means that the caterpillars are no longer in the branch - it came out of it to later pupate and turn into an adult.

After the grower found out that the plant was affected by a disease, The following measures should be taken:

• collect the affected leaves, ovaries;
• get rid of diseased branches and ends of the shoots by cutting;
• carefully dig the soil under the plants;
• previously damaged parts should be disposed of (burned or buried one meter in the soil).

If the disease affecting the bush is viral, it is necessary to destroy the infected plants and planting material, otherwise the infection may spread to other bushes.

There are two options for treating various diseases and diseases of plants with insects. Some gardeners prefer folk remedies, as they trust them more than chemicals. Many people like to use chemical products, because most often they really help to get rid of the problem. Both options are successful, so it’s worth considering each one.

There are folk remedies that can be made independently. The methods are effective and will help to save the plant from insects and diseases.

• Spider mites afraid of mustard infusion. In 10 liters of water 200 g of mustard powder are placed, the agent is infused for 10-12 hours. Then it is filtered.It should be sprayed with infusion bush.
• From aphid eggs and kidney mite You can get rid of with boiled water. She should spray the plant before the buds bloom. You can also do it in November. Garlic water also allows gardeners to not be afraid of these insects. You must take 100 grams of garlic, chop it and put in 10 liters of water.
• Aphid does not like a sharp smell, so you can use an infusion of onion peel (200 g of onion peel pour 10 liters of water and insist for 5 days) or soapy water. For a soap solution, 300 g of laundry soap 72 percent should be divided into 5 parts (50 g each), grated (preferably finely) and dissolved in 3 liters of water. The remedy is infused for 24 hours, sometimes it is stirred. For 2 liters of water requires 300 g of ash. The tool must be boiled for 20 minutes, leave to cool. Then it is filtered. The soap solution prepared earlier is mixed with 2 liters of ash solution, the total volume is brought to 10 liters. This tool is considered extremely effective, they need to spray the bush.

To combat the glass case, you must use the tools described below.

• A kilogram of wormwood (slightly faded) is filled with 2-3 liters of warm liquid, boiled over a small fire for 15 minutes. Then left for 5-6 hours. The volume is required to bring up to 10 liters, they process the bush.
• Kilograms of green tops of potatoes thoroughly chop with a knife, pour water (10 l), insist 4-5 hours.
• Insects can be caught using fruit syrups in the summer. We need to constantly check them to destroy pests that have fallen.
• The plant is sprayed with a solution or infusion that has a very strong, pronounced odor. You can use pine needles, tansy, stepchildren tomato. Sometimes among the branches needled branches are laid out.

Getting rid of berry sawfly is quite simple:

• infected berries are collected and destroyed;
• the soil around the bushes must be dug up, the leaves must be removed;
• The bushes pile up, the soil is mulched using compost or peat (layer thickness - 8 cm);
• after the plant has faded, you need to spend it razukochivanie.

There are a lot of folk remedies for getting rid of goog rust. Most often gardeners use tobacco dust infusion. To do this, 200 g of tobacco dust must be left to infuse for 3 days in 2 liters of water. A glass of cloves of garlic is filled with 2 liters of hot water and also infused for 3 days, after which the ingredients are mixed, the soap and a small amount of hot pepper are added to the product. This solution should be sprayed plant before buds bloom.

Iodine will help to defeat powdery mildew. To do this, 10 mg of a five percent solution of iodine should be diluted in 10 liters of water. Spray the plants should be very carefully, several times (interval - 10 days). It is highly effective if the disease has appeared recently.

There are also several other ways.

• Two tablespoons of mustard powder placed in 10 liters of hot water, infuse 1-1.5 hours. When the infusion has cooled completely, you need to handle the affected bush.
• Prepare the most strong infusion of potassium permanganate. Treat them plant should be 3 times (interval - 5 days).
• A kilogram of ash is placed in 10 liters of hot water, infused for 1-2 days. Strain, 50 g of soap is added to the product. Sick plants are sprayed. The treatment must be repeated after a week. The tool is used only at the beginning of the disease.

If the plant is affected by gray rot, then it is necessary to treat it and the soil under it, ash extract. This must be done before the bush begins to bloom, as well as after flowering and after picking the fruit. For this, 3 kg of ash is diluted in 10 liters of liquid. You can also use soda ash and soap (50 g soda, 50 g soap, 10 liters of water) or an emulsion with soap and copper (150 g soap, 20 g copper sulfate, 10 liters of water).

Mealy dew is a serious disease that is extremely difficult to dispose of. If the gardener notices the first signs of the disease, it is necessary to use copper-containing preparations. The most effective are "Hom" and "Ordan." It is necessary to spray the affected areas. Before you begin spraying, you should get rid of infected leaves, shoots and fruits.

Below are some more worthy drugs.

• Landings need to be processed colloidal sulfur or by means of which it is the basis ("Jet", "Tiovit"). Processing is carried out a few days before picking the fruit, as colloidal sulfur is not capable of harming human health.
• "Tilt", "Skor", "Kvadris". These drugs should be treated bushes 4 times. The first spraying is done after the leaves bloom, the second - after the flowering period, the third - after harvesting, then wait 2 weeks and make the fourth treatment. If summer is wet, you need to treat the plant for the fifth time in 17 days.

Diseased parts of a plant affected by anthracnose should be removed by hand. Then it is necessary to process the bush 4 times with products that contain copper. The first time you need to spray the plant before buds bloom. Soon 3 more spraying are performed (interval - 10-14 days). Fallen leaves and plant residues must be removed. The aisle of the bush must be carefully weeded.

If the disease has just begun to manifest itself, then you can use the tools "Fitosporin" and "Alirin B". These drugs are safe for people - in a few days after spraying you can pick berries. In autumn, the soil on which the bushes grow should be treated with “Trichoderma”.

If the plant is infected with rust, you must first get rid of the affected leaf plates. In March or April, before the buds on the bush open, it is necessary to treat it with a 3% Bordeaux mixture, Hom, or Nitrafen (the last drug is extremely effective, but it is difficult to find). When the buds bloom, currant is treated with one percent solutions of these funds. It is necessary to spray the branches. "Nitrafenom" you can water the soil around the perimeter of the plants. If rust symptoms have appeared recently, then you should use "Topaz", "Early" or "Fitosporin".

Septoria is a dangerous disease, but the plant will easily save the spray with Skorom. It is necessary to process a bush 2 times: when buds form and after it stops blooming.

If the bush is attacked by kidney mites, you need to carefully cut off the kidneys affected by insects, capturing the escape. After that, they should be burned. Then the plant is treated with means that contain sulfur, for example, with various acaricides, such as Nissoran or Apollo. Spraying the bushes is after picking berries.

When the bush is infected with spider mites, it is necessary to process them before the beginning of the growing season with “Trichlormetaphos-3”. If the insects have not left attempts to harm the plant, then it is necessary to repeat the treatment before flowering and after it.

If the symptoms of berry sawfly attacks were noticed by a gardener last season, it is necessary to treat Karbofos before the flowering period. If the plant is processed after it, then you do not need to use in the food of its fruit.

To get rid of aphids, the plant is processed by Fufanon, Decis, Aktara, Insector, Iskra, Inta-C-M, Into-Vir or Kinmiks. These funds are easy to buy, they are extremely effective, have affordable prices.

A one percent “Bordeaux” liquid rescues from infection with columnar rust, which you need to spray the bushes 3 times: when the leaves bloom, the buds separate themselves after the flowering period. If the disease progresses, then you need to do another, fourth treatment 10 days after the third. To prevent the disease from affecting other plants, it is necessary to promptly scrape the infected fallen leaves and burn them.

In the autumn, tops affected by gray mold should be cut out and then burned. The soil on which the bush grows, should be dug over to close up the fallen fruits and leaf plates. In March, before the buds begin to bloom, the bushes are sprayed with boiling water (60-65 degrees).

There are also incurable diseases that cannot be cured both by folk remedies and by chemical preparations. Among them, the most frequent is the terry. If the disease struck the plant, then it should be urgently removed and burned. If this is not done, it is able to infect all the bushes nearby. On the soil under infected plants, it is impossible to plant new bushes for 5 years. To fight the virus is useless.

Each gardener wants his culture to be healthy, bring a large amount of fruit and delight him with the right development. To do this, you should properly care for it, otherwise it may bring a bad harvest or even die.

• Seedlings should be planted with a root depth of 3-5 cm. Shoots should be pruned so that several buds are above the soil.
• It is important to water and mulch in a timely manner using peat, humus or compost - this will help protect the plant from many diseases.
• If the bush grows for more than 7 years, it must be replaced with a young plant.
• Every year you need to properly trim the bushes. Some very good basal shoots are left, it is necessary to get rid of the rest of the gardener.
• Some gardeners use fresh manure for planting. You do not need to make such a mistake - it is better to make nitrogen fertilizers. The most effective dressing for currants is humus-sypets and wood ash. Funds need to make a digging.

• In September-October, it is important to collect the leaves, get rid of dry berries on the bushes, and dig up the aisles.
• Before severe frosts begin, it is important to carefully inspect and clean the bark, which has exfoliated. Then it should be burned.
• Before the juice begins to move around the plant, shoots that are old or affected by ticks, larvae of other pests or powdery mildew should be cut off. Treat the cut sections with a one-percent solution of copper sulphate and cover it with a garden vara.
• The plant will be more resistant to powdery mildew if wood ash is introduced under it. This is an extremely good combined phosphorus-potassium fertilizer that will allow currants to not be afraid of this disease.
• The main preventive measure - the purchase of healthy material for planting, which is made by certified manufacturers. You can also choose varieties that are resistant to many diseases and pests.

Spraying the bushes with any means will help make them more resistant to any diseases and insects. But if you do it wrong, you can harm the plant, so there are recommendations that can save currants from many problems.

• Sultry and warm weather is not suitable for treatment - it is important to spray at a cool time of day. If the temperature is warm, pests and parasites will multiply more actively.
• It is better to carry out several procedures, the interval between them should be 10-14 days.
• Before you begin the process, you should get rid of infected or old parts of the plant. Items that have been deleted should be destroyed so that they do not harm other cultures.

In order for the bush's immunity to be strong and to withstand the attacks of various diseases, organic and mineral fertilizers must be used - such compounds will give the plants strength and will contribute to obtaining a decent harvest. In summer, it is important to constantly make the ground under the bushes loose. Loosening is carried out very carefully so as not to harm the root system of the plant, which is often quite close to the soil surface.

In the spring time, immediately after the snow melted, the root system of the culture begins to actively develop and grow - it needs food and moisture. When the weather is dry, the bushes should be watered once every 5 days. Water should be slightly warmed, as too cold liquid only hurts the plant.

It is extremely important to pay attention to the first symptoms of diseases or attacks of pests. If the leaves twist, have an unnatural color for them, the fruits wither, and the plant itself does not develop as it should, you should try to find signs of a disease in order to cure the plant immediately. If you treat this carelessly, do not care for the crop and do not treat the affected areas, the yield of the bush will decrease, and then the plant may die.

A gardener who tries to care for a currant, gets fertilizers and means for preventing diseases, will receive a lot of tasty, useful fruits and a lot of positive emotions from growing such a crop. Careful care guarantees resistance to many diseases and parasites.

How to protect black currants from diseases and pests, see the next video.