Good day everyone!

With the beginning of spring, all living things wake up and pests are no exception! Therefore, timely treatment of black currants and gooseberries against pests in the spring is very important.

All gardeners need to know

How to treat blackcurrants and gooseberries from pests and diseases in spring

Timing of work

They do this in early spring, when the buds are just beginning to bloom, but have not yet opened or formed buds. The treatment is carried out in warm weather, around +18°C.

It is impossible to name exact dates, since the weather is different everywhere, and spring is unpredictable with its surprises. Sometimes it’s cold for a long time, and all the plants freeze and don’t open their buds, and then, with the warmth, suddenly in a couple of days everything is green. Therefore, watch the currants and the weather. In the Urals, such treatment is usually carried out in early April.

Pests and diseases: treatment methods

Aphid

To combat this scourge, you can wash the shoots with tar soap. Spray with “green soap” or garlic infusion. Spraying with the biological product “Fitoverm” helps for two to three weeks.

The photo shows a female with wings. They can arrive at any time and immediately start a whole colony of aphids. Therefore, processing must be done regularly.

Gall aphid

Gall aphids are red swellings on the upper side of leaves on red currants. We treat it like a simple aphid.

Red currant leaves with characteristic red swellings

Shoot aphid

Shoot aphid– it usually multiplies and causes damage on the tops of young shoots of black currants. These twisted tops need to be torn off and burned. You can't throw them in the garden. The aphid larvae will pupate in the soil and the next generations of pests will appear, and more than one will have time to hatch before the fall!

Characteristically curled leaves at the ends of young currant shoots

The tops of plants damaged by any type of aphids can be sprayed with solutions:

• Dandelion
• Tobacco
• Ash-soap solution

Then sprinkle with ground red pepper or spray the plants with “green soap”.

When it gets warm, display geraniums in pots or plant them under currant bushes. Many pests cannot stand its smell.

Getting rid of aphids is not easy. She multiplies very quickly. Treatment with infusions should be carried out every week. Fitoverm lasts longer - up to three weeks.

Currant bud mite

Diseased plants are visible by very large, swollen buds. If there are not very many of them, then pluck out all the buds with the tick and burn them. If the bush is severely affected, it is better to cut it out completely and burn it. The buds must be removed before they open, otherwise the mites will spread to other buds.

Those big buds

After plucking out diseased buds, spray the bushes with garlic mustard infusion. This composition will also help against other pests. It's not difficult to make it yourself.

• Pass 300 grams of garlic (leaves or arrows) through a meat grinder.
• Add 200 g onion peels
• 1 tbsp. spoon of mustard powder
• 2 tbsp. spoons of birch tar

I leave this whole mixture in a bucket of water for 24 hours. Then I filter and spray the bushes.

If you don’t have all the ingredients, you can only make garlic infusion. Pass 200 grams of garlic cloves through a meat grinder and leave for a day in warm water. Then also strain and spray. This infusion can be used to treat plants all summer if any pests appear.. Spraying with Fitoverm also helps.

Shields

They are difficult to see, they blend into the branch

Scale insects stick to the branches and suck the juice from them. Gradually the branches wither and then dry. It is necessary to spray or wash the branches with a soap-kerasin mixture. In a liter of water, stir 80 grams of laundry soap until dissolved and half a teaspoon of kerosene. By the way, many pests cannot stand the smell of kerosene. Or use Fitoverm.

Fireflies, sawflies

Very dangerous garden pests. The bushes are sprayed with infusions of plants with phytoncides (garlic, tomatoes, horseradish, nightshade, wormwood).

Moth moth (1), its caterpillar (2), damaged berries (3)

Moth butterflies fly out from under the bushes when the berry bushes bloom. It is better not to let them out of the soil at all. To do this, cover the ground under the currants with pieces of film, dense material and press the edges with bricks. The pests simply will not be able to get out and will die. We do this early, before flowering.

Sawflies lay their eggs in large green berries. When the caterpillars eat the seeds in them, they immediately turn ripe in color. These early berries on gooseberries and currants need to be immediately collected and burned. Otherwise, the caterpillars come out and sink into the ground. Then a new generation will appear.

gooseberry sawfly

If you don’t have time to pick berries, spray the bushes with Fitoverm.

Moth moths do not like the smell of tar, turpentine, and kerosene. Some of these liquids can be placed in jars under the bushes to repel moths and sawflies. To make the bushes unattractive during the flight of butterflies (flowering), it is useful to dust them with tobacco dust or ash.

To repel leaf-eating and other pests, it is good to plant marigolds, tomatoes, and tansy between berry bushes. And lay out twigs of wormwood and elderberry.

If the enemy has nevertheless penetrated, which you will know by the eaten leaves, then you will have to shake them off onto the litter (you can use an open umbrella).

Such voracious caterpillars will quickly eat the leaves of the currant

After flowering, currant and gooseberry bushes can be sprayed with infusions of garlic, onion, mustard or ash.

To prevent moths and sawflies from hiding in the ground under bushes, it needs to be loosened in summer and winter.

The moth butterfly lays eggs in a flower, a caterpillar emerges from them and, having eaten delicious leaves, prepares to become a pupa. We see this on the bush in the form of early browned berries that are entangled in cobwebs. These brushes need to be collected and destroyed.

Currant berries in the web

To make butterflies fly past the bushes, stick elderberry branches into the ground. You can plant a small bush next to the currant and gooseberry bushes.

The moth does not tolerate the smell of elderberry. She also doesn’t like the smells of tansy and mint, as well as nasturtium and calendula!

If you plant these plants around the perimeter of the site, near beds, bushes, trees, then the butterflies of many pests will fly around your site!

Powdery mildew

The spores of this fungus are carried by the wind in the spring and, once on plants, quickly germinate. The tops of the shoots are covered with a white coating, as if sprinkled with flour. Such tops are immediately cut off and burned. There are several ways to protect currants and gooseberries from powdery mildew. The recipes are different, but everyone needs to spray the bushes before and after flowering for prevention.

• Soda ash solution with soap. Dissolve 50 grams of baking soda and soap in a bucket of warm water.
• Wood ash infusion. Leave 1.5 kg of ash in a bucket of water for a day, stirring occasionally, and strain. Dissolve 50 grams of soap.
• 1% solution of iron sulfate.
• An infusion of slightly fermented mullein.

Powdery mildew on black currants

You need to water the currant and gooseberry bushes with very hot water with the addition of aspirin. Add 10 tablets of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) to a bucket of boiling water. Stir until dissolved. We pour water into the watering can and go water the bushes.

While we are carrying out all these manipulations: pouring and pouring, the water will cool down a little and will be very hot. The branches of the plant do not suffer from this treatment, but various pests do not like it very much.

Let me draw your attention once again: this treatment is done before the buds open!

Ten liters is enough for two or three bushes.

If you pay close attention to your plants, you will notice diseases and pests in time. This means you can successfully get rid of them by starting treatment immediately. They will be great help with this. They will not poison your harvest and will help drive away plant diseases.

The biological product “Fitoverm” helps to cope well with various leaf-eating and sucking pests. It kills pests, but it will not poison birds.

biological product Fitoverm

It is impossible to use chemicals in small garden plots, because not only pests are poisoned, but also the beneficial inhabitants of the garden, the soil, and the crop.

Video about processing blackcurrants and gooseberries

Gooseberries are not only tasty, but also very healthy. Therefore, its bushes can be found in many garden plots. But the culture has a significant drawback - it enjoys special love from harmful insects, as well as pathogenic fungi. Since it is easier to prevent any problem than to deal with it later, the main attention should be paid to preventive measures. If it was still not possible to protect the bush from the disease, it is important to be able to identify it in time and know what exactly to do in this case.

The best time to process gooseberries

Gooseberries are larger than many other berry bushes. Therefore, the first time preventive treatment is carried out in early spring, combining it with sanitary pruning. Leaf buds that are ready to bloom and the soil around the bush are sprayed with any fungicide - these drugs kill many pathogenic fungi. The procedure must be repeated after flowering, preferably even twice, with an interval of 10–12 days.

In spring, preventive measures need to be carried out before the leaves bloom on the gooseberry bushes

During the entire period of active growing season, bushes are sprayed in order to protect against one of the most common and dangerous diseases for the crop - powdery mildew. The first treatment is carried out in April, the last in September. The interval between them is 10–12 days.

In autumn, we also must not forget about prevention; this is a mandatory procedure along with pruning the bush and cleaning the tree trunk from fallen leaves, broken branches, fallen berries, weeds and other plant debris. It is better to carry out processing 2-3 weeks after the entire crop has been harvested.

Gooseberry bushes delight the gardener with a harvest, but at the same time they are regularly attacked by harmful insects and often suffer from diseases

When spraying gooseberries, it is worth remembering that any treatments with chemicals are carried out no later than 30 days before the expected harvest, and with preparations of biological origin - 15–20 days. Also, their use is limited during flowering. This also applies to fungicides.

How to treat: popular products among gardeners

Most often, to process gooseberries, gardeners use the most accessible time-tested means that have proven their effectiveness. Many of them, with good reason, do not trust newfangled chemistry.

Boiling water

Watering gooseberries with boiling water is a common measure that helps to “bring” the bush out of winter “hibernation” and increase its resistance to fungal diseases typical of the crop. The procedure is carried out in the last ten days of February or early March, when the leaves have not yet blossomed.

Ordinary water is boiled, a watering can with a divider or a spray bottle is filled (during this time it cools to a temperature of 80–90ºС) and the bushes are poured over from a distance of 60–70 cm, trying to treat all the branches more or less evenly. To make your work easier, you can tie several shoots together in advance (or even in the fall). You need to act quickly - water that has cooled to 60–70ºС is of no use. The norm for one plant is 3–5 liters.

Watering gooseberries with boiling water is carried out at the same time as pruning - in early spring or late winter.

Then you need to pour water at the same temperature into the soil in the tree trunk circle and cover it with plastic film and pieces of roofing felt for 2-3 days. This will help destroy larvae that have overwintered under the bush, as well as eggs laid by harmful insects and spores of pathogenic fungi. Boiling water is especially effective against bud mites, which are the main carrier of the dangerous leaf blight virus. However, you should not pour it directly under the roots, as you can severely burn them.

Watering with boiling water helps to “awaken” the plant and increases its immunity, while hot water destroys spores of pathogenic fungi and pest eggs

Practice shows that gooseberry bushes treated annually in this way better withstand the vagaries of weather during the summer and winter cold, and are less likely to be affected by pests. The leaves on them are larger, there are more berries, they branch more intensively.

For greater effect, you can add potassium permanganate to the water (until the solution turns pale pink) or regular table salt (50–70 g per 10 l).

Video: spring treatment of berry bushes with boiling water

Copper sulfate (also known as copper sulfate or copper sulfate) is one of the most common fungicides, widely used by gardeners to protect fruit trees and berry bushes from all kinds of pathogenic fungi. This beautiful sky blue powder prevents their spores from germinating. To treat gooseberries with copper sulfate, prepare a 1% solution (100 g of powder per 10 liters of water), and 3% with iron sulfate. This concentration is completely safe for the bush, but effectively destroys fungal spores.

Copper sulfate is one of the most common and accessible fungicides; its effectiveness is due to the fact that many pathogenic fungi do not tolerate copper compounds

Copper sulfate does not penetrate into plant tissue and acts exclusively at the point of contact. The solution is washed off the bush with the first rain. If the fungus has already formed mycelium in the tissues, the remedy cannot destroy it, but it slightly inhibits its development.

The liquid is prepared exclusively in glass, plastic or enamel (without chips) containers to prevent reaction with iron, aluminum, and zinc ions. It cannot be stored for longer than 10–12 hours; the effectiveness of the drug is lost. The powder dissolves better in warm water than in cold water. At air temperatures of 30ºС and above there is no point in carrying out treatment. Under no circumstances should the prepared solution be mixed with other drugs, insecticides or fungicides.

Copper sulfate solution cannot be prepared in containers made of any metal.

Plants are sprayed in early spring. It is advisable that the temperature outside does not exceed 8–10ºС. This is a guarantee that the leaf buds have not yet “woke up”. Treatment is carried out early in the morning or in the evening, after sunset. The drops remaining on the bush act as lenses; the shoots can be severely burned. In addition to fungal diseases, this procedure helps protect the bushes from many dangerous pests - bud mites, currant gall midges, aphids, and slimy sawflies.

Immediately after the bushes fade, the treatment is repeated. The best time for it is early in the morning on a windless day. It is advisable that it be warm enough outside - 16–20ºС.

The last treatment with copper sulfate is carried out in the fall. The concentration of the drug is increased to 2%. If in the summer the plant is severely damaged by diseases and pests, the soil around the bush is shed with a 5% solution. But such treatment is not recommended for chernozem - it negatively affects soil fertility.

Copper sulfate can be used not only as a means to prevent and combat diseases, but also as a fertilizer. Copper, like many other microelements, is necessary for the normal development of plants. Once every 5–6 years in the fall or spring, the powder is added to the soil during deep loosening of the soil at the rate of 1 g/m². You can judge copper deficiency during the active growing season by the following signs:

• unnatural dark green hue of the leaves, sharply contrasting with the yellowish-white border along the edges;
• the rigidity of the leaf plate and the tip that bends downwards;
• metallic sheen or bluish-purple tint, clearly visible in the sun.

Copper deficiency on the leaves of berry bushes is very pronounced.

In this case, the bushes are sprayed with a weak solution of copper sulfate - 1–2 g per 10 liters of water.

This drug can also be used for disinfection. The sections remaining after removing dry, broken, diseased branches are a “gateway” for all kinds of infections. Therefore, before covering them with garden varnish, it is useful to wash the “wounds” with a 2% solution.

Video: using copper sulfate in the garden

Gardeners have been using Bordeaux mixture since the mid-19th century. It was then that the French botanist Pierre-Marie Millardet discovered that the mixture he prepared very effectively destroys mold fungus on grape leaves and shoots.

Bordeaux mixture is a remedy known to gardeners for more than a century; its effectiveness has been tested by time.

Gooseberries are treated with Bordeaux mixture to protect against rust, scab, anthracnose and all kinds of spots. You cannot overdo it - this negatively affects the taste of the fruit and inhibits the growth of new shoots.

Quicklime for preparing Bordeaux mixture must be fresh, otherwise it will not dissolve, but will harden in lumps

Bordeaux mixture (one percent) is easy to prepare yourself. To do this, you only need water, copper sulfate and quicklime:

1. 100 g of copper sulfate is diluted in a glass of hot water, then 5 liters of boiling water are added. The container should not be metal.
2. In another 10 liter container, pour 150 g of quicklime into 5 liters of cold water and mix well.
3. Very carefully, in a thin stream, pour the contents of the first container into the second (in no case vice versa).
4. Using litmus paper, check whether the solution is suitable for spraying plants. If it turns blue, then there is too much lime and the product is ineffective. The red color indicates an excess of copper sulfate - such a solution will destroy not only fungal spores, but also gooseberry leaves. Errors are corrected by gradually adding lime “milk”. An ordinary nail can also be used as an “indicator” - a coating of the corresponding shade will appear on it.

The components of Bordeaux mixture are diluted with water in separate containers and mixed only by adding a solution of copper sulfate to lime milk

The maximum concentration of Bordeaux mixture is 3% (300 g of copper sulfate and 400 g of lime). Gooseberry bushes are sprayed with this solution in early spring or late autumn. A bluish coating remains on the shoots for a long time after the procedure, this is normal. If in the spring the buds have already “woke up”, turning into green cones, the optimal concentration is 1%. The consumption rate per bush is 1.5–2 liters.

Spraying is carried out in dry, cool, windless weather, before 10:00 or after 18:00. It is advisable that the solution gets on the soil in a minimum amount. It is best to first cover it with plastic film, roofing felt, sheets of slate, and so on.

The effect of treatment with Bordeaux mixture lasts about a month

Bordeaux mixture is an alternative to copper sulfate, so the treatment is carried out in the same time frame. Its period of action is longer - 25–30 days, it is not washed off by rain. It is also a source of calcium for gooseberry bushes. However, the solution is more toxic, not only for plants, but also for humans and domestic animals, therefore, in the process of preparing and spraying it, it is necessary to use rubber gloves, a respirator, and other personal protective equipment.

Video: how to properly prepare Bordeaux mixture

How to protect gooseberries from common diseases

Diseases, especially fungal ones, are a real scourge of gooseberries. Because of this, some gardeners do not even risk planting bushes on the site. But proper prevention can minimize the risk of infection.

Scab

Gooseberry scab first appears on the leaves. Small, seemingly velvety, olive-colored spots are noticeable on them. Gradually they increase in size, change color to dark brown, and the leaves themselves turn completely yellow. Then the disease spreads to the berries. The spots on them are blurry, beige, film-like. Over time, their surface cracks, the fruits wrinkle, turn black and rot. The risk of scab infection is especially high if the summer is cold and rainy.

Scab appears first on gooseberry leaves.

Often the gardener himself is to blame for the spread of the disease. This is facilitated by dense plantings, the choice of an inappropriate location (lowlands where cold, humid air stagnates for a long time or an area where groundwater comes too close to the surface), and the application of nitrogen-containing fertilizers in excess quantities.

Scab-affected gooseberry fruits quickly begin to rot

Since the fungus that causes scab overwinters in fallen leaves, in the fall the soil under the bush must be cleared of plant debris and deeply loosened. It is better to cut off severely affected branches and burn them as quickly as possible. There are also varieties resistant to the fungus - Houghton, Date, African, Bottle Green, Chernysh.

The gooseberry variety Date, in addition to other undoubted advantages, also has resistance to scab.

The best drugs to combat scab are fungicides. For prevention, bushes are sprayed in early spring. If Bordeaux mixture or copper sulfate is used, the treatment is carried out on unopened buds, other means (HOM, Oksihom, Abiga-Pik, Kuprozan, Oleocuprit) - on newly opened leaves. The second procedure is carried out 7–12 days after the first, the last one in the fall.

The solution of Cuprozan, like other fungicides, is prepared in strict accordance with the instructions given by the manufacturer in the instructions

Folk remedies are used mainly for the prevention of scab. They are not able to stop the spread of the disease and destroy the fungus. Validity period is approximately 7–12 days (or until the first rain). Then the processing will need to be repeated.

• Salt solution (100 g per liter of water). It must not be allowed to fall on the ground. Nothing will grow in such beds at all.
• Infusion of horsetail rhizomes. A third of the volume of a 10-liter bucket is filled with finely chopped raw materials, the rest is topped up with warm water. The product is infused for 3-4 days and filtered before use.

Horsetail is a plant familiar to many, the rhizomes of which are used to prepare an infusion for the prevention of scab.

Powdery mildew

Powdery mildew is the most dangerous disease for gooseberries, from which this crop suffers very often. Spores of the pathogenic fungus are carried by wind or insects. Leaves affected by the disease become covered with a grayish-white coating, similar to scattered powder or flour; after a few weeks it turns brown and “compacts”, turning into solid spots. The leaf blades curl into a tube and dry out. The fungus then spreads to the shoots and fruits. The skin of such berries turns brown and becomes rough, they fall off and cannot be eaten.

Powdery mildew is very easy to identify, but getting rid of it is quite difficult.

Warm weather and high humidity promote the spread of fungus. Old bushes most often suffer from the disease.

Eating gooseberries infected with powdery mildew is strongly discouraged

As a rule, the first signs of the development of powdery mildew are noticeable in late spring. The fungus spreads from bottom to top, so you need to inspect the lower shoots and young shoots most carefully. There are also varieties resistant to the disease - Mashenka, Grushenka, Harlequin, Kolobok, Senator, African, Ural grapes, Finnish, Yubileiny.

The Grushenka gooseberry is not only very beautiful and tasty, it also has “innate” immunity to powdery mildew

You also need to be careful with fertilizing - potassium and phosphorus increase resistance to powdery mildew, nitrogen, on the contrary, slows down the development of young shoots, making them more susceptible to it. During the summer, it is useful to spray the bushes 2-3 times with a solution of simple superphosphate (50 g) and potassium sulfate (20 g) in 10 liters of water. To enhance the effect, add potassium permanganate (3–5 g).

To prevent powdery mildew, leaf buds that have just begun to swell are doused with boiling water or a solution of potassium permanganate (15 g per 10 liters of water). The soil under the bush is dusted with Gaupsin, Glyocladin or Trichodermin, and spilled with a solution of Fitosporin. Then, before flowering and immediately after it, the drugs Topaz, Tiovit, Vectra, and HOM are used. The last treatment is after another 7–10 days.

The drug Topaz, along with some others, is used to prevent powdery mildew on gooseberries

Gooseberries are treated with folk remedies starting from mid-April until autumn with an interval of 10–12 days:

• Soda ash solution (50 g per 10 liters of water). To make it “stick” better to the leaves and shoots, you can add a little laundry or green potassium soap, grated on a fine grater. To enhance the effect - 2-3 aspirin tablets crushed into powder.
• Infusion of wood ash (1 liter jar with 3 liters of boiling water). The product is infused for 2-3 days, filtered before use. It is also an effective foliar feeding containing potassium and phosphorus.
• Kefir or sour milk. Diluted with water in a ratio of 1:8. Fungal spores and mycelium cannot tolerate an acidic environment at all.

Kefir is an acidic medium, and most pathogenic fungi do not like its spores.

At the first signs of the disease, the bushes are treated with Nitrafen (200 g per 10 liters of water). Then Cumulus, Skor are used twice with an interval of 10–12 days. Bushes severely affected by powdery mildew can only be uprooted and burned. The soil in this place and nearby bushes are treated with the same solution.

Gooseberry bushes and the soil under them should be treated with nitrafen as early as possible, when the first suspicious symptoms are detected

Video: how to deal with powdery mildew on gooseberries

Lichen

The presence of a large number of lichens on a gooseberry bush, as a rule, indicates its aging, uncontrolled growth of the crown, or that the shoots froze in winter or received sunburn. Another possible reason is the wrong choice of place for planting (melt water sits under the bush for a long time, groundwater comes close to the surface).

The best prevention of the appearance of lichen on gooseberries is competent and regular pruning. The crown should be evenly illuminated by the sun, and ensuring good aeration is also important. Every five years, it is advisable to rejuvenate the bush, cutting off all shoots older than this age to the growth point. In early spring, gooseberries are sprayed with a solution of iron sulfate (350–400 g per 10 liters of water).

Spraying with iron sulfate is a fairly effective prevention of the appearance of lichen on berry bushes and fruit trees

Detected lichens are cleaned from the bush with an ordinary plastic washcloth. You can also use a clothes brush, a wire “sponge” for dishes, a coarse cloth like matting, or a simple sliver (but nothing sharp so as not to injure the wood). It is best to do this after rain. Lichens absorb moisture, soften, becoming like a sponge.

Cleaned areas of the bark are disinfected by washing with foam of laundry soap, a 2% solution of copper sulfate or wiping with sorrel leaf pulp. The peeled bark is carefully removed, and existing cracks are cleaned with fine sandpaper. The “wounds” are covered with garden pitch, a mixture of fresh cow dung, powdered clay and wood ash, or covered with several layers of oil paint.

Video: how to get rid of moss and lichens on bushes and trees

Folk remedies for preventing diseases and pest attacks

Folk remedies are also useful, but rather for the prevention of diseases. By the way, they help repel many harmful insects from the bushes, which for some reason have a special love for gooseberries. At the first signs of the development of the disease, there is no longer any point in using them. You can only waste time when the bush could still be saved.

But compared to chemicals, they have one undoubted advantage. Folk remedies do not harm plants or humans in any way. Accordingly, during the season the bushes can be processed an unlimited number of times. The effect of the treatment lasts for 7–12 days (or until the first rain).

As practice shows, the following means are most effective:

• Garlic infusion. It is used to prevent scab, rust, and repel aphids and bud mites. Approximately 0.5 kg of arrows and/or cloves of garlic are crushed, pour 3 liters of hot water. After 3-4 days, the infusion is filtered, the grounds at the bottom are squeezed out, and before use it is diluted with water, bringing its volume to 10 liters.
• Decoction of wormwood leaves. Helps protect bushes from attacks of copperhead caterpillars, aphids, and gooseberry moth. Boil 100 g of dry leaves in a water bath for 25–30 minutes, add an infusion of fresh chicken manure (1 kg per 3–4 liters of water), mix well, add water, bringing the total volume to 10 liters.
• Infusion of mustard powder. Repels sawflies and all kinds of caterpillars. 100 g of powder is poured into a liter of water and left for 2-3 days. Before use, filter and dilute with water 1:2.
• Infusion of tobacco. Destroys spores of most pathogenic fungi, repels bud mites and gooseberry moth. About 250 g of dry leaves (preferably grown yourself) or tobacco dust are poured into 10 liters of water, left for 2-3 hours, and filtered before use. Only freshly prepared product has an effect; it cannot be stored, even for several hours. You can simply dust flowering and fruiting bushes with tobacco dust.
• Infusion of celandine. Leaves and stems (3–4 kg) are crushed and 10 liters of water are added. The product is ready in 1.5–2 days. The dry leaves of this plant can be crushed into powder and dusted with gooseberry bushes and the soil under them.
• Infusion of onion peel. Particularly effective against aphids. 200 g of raw material is poured into 10 liters of warm water and left for 10–14 hours. The product cannot be stored for more than a day.
• Decoction of tomato tops. Almost all pests do not like its pungent smell. 2–3 kg of chopped raw materials are poured into 5 liters of water and left for several hours. Then add the same amount of water and boil for half an hour in a water bath. The finished product is cooled and diluted with water 1:4. If necessary, it can be stored in a hermetically sealed container for 4–6 months. A decoction of tansy is prepared in the same way, which helps protect the bushes from the gooseberry moth.
• Infusion of rotted hay. A third of a 10-liter bucket is filled with raw materials, the rest is added with water. Leave for 3-4 days. Before use, filter and dilute with water 1:3.

Photo gallery: what folk remedies can treat gooseberry bushes

Garlic arrows have the same properties as cloves Fresh and dry leaves of wormwood, especially bitter - a source of natural fungicides
Mustard powder can also be used in dry form to dust the leaves and soil under gooseberry bushes Self-grown tobacco is a much more effective remedy than purchased one Celandine is widely used not only in folk medicine, but also in gardening The pungent smell of onion peels repels many pests Tomato leaves have characteristic strong odor - it “interrupts” the smell of gooseberry leaves, confusing insects. An infusion of rotted hay is used to combat aphids and gooseberry moth caterpillars

Diseases attacking gooseberry bushes cause a significant reduction in yield, and can even lead to the death of the bush. Therefore, preventive treatments in spring and autumn, as well as regular examinations for the presence of suspicious symptoms for this crop are a mandatory procedure. For prevention, you can use folk remedies. But if the infection has already spread en masse, only insecticides or preparations of biological origin can help.

The more gooseberry bushes are planted on a personal plot, the richer the harvest will be. At least, that's what novice gardeners think. On the one hand, this approach to growing berries is quite legitimate. But on the other hand, if the plantings are not provided with proper care, the harvest will not only be small, it may not be seen at all. Therefore, as soon as spring is approaching, gooseberries must be processed.

The first thing you need to do right away is to remove unnecessary and defective branches. The second stage of care after pruning is spraying. Everyone knows why to do it - it is protection from a possible, not even possible, but an unconditional “attack” on gooseberry bushes by garden pests. Plus, it protects garden plants from diseases. Regarding pruning, we will assume that it has already been done and move directly to the consideration of treating the bushes with chemicals and natural homemade solutions. Let us consider separately the protection of gooseberries from diseases and separately from garden pests. But first, about something else.

When should you start spraying?

Before processing gooseberries in early spring, you need to be well aware of the timing. This is especially important for gooseberries, because the beginning of its growing season begins much earlier than that of other garden plants. In general terms, spraying the bushes should begin long before the buds open. That's just how to determine this very moment exactly. After all, it may be that today is still early, but tomorrow is too late. In order not to guess and not take risks, treatment should not begin on a specific day, but as soon as the daytime temperature exceeds plus 5ºC. Meeting the deadlines is important not so much as the beginning of bud break, but rather the beginning of the life activity of some types of caterpillars and their subsequent migration to the gooseberry bushes. If this is clear, you can proceed directly to spring processing.

Spraying gooseberries against diseases

There are plenty of plant diseases in the garden. But there is one disease, perhaps the most important, that you need to start fighting first. Not that this is a rule, but if the treatment of gooseberries in the spring against powdery mildew is carried out first, there will be nothing wrong with it. So.

Powdery mildew– conditionally ranks first in its harmfulness. The fungus can develop at any time, on anything, infecting everything in its path, so it needs to be destroyed as early as possible. If possible, use folk remedies without chemicals. If the disease becomes “chronic” or the effect of natural “medicines” needs to be enhanced, then “Topaz” (according to the instructions) or “CHOM” (40 grams per bucket of water) is used.

In the beginning, before the bush is infected with a fungus, it can be effective home remedies and treatments for powdery mildew on gooseberries.

1. In spring, there may still be snow, treat gooseberries with boiling water. Yes, ordinary hot water has been doing a pretty good job of treating powdery mildew for many centuries.

2. A solution of laundry soap and wood ash. For a bucket of water, 1 kilogram of ash and 50 grams of soap for stickiness. Before use, the ash is infused with water for several days. Instead of prolonged infusion, the solution can be boiled for half an hour. The work is carried out between the end of May and the beginning of June three times every other day;

3. Humus diluted with water (proportion 1:3) is infused for three days, after which the resulting slurry is further diluted with water (1:2). Treat once before and after flowering, and once after harvest before leaf fall;

4. Two-day infusion of 200 grams of onion peels in a bucket of boiling water. Processing according to the humus scheme;

5. A solution of 1 liter of kefir and a bucket of water. Treatment three times every three days.

6. As an additional option, treatment of gooseberries in the spring against powdery mildew can be carried out with a solution of ammonium nitrate (50 grams per 10 liters of water).

Anthractosis– the disease is more typical for currants, from which it is transmitted to gooseberries. To prevent infection, the bushes are sprayed with copper sulfate in the form of Bordeaux mixture (100 grams per bucket of water) or colloidal sulfur, Cuprozan, Homycin, before buds open.

Rust– appears in the garden if there are sedge thickets nearby. It is treated with Fitosporin or a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture. Treatment by time: the first time - the leaves bloom, the second time - the separation of buds, the third time - after flowering. In case of severe infection, a fourth spraying is done after 10 days.

White spot– a fungal disease similar to anthractosis. Treatable. How to treat gooseberries in early spring against such a scourge - the same as for anthractic disease.

Spraying gooseberries against pests

The second problem with garden crops is various types of pests. If diseases, to a greater or lesser extent, sometimes make it possible to obtain some kind of harvest, then bugs and worms completely destroy the vegetation. The fight against them must be carried out as effectively as possible. Who is threatening the gooseberry harvest?

Shoot aphid– destroyed by one percent “Fufanon” or “Decis”. As an option - “Agrovertin”, “Arrivo”, “Fitoferm”. In some cases, biological “Green Soap” helps. You can prevent the appearance of adults by treating the gooseberries with hot water before the juice begins to flow.

Kidney mite– in addition to all its shortcomings, it is a carrier of terry. Destroyed by "Karate" (0.2%) or "Decis" (0.1%). For some gardeners who prefer “natural” control methods, spring treatment of gooseberries against pests is carried out without chemicals. Immediately after winter, they treat the gooseberries with hot water. After flowering, a solution consisting of garlic (300 grams), mustard (1 tablespoon), tar (2 tablespoons), onion peels (200 grams) and water (10 liters) is sprayed onto the bushes.

Gooseberry moth and sawflies- the most harmful. Control methods: removing damaged parts of the bush, spraying gooseberries with tobacco infusion or wormwood decoction every week. From chemistry after the separation of buds and immediately after flowering, “Karbofos”, “Karate” or “Iskra” help. Among the biological preparations, “Bitoxibacillin” is used.

Gooseberry moth- the caterpillar again. Afraid of celandine infusion. For 1 liter of water, 100 grams of dried herbs, infused for 2 days.

Shields– for some reason they don’t like a mixture of water (2 liters), kerosene (a teaspoon) and soap (80 grams).

Some general tips for prevention

A properly organized and well-groomed gooseberry bush looks like this:

1. Damaged and diseased branches are cut out from the bushes.

2. There is no debris under or near the bushes in the form of fallen leaves and branches - everything has been removed and burned.

3. The soil in the root zone is fluffed up and lightly mulched with tomato and potato tops.

4. Tomatoes grow in the rows. It turns out to be profitable, useful, and therapeutic.

5. After treatment, the bushes are wet on all sides, not just on top.

6. Branches are above the ground, not on the ground.

7. The distance between individual plantings is at least one and a half meters.

That's all. This is approximately the following spring treatment of gooseberries against pests and diseases in its main aspects. Of course, there are other drugs and folk remedies for the prevention and treatment of gooseberries. But using them all at once not only makes no sense, but is even to some extent harmful to the plant. With experience, “favorite” recipes and methods will appear, but for the first time the suggested ones will suffice.

People usually read along with this article:

The gooseberry grows and expands, and if there are a lot of branches, there should seem to be more harvest. However, in practice, thickening the bush crown leads to a completely different result - the gooseberry fruits become tasteless, small and inconspicuous.

Did you plant gooseberries according to all the rules, but after a while the bush began to get in the way? It doesn’t matter - you can easily transplant it to a new place in the spring. At the same time, you can also plant existing gooseberries, but seedlings are not a problem.

Treatment of grapes in the spring from diseases and pests: spraying after opening.
Immediately after opening the grapes, pests cannot be found. But as soon as the first leaves appear, problems immediately appear in the form of diseases or those who like to feast on green shoots. Therefore, do not forget to stock up on sprayers, chemicals or folk remedies in early spring.

Spring processing of gooseberries is of great importance, since at this time not only the plant itself wakes up, but also pests, and pathogenic microbes become active. Therefore, in order to get a good harvest of berries from the bush, you need to start caring for it even before the buds open. There are many methods for early prevention and control of gooseberry pests and diseases; let’s look at the most effective and efficient of them.

How to process gooseberries in early spring - possible options

After the warm spring sun has driven away the snow, berry bushes growing in summer cottages begin to be actively attacked by various pests. Therefore, in order to protect the plant and get a good berry harvest in early spring, as soon as the temperature outside is positive not only during the day, but also at night, it is necessary to carry out the first treatment of the bushes.

It is difficult to name the exact date suitable for processing the plant, since in this case everything depends on weather and climatic conditions. Spring, moreover, in recent years has been completely unpredictable, with surprises. Therefore, you need to navigate based on the situation and condition of the bush: the best option is when the buds have not yet blossomed and opened.

Processing methods

How and how to process gooseberries in spring? - this question quite often arises among gardeners, especially those who planted this bush on their plot for the first time, or who in the previous year were unable to collect the berries they were growing due to illness or death of the plant. But before answering this question, it is necessary to establish which pests adversely affect the bush and where they winter. Although there is one old proven method that has been used for many years and is considered truly effective. Treating gooseberries with boiling water in the spring is, of course, not a panacea for all ills, but this method gives excellent results. Watering with boiling water is carried out at the end of March - beginning of April before the buds open, when the snow has already melted, but the ground remains frozen (it all depends on individual conditions). To do this, take plain water in an approximate volume of 10 liters for 3 bushes, which is boiled (this can be done in a gas bucket). But you can use the method that is most convenient for you - a boiler, a heating element, a bathhouse in the end. Only the boiled water is poured from the bucket (tank) into the watering can, which, firstly, will provide more convenient and optimal watering, and, secondly, cool the water a little - to about 80 degrees.

It is at this temperature that water will destroy many pests that are already on the branch, and those that overwintered in old leaves, but at the same time will not cause any damage to the bush itself. In this case, it is necessary not only for the plant to have a hot spring shower, but also to thoroughly water the soil under the gooseberries, which will ensure the most effective destruction of pests and microbes that cause diseases. This method is especially miraculous for bushes suffering from powdery mildew and aphids. Some gardeners do not use plain water, but dissolve pharmaceutical aspirin in it (10 tablets of acetylsalicylic acid per bucket of water), which is considered the most effective.

As for spraying gooseberries in the spring with other means, here it is necessary to initially conduct an examination of the bush or remember what the plant suffered from last year. And based on this, select the optimal remedy.

• Powdery mildew

The berries are covered with a white coating, which over time turns into a thicker formation. Accordingly, the fruits become small and develop poorly, losing their taste. The leaves of the plant curl, dry out and fall off. To combat this disease and prevent it, use a soap-soda solution, which can be used even after the gooseberries bloom. For a bucket of water, take 50-70 grams of soda ash and a piece of laundry soap, crushed with a grater. The resulting mixture is used to treat the bushes. No less effective in this case is the ash solution, which is prepared as follows: 1 kg of sifted ash is dissolved in a bucket (12 liters) of warm water, the resulting mixture is infused for a week, stirring thoroughly every day. On the last day, the solution is left untouched, allowing it to infuse. The resulting mixture is filtered, getting rid of sediment, and the bushes are treated with infusion. In order for the liquid to remain on the leaves and branches of the gooseberry, you can add grated laundry soap to the final solution.

In addition, as a preventive measure, the plant is treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate).

Small insects are visible to the naked eye on branches and leaves, destroying leaves, buds, and flowers, which leads to the death of the plant. Spring processing of currants and gooseberries consists of spraying the berry bushes with an infusion of garlic (300g of garlic, leaves and arrows can be infused in a meat grinder in 10 liters of warm water), as well as washing the shoots with a soap solution made from tar soap dissolved in water.

• Shields

This is also an insect. But unlike aphids, it is almost invisible on the branches of the plant. Scale insects stick to the branches and suck the juice out of them, which leads to the death of the gooseberry. For treatment, use the following solution: dissolve approximately 80 grams of crushed laundry soap in one liter of water and add half a teaspoon of kerosene. The resulting mixture is used to treat the bushes. By the way, as for kerosene, many pests cannot stand its smell. But it is necessary to use kerosene with caution, be sure to mix it with water, as otherwise you can harm the bush being treated.

• Sawflies and moths

These pests cause great harm to the plant. Not only do they destroy green shoots, but they also make the berries unsuitable for consumption. As a preventative measure, bushes are sprayed with an infusion of plants that contain phytoncides - garlic, tomato, wormwood, horseradish, etc. In addition, pests of this group cannot tolerate the smell of kerosene (how to properly dilute kerosene was discussed above). You can also spray the bushes with ash infusion.

Biological and chemical-based drugs

Many gardeners have turned their attention to products sold in specialized stores. One such remedy is Fitosparin. Treating gooseberries with Fitosparin in early spring helps protect the plant from fungal and bacterial diseases. Copper sulfate, as well as other preparations that can always be purchased in stores, are no less popular among gardeners.

The biological product Fitoverm shows quite good results in the fight against sucking and leaf-eating pests, which is destructive only for caterpillars and beetles, while there is no effect on birds.

But when working with chemicals, it is necessary to follow certain safety rules, which are prescribed in the instructions, since most of the products are still dangerous to humans if they interact directly and enter the body. All work with these preparations must be carried out strictly before the bush blooms.

But remember that spring spraying and processing of gooseberries is not a salvation from all troubles, but only part of the necessary work, the result of which should be healthy berry bushes and a large harvest of berries. It is imperative to carry out additional prevention and pest control measures - removing bad fruits, dry leaves from under the bush, unhealthy shoots, etc., in order to achieve maximum results.

Material prepared by:

Executive Director of the Association of Gardeners of Russia (APYAPM), leading specialist of APPYAPM on berry crops

Danilova T.A.
Specialist of the Association APPYAPM

Protecting gooseberries from diseases and pests

Gooseberry bushes and berries are often affected by various fungal, viral and non-infectious diseases, and are also damaged by a variety of harmful insects. The lack of systematic control of them leads to the fact that plants develop poorly, produce weak growth, their winter hardiness, yield and quality of fruits decrease. The main diseases of gooseberries include American powdery mildew, leaf spot (anthracnose, septoria), goblet and columnar rust, and leaf marginal necrosis. The most common pests are the gooseberry moth, currant moth, aphids, sawflies, gall midges and borers.

Gooseberry diseases

American powdery mildew, or spheroteca

The most dangerous disease of gooseberries, widespread almost everywhere. The causative agent is the fungus Sphaerotheca mors uvae. Young parts of plants are affected: shoots, leaves, petioles, ovaries and developing berries. The first signs of infection can be noticed soon after flowering, in late May - early June, when a white powdery coating consisting of mycelium and a mass of conidial spores appears on the underside of the leaves. Soon the white coating thickens, turns brown and becomes like felt with small black dots - the fruiting bodies of the fungus (Fig. 1, 2).

The disease causes great harm to the bushes. Shoots slow down or stop growing altogether, become bent, dry out and often die. Leaves curl and wither. The berries stop developing and fall off. Some diseased berries ripen, but remain small and tasteless. Partially or completely covered with plaque, they lose their presentation and become unsuitable for use. By mid-summer, the affected bush has a depressed appearance, and if the disease develops severely, it may die. Infection leads to reduced yields this year and next year.

The mycelium overwinters with fruiting bodies on fallen berries, leaves and shoots. In the spring of the following year, the fruiting bodies crack, and the released spores infect the growing organs of the plant. Over the course of a season, the fungus produces several generations of spores, which are carried by wind, rain, and insects, causing repeated infections.

American powdery mildew primarily affects young plants and organs. With age, plants' resistance to spheroteca increases. Particularly favorable conditions for the spread of the disease are moderate temperature (17 - 28 0 C) and high air humidity (90 - 100%) and the presence of drip moisture. At a humidity of 25–30%, the fungus dies.

Prevention and control measures. Use of sphere-resistant varieties and only healthy planting material. Carrying out agricultural measures aimed at improving the general condition of plants. Destruction of the wintering stage of the fungus - cutting and burning damaged shoots, fallen leaves, autumn and early spring digging of the soil. Thickening of plantings should not be allowed and measures that provoke excessive growth processes should not be avoided - applying excessive amounts of nitrogen fertilizers, heavy pruning. Eradication spraying in early spring, before buds open, and pesticide treatment during the growing season.

Anthracnose, or brown spot

The disease, which occurs everywhere, especially in the central and northern regions, is caused by the fungus Gloeosporium rlbis. This spotting harms gooseberries much less than black currants. Leaves are most often affected, less often their petioles, as well as shoots and berries. The first signs of anthracnose appear in early to mid-June. Small (0.8 - 1.2 mm), vague, irregularly shaped dark brown spots form on the leaves (Fig. 3). With severe development of the disease, the spots merge, occupy a significant part of the leaf blade, the leaves turn brown, dry out, curl and fall off prematurely, remaining only at the ends of growing shoots. On petioles, stalks and shoots, anthracnose appears in the form of small dark or light brown sores, on berries - in the form of small tubercles. In bushes infected with anthracnose, there is a significant reduction in the growth of shoots and the yield of the current and next year, and winter hardiness decreases.

The marsupial stage of the fungus is formed in the autumn-winter period on fallen leaves. In the spring, during the flowering period of gooseberries, ripened fungal spores from last year's plant debris fall on the plants and infect them. Sporulation forms inside the leaf and looks like shiny black tubercles; under favorable conditions, conidia of the fungus emerge from them in the form of white mucous grains, spreading with raindrops, insects and wind. During the summer, several generations of the conidial stage develop.

The disease especially progresses in mid-late summer and develops most strongly at moderate temperatures and high humidity, therefore, in years with high rainfall, massive damage to plantings by anthracnose is observed, resulting in a loss of up to 75% of the crop. During dry seasons, the disease develops less severely. Old leaves are most susceptible to the disease, so anthracnose first appears on the lower tiers of the crown. Brown spot is especially harmful in dense and insufficiently ventilated areas.

Prevention and control measures. Use only healthy planting material. High agricultural technology and optimal planting density. Collecting and burning fallen leaves from anthracosis-affected bushes in autumn or early spring. In small areas at the initial stage of the disease, the affected leaves can be carefully plucked off. Loosening the soil under currant and gooseberry bushes in the fall or spring, embedding the remaining leaves to a depth of at least 10 cm. Eradication spraying in the spring, before buds open, with a 2% nitrafen solution. Use of pesticides during the growing season. The first spraying is carried out after flowering, the second - 25 - 30 days before ripening, the third - immediately after harvesting. It is necessary to treat both the upper and lower sides of the leaves, for which, when spraying, the liquid stream must be directed from the bottom up.

Rice. 3. Appearance of gooseberry leaves affected by anthracnose

Septoria or white spot

The Septoria ribis disease causes particular harm to gooseberries in the central zone of the Russian Federation and its southern regions. Favorable conditions for the maturation of ascospores of the fungus Mycosphaerella grosulariae in the Black Earth Region develop in April - May, the first signs of the disease appear in the 1st - 2nd decade of May - 1st decade of June. The rapid development of the disease occurs in the second half of summer.

Mostly leaves, stems and buds are affected, less often - berries. Initially, small reddish-brown spots of round or angular shape form on the leaves, which are limited by the leaf veins. Then the center of the spots turns white, and a distinct brown border appears along the edges (Fig. 4). At the next stage, small black dots, which are pycnidia of the fungus, become visible in the center of the spot. It is in them that conidia develop, ensuring the spread of the disease. The fungus overwinters on affected shoots and fallen leaves.

When gooseberries are severely affected by septoria, drying out and premature massive shedding of leaves occurs, thereby reducing the winter hardiness of the plants and the yield next year. The development of septoria is facilitated by moderate average daily air temperatures - within 15 - 200C, light frequent rains and the presence of heavy dew. Hot, dry weather and heavy rains have the opposite effect. Gooseberries are more severely affected in areas overgrown with weeds, thickened areas, and poorly ventilated areas. The degree of damage depends on the age of the plantings: unlike American powdery mildew, it increases with the age of the plant and its individual organs.

Prevention and control measures. Use only healthy planting material. Avoid thickening of plantings and the spread of weeds. Agrotechnical measures include removing gooseberries from under the bushes and destroying fallen leaves, regular pruning of bushes with the obligatory cutting of old-growth branches, rejuvenating pruning of plants, annual digging of the soil under the bushes. Application of a complex of macro- and microfertilizers (zinc, manganese, copper and boron) to the soil. Use of pesticides before bud break in early spring and throughout the growing season.

Rice. 4. Manifestation of septoria on gooseberry leaves

Goblet and columnar rust

Gooseberries, like currants, are affected by two types of rust - goblet and columnar, the first to a greater extent. The causative agent of goblet rust is the fungus Puccinia ribesii caricis. At the beginning of summer it affects leaves and ovaries, and less often shoots. Orange spots with yellow spore pads appear on them, which later take the form of small glasses. Sites of infection are clearly visible on the underside of the leaves or against the background of the green ovary (Fig. 5). Yellow spores infect various types of sedges, which are intermediate plants in the fungal development cycle. The fungus develops on sedge leaves all summer and remains there to overwinter in dark brown pads. In spring, the fungal spores are transferred to gooseberry bushes, where they produce only one generation throughout the summer. The disease develops most strongly in wet years and is especially harmful on berry plantations located in low areas with marshy soils, on the outskirts of forests or swamps where sedge grows.

The causative agent of columnar rust, the fungus Cronartium ribicola, is more often found on currants than on gooseberries. In berry crops, it affects exclusively the leaves, on the upper side of which yellow, chlorotic, unevenly distributed spots form. The first signs of the disease appear in June. The intermediate host of columnar rust is five-coniferous pines or Siberian cedar. On the branches of these trees, perennial mycelium is formed, which every spring produces spring spores that infect the berry gardens. During the growing season, rust forms 4-5 generations of summer spores. The fungus Cronartium ribicola reaches its strongest development in humid and warm weather.

The disease of goblet and columnar rust reduces the growth of shoots, the yield of berry gardens and causes premature (40-45 days before natural) leaf fall, which negatively affects the next year's harvest. Plants depleted of rust lose winter hardiness.

Prevention and control measures. You should avoid planting a berry plantation close to coniferous forests and locate the plantings no closer than 200 - 300 m from the sedge thickets. The most radical protective measure to combat glass rust is the destruction of the intermediate host - sedge, on which the spores of the pathogen overwinter. A good effect is achieved by draining waterlogged areas, loosening the soil in late autumn and early spring, removing fallen plant residues from plantations and burning them. Feeding gooseberry bushes with macro-microelements (copper sulfate, zinc sulfate) increases resistance to rust. The use of ammonium nitrate increases the development of the disease.

To combat rust, the berry plant is sprayed with 1% Bordeaux mixture: first when the leaves bloom, second and third after flowering with an interval of 8 - 10 days. During the period of bud swelling, blue spraying with 3% Bordeaux mixture is effective, which replaces repeated treatments.

Fig 5. Gooseberries affected by goblet rust

Leaf marginal necrosis

This gooseberry disease is not infectious. It is associated with a deficiency of potassium in the soil and leaves of plants, as well as the cultivation of gooseberries on poor soils with poor moisture supply.

The disease begins with the death of tissue along the edge of the leaf, which then spreads to almost the entire leaf blade. The affected tissue becomes ash-gray and is separated from the healthy part by a brown stripe (Fig. 6). Subsequently, diseased leaves dry out, which leads to cessation of growth, smaller leaves and can cause the death of the plant. The disease reaches its greatest development by mid-August.

Prevention and control measures. Ensuring a high agricultural background of the plantings, maintaining an optimal balance of minerals in the soil, foliar feeding with potassium solution, carried out at ten-day intervals, starting from the moment the ovary forms.

Fig 6. Marginal necrosis of gooseberry leaves

Viral diseases

Gooseberries are often affected by mosaic disease, which causes yellowing of the primary and secondary veins of the leaves. Sick bushes stop growing and form small curled leaves. The disease is transmitted by aphids.

Prevention and control measures. Use only virus-free planting material. Destruction of aphids - the carrier of the disease. Viral diseases are practically untreatable. Bushes showing signs of disease should be uprooted and burned.

Gooseberry pests

Gooseberry moth

The gooseberry moth (Zophodia convolutella) is a dangerous pest of gooseberries and currants, widespread mainly in northern and central Russia. Also recorded in the Urals and Siberia. In some years, a sharp increase in the number of moths is observed.

The pupae overwinter in the surface layers of the soil directly under the bushes. The mass flight of butterflies occurs during the period of the beginning of flowering - late April-early May. A butterfly with gray wings with a span of 26 - 32 mm. The front wings have a transverse brown stripe, the hind wings are light brown with gray fringe. 2 - 3 days after departure, butterflies lay eggs inside flowers, and if laying is late, on young ovaries. Each butterfly can lay from 100 to 200 eggs in the spring. After about a week, small light green caterpillars hatch, which first damage the ovaries and later feed on the berries (Fig. 7). During its development, the pest damages up to 8 - 15 gooseberry fruits. Damaged berries turn red and dry out long before they ripen. Crawling from one berry to another, the caterpillars entangle them in a web. At the beginning of berry ripening, the caterpillars descend to the soil surface, pupate and remain for the winter. Only one generation develops during the summer.

Control measures. Collection and destruction of prematurely colored berries with caterpillars. Autumn tillage between rows and digging up the soil around bushes with rotation of the layer reduces the wintering stock of the pest. Hilling up the bushes with soil to a height of 10-12 cm in the fall or mulching with peat prevents the butterflies from flying out in the spring. Unhilling is carried out two weeks after flowering.

On industrial plantations, immediately after flowering, plantings are treated with biological products: lepidocide, P, SK (1 - 1.5 kg/ha); bitoxybacillin, P (5 kg/ha). Treatments are repeated after 7 - 8 days. In addition to biological products, karbofos or fufanon are used. In garden plots before and after flowering, Iskra Bio preparations (2 ml per 1 liter of water), Fufanon (10 ml per 10 liters of water) and 0.3% karbofos are used.

Figure 7. Gooseberry berries damaged by moth caterpillars

Currant glass

Currant glassberry (Synanthedon tipuliformis) is a common pest of gooseberries. Yellowish-white or pinkish caterpillars up to 2 cm long hibernate inside woody shoots. In spring they pupate in damaged shoots. In May - June, butterflies fly out of the pupae, whose flight lasts about 1.5 months. The body of the butterfly is bluish-black, the wings are transparent, and narrow yellow stripes are visible on the abdomen (Fig. 8).

The glass beetle lays its eggs one at a time in cracks and damage to the shoot bark at the base of the buds. The caterpillars hatched from eggs bite into the buds and make passages in the core of the shoots, descending to their base, where they subsequently overwinter. As a result, the shoots are stunted, dry out and die. On damaged branches, leaves and berries become smaller. Threshold of harmfulness: in the autumn-winter period - 10% of damaged shoots; in the second half of May, June, July - 15 individuals per trap.

Control measures. The flight of the glass butterfly after wintering is extended over time, so it is difficult to control it. Among the agrotechnical measures that are effective are low (without leaving stumps) pruning and immediate burning of wilted and dried shoots, as well as loosening the soil, especially in May and June.

Upon reaching the threshold of harmfulness, spraying with insecticides Calypso 480 KS, Mospilan 20 SP and other approved drugs is carried out. In small areas, Fitoverm is used (2 ml per 1 liter of water), the bushes and the soil under them are treated in early spring, when the leaves bloom, using 1.5 liters of solution per bush. Immediately after harvesting, it is recommended to spray the bushes with 10% karbofos (75 g per 10 liters of water), but no more than twice.

Rice. 8. Butterfly and currant glass caterpillar.

Gooseberry sawflies

Gooseberries, as well as currants, are most often damaged by two types of sawflies: yellow (Pteronidea ribesii) and pale-footed (Pristiphora pallipes). They are distributed mainly in the European part of the country and in Siberia.

The female pale-legged gooseberry sawfly is 5 - 6 mm long with two pairs of transparent wings, her body is black, her legs are yellowish-white (Fig. 9). Males are very rare, so the sawfly reproduces parthenogenetically. The larvae (false caterpillars) are small, green, about 10 mm long, with 20 legs and a light-colored head. This pest is dangerous not only on industrial plantations, but also in nurseries, since the larvae can damage the growth point of shoots.

Rice. 9. Adult of the pale-footed gooseberry sawfly

The adult of the yellow gooseberry sawfly is 5 - 6 cm long. The female is brighter colored than the male. She has transparent wings, a black head with a yellow border around the eyes, a red chest with a black pattern, yellow legs and abdomen. The larvae are small, up to 17 mm long, grayish-green or greenish-bluish with a black head (Fig. 10).

Rice. 10. Adult and larva of the yellow gooseberry sawfly

The development cycle of sawflies is similar. The larvae overwinter in cocoons in the top layer of soil under bushes. The larvae pupate in early spring. By the time the leaves begin to bloom, an adult sawfly emerges from the pupae and lays eggs on the lower part of the leaf along the large veins. After 7 - 15 days, larvae hatch from the eggs, which feed on the leaves, first gnawing out small holes, and then roughly eat them, leaving only thick veins. After this, the larvae fall to the ground and pupate. With strong development of the sawfly, currant and gooseberry bushes remain without leaves. This greatly weakens the plants, causing a decrease in berry weight and yield.

During the summer, 2–3 generations of the pest develop, the second generation being the most harmful. The number of sawflies varies significantly from year to year, and damage is often focal in nature.

Control measures. Autumn digging of the soil and loosening in order to move sawfly cocoons into deeper layers of soil to make it difficult for adult butterflies to fly out. On industrial plantations during the period when the buds are exposed, the following preparations are used: lepidocide, P, SK (1 - 1.5 kg/ha); bitoxybacillin, P (5 kg/ha); karbofos or fufanon, EC (1 - 2.6 l/ha); actellik or phosbecid, EC (1.5 l/ha); kinmiks, EC (0.24 - 0.48 l/ha). If sawfly numbers are high, treatments are repeated after flowering.

In small areas, shaking off the caterpillars onto the litter or hand picking them from the leaves is effective. Before flowering and after flowering, as well as in the fall after harvesting, spray with Iskra (10 g per 10 liters of water). Plants in an amateur garden can also be sprayed with infusions of insecticidal plants - ash, wormwood, tobacco, garlic.

Gooseberry shoot aphid

The gooseberry shoot aphid (Aphis grossulariae) causes great damage to gooseberry and currant plantings in the European part of the country. Black shiny eggs overwinter on the bark of shoots. The larvae hatch in the spring, during the period of swelling of the buds. Aphids suck juice from buds, leaves and petioles. Damaged leaves curl, as if huddled into a ball. Young shoots become bent, stop growing, and sometimes die (Fig. 11). After flowering, the larvae turn into viviparous females, which colonize the new tops of young shoots. In autumn, aphids lay eggs near the buds that remain over the winter. During the summer, aphids produce several generations. The threshold of harmfulness is 10% of damaged shoots.

Control measures. Spraying before or immediately after flowering with Pirimor 500 VDG, Calypso 480 KS, Mospilan 20 SP. To destroy the wintering stage, the plant is sprayed before buds open with 10% karbofos (75 g per 10 liters of water). At the green cone stage, spraying is repeated to destroy the larvae.

Rice. 11. Gooseberry shoot aphid

Currant borer

The currant borer (Agrilus chrysoderes), like the glass borer, damages the shoots of berry bushes. The larvae are yellow-white, flattened, widened at the head, overwinter inside the shoots, and pupate there. The emergence of young greenish beetles occurs at the end of May - June (Fig. 12). 7 - 10 days after departure, female beetles lay eggs on the bark of shoots and leaf petioles, covering them with their secretions, which harden on the bark in the form of a hard oval shield. 13 - 16 days after oviposition, larvae emerge from the eggs, bite into the shoots and, feeding on their core and wood, descend down the stem. The damaged shoot begins to dry out at the top, quickly covering the entire shoot. As a result, the fruiting of the bush is weakened, the berries become small.

Rice. 12. Larva and beetle of the currant borer

Control measures. Cutting and burning damaged shoots. Using healthy planting material. Timely and competent pruning of bushes in the dormant bud phase. In case of severe infection, it is recommended to spray with trichlorometaphos-3 (10%) - 50-100 g per 10 liters of water (immediately after harvesting). It should be remembered that processing should only be done once.

Gooseberry moth

The gooseberry moth (Abraxas grossulariata) is distributed in the European part of the Russian Federation, the Caucasus, Siberia and the Far East. The moth causes the greatest damage in neglected berry plantations.

The butterfly is up to 43 mm in wingspan, variegated in color: the fore wings are whitish with transverse yellow stripes and rows of black spots, the hind wings are white with black spots along the edge (Fig. 13). The caterpillar is up to 40 mm long, whitish-gray, with black spots and yellow lateral stripes. She moves in a loop.

The caterpillar overwinters in a cobweb cocoon under fallen leaves. In early spring, caterpillars damage the buds by gnawing them out. Later they feed on young leaves: they eat up the entire leaf blade, leaving only the thick veins and petioles intact. As a result, the bushes become bare, the yield and winter hardiness of plants decreases. Caterpillars pupate towards the end of flowering on shoots in a cobweb cocoon. By mid-summer, butterflies appear, the females of which lay eggs on the underside of the leaves. The caterpillars that appear after 2-3 weeks feed on leaves, and in the fall they weave cocoons that fall along with the leaves to the ground, where they overwinter. One-year generation.

Control measures. Autumn and early spring raking and burning of leaves, digging up the soil around the bushes. If there are a large number of moths, the bushes are sprayed with a 0.2-0.3% solution of karbofos: the first - in early spring, when the caterpillars appear after wintering, the second - in the summer, after the caterpillars hatch, but no later than 20-30 days before harvesting .

Rice. 13. Gooseberry moth butterfly

Currant leaf gall midge

Currant leaf gall midge (Dasyneura tetensi) damages gooseberries and black currants. Caterpillars overwinter in the soil. In the spring, pupation and emergence of small (up to 3 mm long) mosquitoes with a brownish-yellow body occur, which lay eggs on the blossoming young leaves. The larvae hatching from the eggs feed on the leaves that have not yet unfolded, causing their deformities. Leaves and shoots damaged by larvae stop growing and their tops die. The emerging side shoots do not have time to become lignified before the end of the growing season, as a result of which they freeze out.

During the season, the gall midge produces several generations. Its propagation is facilitated by mechanical damage and severe pruning of bushes, since this results in the formation of many basal shoots. Most of all, currant leaf gall midge harms plants in nurseries. The threshold of harmfulness is after flowering, as well as in June and July, when caterpillars colonize 20% of the end parts of the shoots.

Control measures. Cutting out and immediately burning shoots damaged by gall midges. Autumn and early spring digging of soil under bushes. Mulching the soil with peat crumbs in a layer of 6 cm. When the first adult insects are detected, treat with Calypso 480 KS, Mospilan 20 SP, as well as other approved pyrethroids. In case of severe infection during the period when the buds are exposed, treatment is carried out with 0.3% karbofos. If necessary, after 7 - 10 days (before the gooseberries begin to bloom), the treatment is repeated.

Protection from pests and diseases is one of the decisive measures in the fight to increase productivity, winter hardiness and durability of berry bush plantings. All phytosanitary measures must be carried out in a timely manner. The greatest success in the fight against pests can be achieved by combining preventive measures with agrotechnical, biological and chemical methods. Currently, effective plant protection systems have been developed, one of which is shown in Table. 1. When choosing a particular drug, you should check whether it is on the list of pesticides and agrochemicals approved for use on the territory of the Russian Federation.

System of protective measures on gooseberry plantations in the Non-Chernozem Zone of Russia (Kulikov I.M., 2005)

Processing time (phenophase)	Pests, diseases	Preparation, consumption rate (kg, l/ha)	Note
Before the leaves bloom	Spider mites, leaf-eating pests, gall midges	Karate 50 g/l EC 0.3-0.4 l/ha Bi-58 new 400 g/l 1.1-1.5 l/ha Danadim 400 g/l EC 1.1-1.5 l/ha Parachute 450 g/kg ISS 0.4*1 kg/ha
Before flowering	American powdery mildew, septoriosis, anthracnose	Strobi 500 g/kg VDG 0.15-0.2 kg/ha	When the buds swell, also spray the soil
	Leaf-eating and sucking pests, sawflies, moths, spider mites	Kinmiks 50 g/l EC 0.24-0.48 l/ha Karbofos 500 g/l EC I -2.6 l/ha Actellik 500 g/l EC 1.5 l/ha	If there is damage during the growing season, use the drugs in alternation
After harvesting the fruits	American powdery mildew	The same drugs as in the previous phase in alternation
	Spider mites	Karbofos 500 g/l EC 1-2.6 l/ha Karate zeon 50 g/l MKS 0.3 kg/ha Karate 50 g/l EC 0.3-0.4 l/ha	If there is damage

PROGRAM FOR PROTECTING GOOSEBERRY FROM PESTS AND DISEASES

Pests and diseases	A drug	Application rates
Before and during flowering
American powdery mildew	Removing shoots
	Nimrod 250 EC	0,75-2,5
	Topsin M 500 SC	1,5
After flowering The waiting period is indicated in brackets
Leaves falling	Dithane Neo Tec 75 WG (28)	3,0-4,5
	Mac-Mankozeb 75% WG (28)	3,0-4,5
	Score 250 EC and others (21)	0,2
	Topsin M 500 SC (14)	1,5
American powdery mildew	Nimrod 250 EC (14)	0,75-2,25
	Score 250 ECetc. (21)	0,2
	Topsin M SC (14)	1,5
Gooseberry black spot	Dithane Neo Tec 75 WG (28)	3,0-4,5
	Mac-Mankozeb 75% WG (28)	3,0-4,5
Aphids	Primor 500 WG (7)	0,75
Yellow gooseberry sawfly and other leaf-eating species, acacia false scale	Fastac 100 EC (7)
	Karate Zeon 050 CS (7)
Spiders
After harvest
American powdery mildew	Nimrod 250 EC (14)	0,75-2,25
	Score 250 ECetc. (21)	0,2
	Topsin M SC (14)	1,5
Leaves falling	Dithane Neo Tec 75 WG (28)	3,0-4,5
	Mac-Mankozeb 75% WG (28)	3,0-4,5
	Poliram 70 WG	4,5
	Score 250 EC and others (21)	0,2
	Topsin M 500 SC (14)	1,5
Ticks	Lack of registered plant protection products to control these pests
Glassware	Fastac 100EC	0,23