Currant diseases and their control, photos

As we all know, it's better to take preventative measures early than to struggle later with searching for answers to the question: what are currant diseases and how to treat them? Looking at photos and comparing them, trying to figure out what nasty thing has taken up residence on the bushes, undermining their health and ruining the harvest. Therefore, promptly remove damaged and diseased leaves and twigs from the bushes.

Burn them to prevent the spread of disease, prune them regularly to prevent the bushes from becoming too dense and to ensure maximum sun and airflow, dig around the bushes, remove weeds, water moderately, and fertilize on time. This alone will be half the battle. And if your currant bushes are attacked by diseases or pests, we'll tell you how to combat them.

Anthracnose

This disease can completely destroy bushes if not addressed promptly. Initially (usually in May), brown-burgundy bumps appear on the leaves, then they begin to grow until they encircle the entire leaf. Then the leaves turn yellow and fall off, the plant slows down, and the fruit fails to ripen.

How to fightThe most important thing is to dig up the soil around the bushes in the spring and fall. Before bud break, spray the bushes with copper sulfate, and during the growing season, spray with Bordeaux mixture (a 1% solution is sufficient), but do so four times per season (when the buds open, then after flowering, then 20 days later, and after the harvest).
Some also successfully use copper sulfate and colloidal sulfur.

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Terry

All sorts of small pests, like aphids and spider mites, spread this virus-induced terry disease very quickly. The leaves change color, become misshapen, and the flowers turn purple and take on a terry appearance. Affected bushes do not bear fruit.

Control measures: cut off the branches; if the bush is heavily affected, remove and burn it without regret, as it will infect other plantings.

Goblet rust

If you see yellow-orange pads on the leaves, these are the spores of fungi, which most often attack blackcurrants. The spores are carried by the wind, so it's important to get rid of the infection immediately before all the bushes become infected.

Control measuresIn the fall, after the bushes shed their leaves, treat them with nitrofen (a 3% solution is sufficient). Collect and destroy the leaves, dig up the soil, and remove weeds.
In the spring, spray with nitrafen before flowering, and in the summer, treat several times with cuprozan and colloidal sulfur, two weeks apart, and then repeat after the berries have disappeared from the bush. Pay particular attention to the undersides of the leaves.

Powdery mildew

Leaves covered with a light coating, as if sprinkled with flour, indicate that your bushes have been attacked by powdery mildew.

How to fightApply nitrofen or ferrous sulfate (3%) to both the bush itself and the soil beneath. Repeat every ten days.

 

Currant pestsIn addition to fungal and viral diseases, currant bushes are attacked by various pests such as spider mites, emerald worms, gall midges, and so on. Let's take a closer look at how to recognize them and eliminate them.
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Kidney mite

Very dangerous, can undergo reversion, and must be destroyed!

Control measures: burn affected branches every 2 weeks, burn fallen leaves as well, spray with dinosol (1.5% solution) in winter, which will also serve as a preventative measure against other diseases.

Narrow-bodied borer

If you notice that seemingly healthy bushes are suddenly drying out, check for the presence of black currant beetles. Cut open a dried shoot and you'll find the larvae. They'll survive the winter in the shoots, only to attack your currants with renewed vigor and in greater numbers in the spring, destroying them.

How to treat currants for the berry borerRemove and burn dried shoots where larvae have already settled. After flowering, treat with malathion, repeating the treatment after 2-3 weeks.

Leaf gall midge

If you notice leaves curling and deforming in May or June, a gall midge has visited them, and the larvae of this pest are already feasting on the young leaves. The foliage turns brown, curls, and dries up.

How to fightCut and burn shoots affected by the larvae, spray the bushes with a mixture of malathion and chlorophos (1.5:1). As a preventative measure, dig and cultivate the soil.

It's important to understand that red currants are easier to grow because they're less susceptible to diseases, with the exception of powdery mildew. Black currants, like gooseberries, are susceptible to many diseases, and they share the same pests.

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