An unpretentious perennial shrub has been grown in Russia since time immemorial. Gooseberries are tasty and very he althy, and thorny branches allow the culture to be used as a hedge. With good agricultural technology, gardeners can receive up to 15 kg. berries from one bush, gooseberries can be so prolific. Diseases and insects significantly reduce the yield, so it is important to provide the plant with good care during the growing season. It consists in loosening the soil, timely watering and fertilizing, as well as pruning and removing affected branches and berries.
Diseases and pests of gooseberries
Mainly plants suffer from pathogenic fungi, but they are also susceptible to viruses. It is necessary to carefully examine the gooseberries - diseases usually begin with leaf damage.
Sferoteka
Better known as American powdery mildew, can kill a plant in a few years. In spring, the tops of the shoots and leaves begin to coverwhite coating, which later darkens and becomes like felt. It is difficult to defeat the disease: the fungus overwinters right on the shoots, and the spores remain active in spring and summer.
Control measures:
- purchase gooseberries resistant to the spheroteca in nurseries;
- diseases can be prevented by using bacterial methods: pour rotted manure with water in a ratio of 1:3, leave for 3 days, dilute with two parts of water, strain, process bushes;
- removal of affected branches in spring and autumn, burning diseased berries and plant debris;
- spring treatment of shoot tips with hot water or spraying with 1% copper sulfate solution;
- treatment of bushes with colloidal sulfur before and after flowering, application of potash and phosphate fertilizers in the second half of summer.
Anthracnose
A disease that develops rapidly in conditions of high humidity. Brown spots begin to appear on the stalks and shoots. Gradually spreading, they cause the death of the leaves. The plant is weakening, the yield is falling.
Control measures:
- keep the soil clean from weeds, in early spring and autumn, dig the ground under the bushes;
- in the spring, before bud break, spray the branches and soil with copper sulfate or nitrafen. At the first signs of anthracnose, treat with Bordeaux liquid, but this can be done no later than 1 month before picking berries or 10 days after it.
Columnar and goblet rust
Shows up in June. It's externalsimilar gooseberry diseases (photo can be seen on the right), their appearance is caused by the proximity to sedge grasses and conifers. The outer part of the leaf plate is covered with yellow spots, and orange felt pads form on the underside.
Control measures:
- plant bushes away from pine and cedar plantations and mow sedge near the place where gooseberries grow - the disease can be avoided;
- treatment of bushes with biofungicides or Bordeaux mixture during foliage blooming, when buds are isolated and immediately after flowering.
Pests
There are many harmful insects that are not averse to sharing their crops with gardeners.
Gooseberry shoot aphid
Prefers to settle on young plants. It attacks fresh leaves, which its "attacks" begin to curl and dry out. Females lay their larvae right on the bark for the winter, and in spring the grown colony can settle throughout the garden.
Control measures:
- spraying "Karbofos", "Aktellik", "Hostavik";
- method without the use of chemistry - treatment with infusion of white mustard.
Gooseberry sawfly
The females of this pest lay their eggs on the underside of the leaf, and caterpillars emerge from them within a week. They rapidly devour the foliage, and after 3 weeks they go into the ground to pupate. During the season, 2-3 generations of the sawfly can harm the plant.
Control measures:
- breaking off the affectedovaries, removing fallen leaves, loosening the soil;
- insecticide treatment at bud break and after flowering.
Gooseberry moth
The most common plant pest. One butterfly can lay up to 200 eggs in flowers. The emerging caterpillars bite into the formed ovary, trying to get to the seeds. The habitats of sawfly larvae are covered with cobwebs. Affected berries, not having time to develop, acquire a ripe appearance, then rot and dry out.
Control measures: destruction of spider nests, treatment of bushes with insecticides.
