Features of blackcurrant care
It is difficult to find another berry as rich in vitamin C as blackcurrant. The fruits of the shrub are simply an indispensable assistant for a cold or vitamin deficiency. To get a good harvest, the fruit bush must be properly processed.
Pruning and top dressing of bushes, as well as processing blackcurrants in the spring, should never be skipped.
Most insects harmful to shrubs, having successfully overwintered in the soil or on the branches of a plant, leave their shelters with the onset of spring, actively multiply and quickly destroy young shoots and leaves.
Disease control and prevention is an important spring event for the gardener. After winter, damaged and dried branches are often visible on the bushes. They only burden the currant, and can become a habitat for many parasites. Regular sanitary pruning is part of the proper care of this fruit bush.
Spring spraying currants
How to spray currants in the spring so that the bushes grow healthy and give a big harvest. It is necessary to process a bush in the spring at least 4 times. Spring spraying is intended to prevent infection by diseases such as leaf fall or currant rust, as well as attacks by aphids and other pests.
It is worth starting to spray currants in early spring before the start of the growing season. The advantage of spraying during this period is the absence of harm to pollinating insects that have not yet appeared in the garden. The first spraying can be carried out with oil preparations such as Emulpar 940 EC or Promanal 60 EC.
Note! Unlike pesticides and agrochemicals, biological products do not harm humans, birds or animals. As a rule, they act more slowly than chemicals, often require increased concentration or re-treatment.
Bordeaux liquid is a mixture of quicklime and copper sulfate. It is considered a universal remedy, as it can destroy almost all currant parasites (including buds, spider mites, aphids) and a number of plant diseases.
Promanal is a protective drug used against spider mites, aphids, both on fruit trees and ornamental shrubs and trees. It allows you to safely deal with these pests both in personal and summer cottages, and in ecological farms. Its active ingredient is paraffin oil, which makes it environmentally friendly.
It should be remembered that Promanal is used to control only overwintering stages of pests, usually eggs or early larval stages. Not suitable for the fight against adult forms in full vegetation.
Additional Information! Promanal 60 EC can only be used during the dormant period of plants, mainly at the end of winter and early spring, when there are no leaves on the plants. Emulpar 940 EC can be used during the growing season when the plants have leaves.
Another spring spraying of currants is carried out immediately before flowering against anttacnose. Premature yellowing and falling of currant leaves, (sometimes as early as July and August), may indicate that the plant is affected by anthracnose, also called currant leaf fall.
In household plots for spraying, a preparation approved for use in organic crops Miedzian Extra 350 SC is recommended.
Increasingly, homeowners, wishing to protect their plants from diseases, are looking for ecological methods that are safe for the environment and for themselves. Many plants in household plots can be used for self-preparation of herbal decoctions, useful for fertilizing and protecting other crops. Good examples are a decoction of horsetail for powdery mildew or an infusion of nettle for aphids.
A more environmentally friendly spray is homemade garlic extract.
Garlic decoction works against aphids, carrot moths, currant moths, spider mites, as well as bacterial and fungal diseases. Moreover, garlic extract also has a preventive effect against currant pests, such as: aphids, spider mites, blackcurrant spider mites.
To prepare garlic extract: grind 200 g of garlic cloves, pour 10 liters of water and leave for 3-4 days. After filtering, it can be sprayed (without dilution).
Important! It is impossible to process currants during the active flowering of the bush.
Subsequent spraying is carried out after the flowering of the currant. It may be necessary to control aphids, which colonize the bushes in large numbers in spring, contributing to the formation of deformations and raised red spots on currant leaves. Against aphids, ecological spraying with potash soap with the addition of garlic is recommended.
Spraying against gray rot may also be necessary. Gray rot is one of the most common fungal plant diseases. In the garden, it spreads very quickly, especially during the flowering period of the currant, which is favored by rainy weather. This is primarily a gray, fluffy, dusty coating, as well as brown spots on the stems. Flower buds affected by gray rot turn brown and die, and the fruits rot.
If you notice symptoms of gray rot in the form of a gray powdery coating and discoloration on currant flowers, you should spray it as soon as possible with the biological agent Polyversum WP, which will effectively suppress the development of gray rot. Polyversum WP can be used in the cultivation of many ornamental and fruit plants, as well as vegetables. The most common use of this tool is the fight against gray rot and late blight.
Autumn spraying currants. How to spray currants after harvest?
Since the currant bears fruit from late June (early varieties) to early August (late varieties), the period for post-harvest spraying of currants usually falls on August, sometimes early September. Although many refer to them as fall currant sprays, they are actually usually done in late summer.
If the bushes were slightly exposed to pathogens, after harvesting the currant, chemical-free spraying can be continued using preparations from weeds and herbs (horsetail decoction, garlic infusion, wormwood infusion). However, if the currant is clearly affected by fungal diseases or pests, it is worth deciding on the introduction of chemical protection.
They must be performed if brown spots and premature fall of currant leaves were observed.
Autumn spraying of currants allows you to protect the bushes from diseases and pests that were fought during the growing season. Currants no longer bear fruit, so we can turn to effective chemical protection without fear of contaminating the crop intended for consumption.
What to do with currants in autumn? The main care procedures performed after harvesting the fruits include:
- currant pruning, which allows you to remove all shoots affected by diseases and pests;
- raking and removing fallen leaves on which pathogens can overwinter.
It is on the leaves left under the bushes that fungi can overwinter and infect the plants again next spring (this is how the pathogen that causes anthracnose, i.e. currant leaf fall, hibernates).
Try to choose a more modern variety that is resistant to most diseases and pests for your garden.
