Surely, you have seen a white bloom on currant and gooseberry berries, which darkens over time and causes the berries to wrinkle. In this case, the tops of young shoots are bent, and the leaves acquire an irregular shape and become smaller.
So berry bushes are affected by the fungal disease "powdery mildew". A dangerous infection weakens the bushes so much that in most cases they cannot stand the winter cold.
What preventive measures should you take to keep powdery mildew out of your garden?
To prevent the appearance of powdery mildew on gooseberries and currants is to follow simple, but quite effective rules that prevent infection. Tips from experienced gardeners will help you keep your shrubs healthy and your harvest rich, tasty and healthy.
First of all, you need to choose gooseberry and currant varieties that are powdery mildew resistant and suitable for your region.
- Black currant varieties such as Black Pearl, Moskovskaya or Ussuri have a good reputation.
- Among the gooseberry bushes, look for the thornless varieties. Experience shows that they are more resistant to fungal infections.
- These are the varieties "Ural grapes", "Harlequin", "Kolobok".
The second important point is that when choosing a seedling, you should carefully examine them for defects on the branches and leaves. Sick bushes will die on their own, and will also infect all your healthy bushes with powdery mildew.
The landing site is also important. A sunny place and good ventilation between the bushes are the best prevention of fungal infection.
To prevent illness, it is important for you not to forget about abundant watering of berry bushes, especially in dry weather. Spraying the bushes during the season also shows good results. For the solution, you need to take 3 parts of wood ash to 10 parts of rainwater. The solution is recommended to be infused within 24 hours. It is necessary to spray the shrub every 2 weeks.
Regular loosening of the soil after rainfall or watering, removing weeds, and mulching the root circle helps to saturate the soil with moisture and oxygen, which is important for preventing infection.
In the fall, you need to remove and burn all the fallen deciduous mass. It is in them that harmful fungi are most often stored. And in the spring it is worth paying attention to sanitary pruning of shrubs.
Weak, damaged and excess branches should be removed mercilessly. Thus, the remaining branches will be well illuminated by the sun and, accordingly, have less chance of becoming infected with powdery mildew.
If your berry bushes have been growing in one place for more than 10 years, then the number of harmful organisms in the ground increases significantly, and the immunity to diseases decreases in old plants.
Thus, the prevention of the appearance of powdery mildew in currant and gooseberry bushes - not a one-time event. You will have to take care of the bushes from spring to autumn, but your reward will be a good harvest and health of the berry bushes.
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