Currant is a fruit shrub that can be found in almost any garden area. If you follow all the rules of agricultural technology and conditions for its cultivation, it gives a high yield, rich in vitamins and minerals.
One of the important rules for caring for currants is timely pruning.
Why currants need autumn pruning
The event has the following goals:
- Prepare the bush for the onset of cold weather.
- Heal the plant: remove and burn shoots with signs of disease, damage by pests.
- Form the crown. Cut off improperly growing, weak and thickening branches. The procedure allows you to improve the ventilation of the crown, avoiding excessive moisture and the appearance of fungal diseases. Also, the exercise improves the access of light to the fruits. Berries for the next season ripen large, with high taste.
Procedure rules for black currant
Red and black currant pruning is different. The event is carried out in several stages so that the plant experiences less stress and does not die.
The procedure is done with a sharp, well-disinfected instrument. For branches up to 1.5 cm thick, use a pruner or brush cutter.
They start pruning only if the plant is completely healthy. When signs of disease or damage from insect pests are found, the problem is dealt with first.
Adhere to the following rules:
- Thoroughly clean the trunk circle from mulch, loose leaves and weeds. Plants are burned.
- First of all, brown shoots are subject to removal, and on which there are signs of mold and lichen.
- All dry, broken and weak ones with signs of disease and insect infestation are removed.
- Branches lying on the ground are cut or covered with earth. Next year, they will take root, and they can be separated from the mother bush.
- The middle of the bush is thinned out so that there is enough light inside and the air circulates freely.
- Cut short basal branches. They thicken and drain the plant, but do not bear fruit.
- Annual increments are shortened by 6 cm.
At the end of the procedure, the black currant bush and the soil under it are treated with special agents against fungal infections and insect pests. Then the necessary fertilizers are applied, and the trunk circle is mulched:
- peat;
- humus;
- sawdust.
Scheme of pruning of uneven-aged black currant bushes
The procedure for different ages is different. An annual seedling has no more than 4 shoots. It is they who are cut off in the autumn, leaving 2 pairs of real buds on each.
The plant grows next year. When repeated, they leave the 3 strongest branches that come from the root. Unripe tops are removed, leaving lignified parts.
In the third year, 4 of the strongest shoots are left. The following parts of the bush are cut off:
- small growth;
- strong branches of the second order;
- thickening the center of the bush.
Thickening shoots are cut out regardless of how many buds are formed on them.
Rules for pruning red and white currants
Pruning these plants has some differences, as the bushes develop more slowly, produce less growth and are much easier to form than black currants.
In the process, 1/3 of the root growth is left, choosing branches that will potentially bear fruit.
Then cut off diseased shoots and with signs of damage by pests.
Fruiting branches are pruned only for the next season, first forming a replacement for them. Exactly as many shoots are removed as the replacing ones were left.
Adhering to the rules for pruning currant bushes, young strong plants are obtained. They give a bountiful harvest with high palatability.
Read also:How to properly prune strawberries after harvest
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