Red currant, diseases and treatment of which directly affect the quantity and quality of the crop, was cultivated by the Dutch in the 5th century, but only for aesthetic reasons. Due to the high decorative qualities, the shrub was used to decorate gardens. Currently, an unpretentious shrub plant is a permanent inhabitant of almost every land plot, delighting gardeners not only with decorativeness, but also with useful sweet and sour berries.
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Redcurrant - the nuances of growing
Due to the undemanding culture, growing red currants is suitable even for gardeners who do not have the ability or desire to spend a lot of time and effort on leaving.
However, it is important that when planting seedlings, cultural characteristics are taken into account:
- Lighting - Currants love to grow in open, well-lit areas where natural ventilation occurs.
- Soil - the culture prefers loose, light soil with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction.
- Humidity - the shrub tolerates a fairly high level of groundwater.
Outdoor red currant care
Comprehensive care for redcurrant provides for the implementation of activities such as watering, care for the near-trunk area, top dressing, pruning.
Watering and mulching
Currants need a lot of water in summer hot weather and after flowering, when the fruits are poured.To preserve moisture in the near-stem circle, it is recommended to mulch with sawdust, which will also reduce the time for weeding and loosening.
Loosening and weeding
Soil in the near-stem circle should, after wetting, loosen and be cleaned of weeds. Procedures must be carried out carefully so as not to damage the surface root system of the culture.
Fertilizer application
The organization of additional nutrition is an important component of care. To achieve annual high performance during harvesting, it is necessary to enrich the soil with nutrients that are consumed by the crop during the growing season.
Top dressing is carried out several times during the season:
- In early spring, 40-50 g of nitrogen-containing fertilizers are applied per 1 m2.
- Before flowering, fertilizing is carried out with phosphorus and potash fertilizers at the rate of 20 g and 25 g per 1 m2, respectively.
- In autumn, each bush is fed with superphosphate in an amount of 100 g and potassium sulfate - 30 g, which allows currants to endure winter without stress.
Pruning
The procedure is carried out in early spring before the swelling of the kidneys or in late autumn, when the currant is already at rest. Young specimens are trimmed to form a bush and remove injured or damaged branches. After 6-7 years, anti-aging pruning is performed, in which you can not touch young shoots.
Major diseases and their treatment
Despite the stability of currants to temperature extremes, harsh winters, waterlogged soil, such factors weaken the culture, making it vulnerable to many diseases.
Powdery mildew
If in the middle of the summer season, when inspecting the bush on the leaf blades, a white coating is found that extends to the fruits, this means that the plant began to develop a fungus disease of the sphere, also known as powdery mildew. At an early stage of development, you can try to protect the bush with a double treatment with an interval of 3 days, using a solution prepared from 10 liters of water and one bottle of iodine with a concentration of 5%. In case of severe damage, spraying with Bordeaux liquid or other copper-containing preparations should be carried out according to the instructions.
Anthracnose
The summer period is also characterized by the appearance on the leaves of the culture of brownish spots with a diameter of 1 mm, which subsequently blur, affecting the entire leaf with the petiole. This leads to drying and falling of the leaves. The most intensive development of anthracnose is observed in rainy weather. To combat the disease, a double treatment with a solution of Bordeaux liquid from 100 g of the product to 10 l of water is carried out - at the first signs of the disease and after picking berries.
White spotting
In heavily thickened plantings, the development of white spotting or septoria is possible, which is manifested by the appearance of brown spots of 2 mm both on the leaves and on the fruits. As the disease progresses, the spots begin to turn white, and only the edge remains brown. At the first signs, it is necessary to spray currants with Bordeaux liquid or a two-component systemic fungicide. After harvesting, processing must be repeated.
More materials:pest treatment
Column and glass rust
On currants, two types of rust can develop:
- Columnar - manifests itself in small specks of orange color. The source of infection may be growing near conifers.
- Ball-shaped - it is distinguished by the formation of orange warty bulges on the leaf plates.
To achieve the most effective result in the fight against rust, fungicide treatments are used, which are carried out in 4 stages with an interval of 10 days.
Drying of shoots and currant branches
If during the examination of currants, shrubs which are less than 15 years old, no damage by pests was found and there is no moisture deficit, then it is worth performing a rejuvenating pruning. All old shoots are cut off, and the places of cuts are processed by garden var or other antiseptic.
Gray rot
A fungal disease in which brown spots appear on the leaves and mold on the shoots develop intensively with excessive irrigation, accompanied by waterlogged soil. Copper-containing preparations are used to treat currants.
Striped mosaic
If the leaves are yellow, a striped mosaic can be diagnosed. This occurs if the leaf plate turns yellow along the central veins. The disease is viral, therefore, can not be treated. Affected specimens immediately uproot and burn, after which the soil is watered with a disinfectant solution of potassium permanganate.
Terry
Another dangerous viral disease in which almost all parts of the bush are affected. In the affected specimen, the formation of three-lobed leaves, fading of teeth along the edges of the leaf plate, genetic anomalies in the formation of all parts of the flower are noted. Due to the viral nature, treatment of such a disease does not produce results.
Currant Disease Prevention
Weak plants are susceptible to diseases, which are not provided with proper care.
Therefore, to prevent infection of currants, you should:
- observe watering regimen;
- feed currants with complex fertilizers;
- remove affected branches in a timely manner;
- places of cuts treated with an antiseptic;
- treat currant bushes in early spring and after fruiting with Bordeaux liquid;
- pick the right neighbors when planting currant seedlings;
- prepare planting material only from healthy specimens;
- after leaf fall, rake all the leaves and destroy.
Important! In case of viral diseases that cannot be treated, prevention is the main measure for plant protection.
Plant pests: how to fight?
Often, pests of red currant become the carriers of diseases, among which stand out:
- currant goldfish;
- glass;
- aphid;
- spider mite;
- currant moth;
- gooseberry flint;
- sawfly;
- moth.
The most effective way to help protect the plant from the entire list of harmful insects is to treat currant bushes with the insecticidal preparations Actellik, Karbofos and other analogues. And also we must not forget about additional mechanical measures that contribute to reducing the number of pests: pruning and burning of the affected branches, where the larvae of the goldfish winter, cleaning of fallen leaves, which serves as a good litter for the wintering stock of pests.
Thus, the cultivation of red currants, subject to all the nuances, is a simple matter, and the result from a rich harvest compensates for the time and energy spent on caring for the crop, which at the same time has excellent decorative qualities.
