Gooseberry diseases and pests: description and treatment

Powdery mildew on gooseberries what to do

Powdery mildew is one of the most common diseases of gooseberries, especially if the bush is many years old.

The scientific name for powdery mildew is spheroteca.

Gooseberry disease begins with a white coating on the berries, leaves, shoots and ovaries. It spreads quickly throughout the plant. The plaque changes color to brown and becomes felt-like. Powdery mildew on gooseberries looks like a dense, fleecy brownish coating. All affected areas begin to deform, bend, leaves curl, and berries dry out.

The disease begins to develop in May, when the gooseberry has an active growing season. Favorable conditions: hot and humid weather.

Powdery mildew is a fungal disease. Spores are released twice a year: in spring and summer. Therefore, treatment against the fungus is carried out before flowering, after it and when the leaves fall off.

The spores overwinter in the litter, so you need to rake up the fallen leaves and burn them. And spray the soil around with fungicides.

You can clean gooseberry berries and leaves from powdery mildew spores using traditional methods, but only at the early stage of the disease, or using chemicals. You can find out more about ways to combat powdery mildew on gooseberries here.

Remedy for powdery mildew on gooseberries

In case of severe powdery mildew infection, only chemical fungicides can cope with the disease. Before and after flowering apply:

• Fitosporin . The drug is sprayed in the spring before the flowers appear.
• HOM is one of the most powerful drugs against powdery mildew. Dissolve 40 g of the product in a bucket of water. Spray until flowers appear.
• Urea . 200 g of the substance are diluted in a bucket of water. Gooseberry bushes are treated against powdery mildew 3-4 times per season with a break of 2 weeks.
• Bordeaux mixture . It is obtained from a bucket of water, 0.3 kg of quicklime and 0.3 kg of copper sulfate. The bush should not be sprayed, but washed after flowering; the procedure is carried out twice with a break of a week.
• Copper sulfate . Dissolve 10 g of laundry soap and 25 g of copper sulfate in 5 liters of water. Stir until smooth.
• Fitosporin M is a remedy for powdery mildew on gooseberries when the disease has not yet developed. This is an excellent disease prevention.
• Furacilin . One tablet is diluted in a liter of water and the leaves and shoots are thoroughly washed until flowers form.
• Metronidazole . A couple of tablets per 1 liter of water. The bush is washed with the solution before the plant begins to bloom.
• Speed _ Dilute and use the drug according to the instructions.
• Topaz . Dilute the drug according to the instructions. Treatment is carried out until flowers appear.

Here are the options you can buy:

Folk remedies for powdery mildew on gooseberries

Among the traditional methods that are effective:

• Ash solution - dilute 3 kg of the substance in a bucket of water. Processed at the end of May and beginning of June for several days in a row. The entire bush must be washed thoroughly.
• Urea or mullein solution . 250 ml of the substance is dissolved in half a bucket. You need to water the bush before flowers form.
• A solution of soda and soap . 10 g are diluted in a bucket of water. Dissolve ordinary baking soda and half a bar of laundry soap in a bucket of water until smooth. Leaves and shoots need to be washed in the spring and several times during the season.
• Iodine . A few drops of iodine dissolve 1 liter of water and water the bush before and after flowering.
• Kefir or whey, or any other fermented milk products will do. Dilute in water in a ratio of 1:10 and water the bush, washing off the dew.
• Decoctions of horsetail, wormwood, tansy . Dry raw materials are poured with a bucket of water, left for an hour, boiled and watered on the gooseberry bush.

Gooseberry pests and their control

Gooseberry pests can be very different. Read more about them and methods of struggle below.

Spider mite

When an inconspicuous cobweb appears on the underside of the leaves, which becomes clearly visible if you pour water on the leaf, it means that a spider mite has settled on the gooseberry.

These mites feed by sucking sap from leaves. A whitish spot appears at the puncture sites. At first it is small, then it grows. The leaves dry out and fall off. Bushes affected by mites lose productivity and frost resistance.

It is advisable to carry out treatments against spider mites before fruit set, otherwise the harvest will be inedible. Insect repellents will not work; acaricides (anti-mite) are needed. You will have to use the drug 2, and possibly 3 times.

If many leaves are affected, treatments must be carried out with different preparations; there is a risk that the mite will get used to the same product. Spray the bushes at intervals of 7-10 days, no more.

The drugs have almost no effect on mite eggs, and the second treatment must be carried out in time when new mites have hatched from eggs that have already been laid, but have not yet had time to leave their offspring.

Currant bud mite

The bud mite begins to reproduce when the buds swell (the eggs are laid in them), and finishes doing this when the ovaries form. The mite reproduces quickly, producing several generations per season, and each one colonizes new buds.

The affected buds resemble a head of cabbage with a diameter of about 1 cm. As a result, leaves and young shoots on diseased bushes develop incorrectly, the plant cannot fully perform photosynthesis, and its yield drops to almost zero.

In addition, spider mites carry the mosaic virus. Control measures:

• In early spring or late autumn, when the buds are inactive, tie the branches of the bushes and pour boiling water over the gooseberries. By the way, this will increase the gooseberry’s resistance to powdery mildew.
• If the damage is minor, you can pluck all the diseased buds from the bush and burn them. They do this in the fall.
• In case of severe damage, the bush is completely pruned (“to the stump”), trying not to lose a single bud, and the branches are burned. After the procedure, it is better to treat garden tools with acaricides.
• You can choose an acaricidal drug that meets the needs of your particular bush. Either pure or effective on insects too.
• If you plan to root the cuttings, treat them with a daily brew: take 10 g of black tea for 10 liters of water, leave for a day, then immerse the petioles in the broth for 3 hours.

Colloidal sulfur, which many recommend as an effective acaricide, cannot be used on gooseberries, as the leaves may fall off.

Gooseberry moth

Green caterpillars with a black head, only 12 mm in size, feed on both gooseberries and currants. Moth pupae overwinter in the top layer of soil and hatch when the gooseberry blossoms. Butterflies lay eggs first in flowers, then on the ovary.

The first caterpillars eat flowers, and the later generation eats seeds and fruit pulp. Damaged berries darken, then rot or dry out. Where the caterpillar has settled, the branch will be woven with a clearly visible web.

By mid-June, the caterpillars turn into pupae and prepare for wintering right under the bush. It’s easy to destroy them: just loosen the soil under the bush well just before frost. Instead, you can hill up or mulch the bushes in late autumn, then in the spring the butterflies will not be able to fly out.

To prevent the moth from starting on the bushes, use a soap-ash solution, decoctions of onions, tansy, and yarrow to spray gooseberries during flowering and the formation of ovaries. You can plant tomatoes near the bushes; their smell will also repel the caterpillars.

If single berries are affected, collect the caterpillars by hand. If the bush is seriously infected, you can use industrial insecticides, after making sure that they can be used during the formation of ovaries and ripening of fruits. Pheromone traps work well against all types of caterpillars.

Gooseberry sawfly and gooseberry moth

The sawfly's body is bluish-green in color, with black spots. Moths are more noticeable: bright yellow with black stripes and spots, reaching 3-4 cm in length.

Both species feed on leaves and, if they multiply, can almost completely deplete a bush in just a week. Control methods are the same as with gooseberry moth.

Glassware

If the shoots of the bush suddenly begin to wither, and a black spot is clearly visible on the cut of the dead branch, then the glass has killed the branch. This wasp-like butterfly feeds on gooseberries as an adult and lays its eggs in cracks at the tips of branches or near buds.

Upon hatching, the caterpillar moves along the core of the branch to its base. The death of branches due to the fault of glassworts occurs immediately after flowering. If this happens, immediately cut the branch to the ground and burn it.

You can bring this butterfly to the site with planting material. If you can protect yourself from this, then you can’t protect yourself from your neighbor’s glass panes. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the bird cherry tree from the site, which attracts these butterflies, and plant an elderberry tree, which repels them.

Like other butterflies, the glass beetle does not like the smell of tomatoes, calendula, onions and garlic, marigolds, and nasturtiums. The butterfly is guided by the smell, and all these plants perfectly camouflage the target bushes.

Treatment of bushes is carried out by pruning: in case of significant damage - “under the stump”, in other cases - to the cut without a black dot in the core. Coat the sections with garden varnish.

In May-June, once a week, loosen the soil under the bushes with ash and tobacco dust, this should prevent the caterpillars from pupating. Treat gooseberries, currants and raspberries with insecticides as soon as the first leaves appear on them, and repeat the treatment after 10-14 days. It is important to spray all three crops, since the life of the glass is closely connected with each of them.

Aphid

The well-known sucking insect feeds on plant sap, which leads to deformation of shoots and leaves. Usually this is the first sign of gooseberry aphids; the colony itself can only be noticed when it has already reached gigantic proportions.

In this case, you will have to use insecticides. If the aphids have just begun to colonize the bush, it is enough to cut off the affected shoots and burn them.

Aphids not only reduce plant yields, they can transmit incurable viral diseases of gooseberries. The aphids themselves are brought to the site by ants. Therefore, no matter how sorry you are for these hardworking insects, when aphids appear, anthills will have to be removed from the site.

During the fruiting period of gooseberries, you can restrain the growth of an aphid colony using a soap solution (250 g per bucket of water).

Gall midges

These are small, only 3 mm long, insects similar to mosquitoes. Among the many species of these insects there are useful ones, for example, those that eat aphids. But there are also pests, and gooseberries and currants have as many as three of these types: shoots, flowers and leaves.

It is almost impossible to notice the gall midges themselves, but the results of their vital activity are striking: drying branches, dried or curled leaves at the ends of branches, drying ovaries - all this will not pass the eye of an experienced gardener.

Gall midges are fought in the same way as caterpillars. One of the peculiarities is that gall midges are well repelled by tomato tops, steamed for a day with laundry soap (5 kg of tops and 250 g of soap per 10 liters of water).

The bushes are treated with infusion 2-3 times every couple of days. In addition, gall midges do not like the aroma of mint, so it is good to plant it next to bushes even without signs of damage, which will be an excellent prevention.

Scab on gooseberries

First, scab affects the leaves, on which dark brown spots form. Disputes ripen in them. The spots increase in size and spread throughout the entire leaf blade. Scab affects the berries, which become deformed and burst. Other spores and viruses enter through the cracks.

Favorable conditions for the development of the disease are warm, hot and humid weather. The longer the bush is in a humid environment, the more severe the gooseberry disease develops.

Scab spores overwinter in fallen leaves. Therefore, the first preventative measure is to remove leaves and fallen berries in autumn and spring.

Symptoms of the disease are:

• dark (brown or black spots on the leaves), irregular in shape, sometimes can cover the entire plate completely;
• yellowing of foliage;
• dying, drying of shoots;
• damage to flower buds;
• cracks and spots on the fruit.

You can fight gooseberry scab using traditional methods and chemicals. It all depends on the degree of infection.

With a small lesion, scab on gooseberries can be treated using traditional methods:

• Horsetail infusion. The dry material is poured with a bucket of water and left for 3 days. The prepared infusion is poured over the entire bush.
• Salt solution . 1 kg of salt is dissolved in a bucket of water. Spray all leaves, shoots and berries.

To destroy scab on gooseberries, the plant must be treated with fungicides. They are used in the spring before the growing season begins. The plant is treated several times with a break of 1-2 weeks, depending on whether the bush was sick before.

How to properly treat bushes

To achieve the right effect from treating plantings, you need to take into account a number of nuances. When planning to spray plants, you need to take into account the time of year, the state of the crop, the stage of gooseberry development and environmental conditions.

in spring

Among many crops, gooseberries begin the growing season as one of the first in the garden plot. Spring treatment should be done early, immediately after the snow melts. Early treatment of plants allows you to eliminate most of the overwintered pests and spores of fungal infections. During this period, you can use specialized insecticidal preparations or a solution of copper sulfate with urea. Large pests are removed by hand, and twisted gooseberry shoots are cut off with pruning shears.

After flowering

When the flowering stage has passed, it is enough to spray the gooseberries for preventive purposes. To protect plants, you need to treat them with insecticides against pests and fungicides against diseases.

In summer

During the summer period, gooseberries are treated with biological products. It is recommended to use the substances “Fitosporin”, “Bitoxibacillin” and “Fitoverm”.

From pests

An effective way to treat gooseberries against pests is the use of insecticides. If there is a small accumulation of insects, it is enough to spray the bushes once.

in autumn

To be safe, it is recommended to carry out additional treatment with biological products in the fall. If the plant is in a depressed state, it is also worth using folk remedies.

Problem solving

When growing gooseberries, many gardeners encounter problems. In order not to destroy the plants, you should familiarize yourself with options for solving difficulties.

Does not grow or grows poorly

The reasons for poor gooseberry growth are unsuitable location and lack of fertilizer. In the first case, replanting the plant is required, and in the second, it is enough to add the necessary fertilizing.

Doesn't bear fruit

The likely reason for the lack of fruiting of gooseberries is the presence of old branches. In order for gooseberries to bear fruit, the plant must be pruned periodically. The formation of bushes not only promotes the active growth of new shoots, but also allows you to give the plantings a decorative appearance.

The leaves are turning red

If the leaves are colored red, this is due to a lack of iron and boron in the soil. Applying appropriate fertilizers helps restore the natural color of the foliage.

Shoots or leaves dry out

Drying of plant parts occurs due to damage by pests or infections. Depending on the disease, gooseberries are treated with insecticides and fungicides.

Damaged leaves

When the leaves dry out and curl, it means they have been infected by a virus. The problem can be eliminated by treating the leaves with ready-made preparations or a boiled solution of wood ash.

Berry fall

Most often, fruits fall off due to the influence of the sawfly on the gooseberry. You can stop crop fall by fighting harmful insects.

White plaque

The appearance of a white coating is associated with the plant being affected by powdery mildew. To preserve the gooseberry harvest, you need to take standard measures to eliminate the disease.

Brown spots

When gooseberries are covered in small brown spots, this is a sign of anthracnose. Treating the plant with Bordeaux mixture helps eliminate the infection and restore normal development of the bushes.

Bright yellow pattern on leaves

The formation of bright yellow patterns on the surface of gooseberry leaf blades is a sign of exposure to the virus. Measures to solve the problem depend on the specific disease, so you need to examine the plant and find out the disease based on other signs. Affected gooseberry leaves can be cut off to prevent the spread of infection.

Currant borer

Beetles called currant borers settle on gooseberries in early summer. Golden borers feed on leaves and lay eggs on the bark of shoots, covering them with mucous shields. To destroy pest larvae, you need to cut and burn fading and drying gooseberry shoots. During the spring, several treatments with intestinal poisons are carried out.

Black plaque

The cause of black plaque is fungal pathogens. Treatment of plaque involves removing the affected gooseberries and treating the plantings with a Fitosporin solution. The main preventive measure is full compliance with the rules of agricultural technology.

Gray plaque

The formation of gray plaque on the leaves and fruits of gooseberries is caused by rust. Just as in the case of black plaque, to treat shrubs, gooseberries are sprayed with the agrochemical “Fitosporin”.

Necrosis

Necrosis infection begins with gooseberry leaves, which leads to the death of their edges. Gradually, necrotic spots become gray and spread to the fruits. The reason for the development of necrosis is a lack of nutritional components and violation of the rules of plant care. Following agricultural practices and regular application of fertilizing helps prevent the occurrence of necrosis.

Gooseberry septoria

A disease caused by a fungus affects leaves and berries. Brown spots with a white, transparent core and a dark border form on the plates. The peak of disease development occurs at the beginning of June. These spots are the sphere of development of fungal spores.

Favorable conditions: humid, hot weather and very dense branches. Due to septoria blight, leaves fall, and next year you may lose the harvest.

You will have to fight septoria in the following way:

• Dig up the soil around the bushes;
• Collect fallen leaves and berries in spring and fall;
• Thin out the branches so that there is no thickening inside the bush;
• Apply potassium-phosphorus fertilizers;
• Spray with Fundazol, Fitosporin, Ordan, Abika-pik, Profit Gold.

Septoria or white spot

The Septoria ribis disease causes particular harm to gooseberries in the central zone of the Russian Federation and its southern regions. Favorable conditions for the maturation of ascospores of the fungus Mycosphaerella grosulariae in the Black Earth Region develop in April - May, the first signs of the disease appear in the 1st - 2nd decade of May - 1st decade of June. The rapid development of the disease occurs in the second half of summer.

Mostly leaves, stems and buds are affected, less often - berries. Initially, small reddish-brown spots of round or angular shape form on the leaves, which are limited by the leaf veins. Then the center of the spots turns white, and a distinct brown border appears along the edges (Fig. 4). At the next stage, small black dots, which are pycnidia of the fungus, become visible in the center of the spot. It is in them that conidia develop, ensuring the spread of the disease. The fungus overwinters on affected shoots and fallen leaves.

When gooseberries are severely affected by septoria, drying out and premature massive shedding of leaves occurs, thereby reducing the winter hardiness of the plants and the yield next year. The development of septoria is facilitated by moderate average daily air temperatures - within 15 - 200C, light frequent rains and the presence of heavy dew. Hot, dry weather and heavy rains have the opposite effect. Gooseberries are more severely affected in areas overgrown with weeds, thickened areas, and poorly ventilated areas. The degree of damage depends on the age of the plantings: unlike American powdery mildew, it increases with the age of the plant and its individual organs.

Prevention and control measures. Use only healthy planting material. Avoid thickening of plantings and the spread of weeds. Agrotechnical measures include removing gooseberries from under the bushes and destroying fallen leaves, regular pruning of bushes with the obligatory cutting of old-growth branches, rejuvenating pruning of plants, annual digging of the soil under the bushes. Application of a complex of macro- and microfertilizers (zinc, manganese, copper and boron) to the soil. Use of pesticides before bud break in early spring and throughout the growing season.

Rice. 4. Manifestation of septoria on gooseberry leaves

Gooseberry anthracnose

Anthracnose is a fungal disease. It is carried by wind, insects and rain. It develops under humidity and heat, a deficiency of potassium and phosphorus fertilizers, and high soil acidity.

Anthracnose appears as dark spots on the leaves. This is a dangerous disease that can deprive you of your harvest. It develops in hot and humid weather. Young branches become bent, dry out or rot. Spots appear on the berries, the peel bursts and rots. The plant may die.

Signs of anthracnose development are:

• Dark spots appear on the leaves;
• After the leaves fall, the disease spreads to the berries;
• The shoots are deformed, there is a lot of dry and fallen leaves.

Before the buds appear, the branches need to be treated with Bordeaux mixture. Repeat spraying after harvest. Such drugs as Ordan, Fundazol, Abika-Pik, Profit Gold,

Currant borer

The currant borer (Agrilus chrysoderes), like the glass borer, damages the shoots of berry bushes. The larvae are yellow-white, flattened, widened at the head, overwinter inside the shoots, and pupate there. The emergence of young greenish beetles occurs at the end of May - June (Fig. 12). 7 - 10 days after departure, female beetles lay eggs on the bark of shoots and leaf petioles, covering them with their secretions, which harden on the bark in the form of a hard oval shield. 13 - 16 days after oviposition, larvae emerge from the eggs, bite into the shoots and, feeding on their core and wood, descend down the stem. The damaged shoot begins to dry out at the top, quickly covering the entire shoot. As a result, the fruiting of the bush is weakened, the berries become small.

Rice. 12. Larva and beetle of the currant borer

Control measures. Cutting and burning damaged shoots. Using healthy planting material. Timely and competent pruning of bushes in the dormant bud phase. In case of severe infection, it is recommended to spray with trichlorometaphos-3 (10%) - 50-100 g per 10 liters of water (immediately after harvesting). It should be remembered that processing should only be done once.

Rust on gooseberries

Gooseberries are subject to two types of rust: columnar and goblet. It is spread by wind, insects, rain, and spores settle on weeds. Gooseberry infection occurs in the spring. Signs of rust damage are:

• yellow spots on fruits and leaves;
• the spots enlarge and swell, changing the color of the gooseberries to brown and rusty;
• deformation of shoots, leaves and falling berries.

Glass rust

Columnar rust

If measures are not taken in time, the plant will soon die. Disease control measures include prevention and treatment. Development can be prevented if:

• remove old leaves and grass from last year;
• destroy infected leaves and berries from the bush;
• periodically water the gooseberries with Bordeaux mixture;
• timely fertilizing with potassium-phosphorus fertilizers;
• watering the bush without splashing the leaves.

To prevent the development of gooseberry disease, water the bush with a solution of copper sulfate.

The following help fight rust that has already appeared:

• Abica-Pic solution. Treat twice with an interval of 14 days.
• Bayleton powder solution. The product takes effect within a couple of hours.
• Drug Topaz. Treatment is carried out 3-4 times during the growing season at intervals of 21 days.
• HOM powder solution. The drug is used twice: before and after the flowers appear.

Also, as a preventive measure, periodic treatment of the bush with a soap solution is added.

Currant leaf gall midge

Currant leaf gall midge (Dasyneura tetensi) damages gooseberries and black currants. Caterpillars overwinter in the soil. In the spring, pupation and emergence of small (up to 3 mm long) mosquitoes with a brownish-yellow body occur, which lay eggs on the blossoming young leaves. The larvae hatching from the eggs feed on the leaves that have not yet unfolded, causing their deformities. Leaves and shoots damaged by larvae stop growing and their tops die. The emerging side shoots do not have time to become lignified before the end of the growing season, as a result of which they freeze out.

During the season, the gall midge produces several generations. Its propagation is facilitated by mechanical damage and severe pruning of bushes, since this results in the formation of many basal shoots. Most of all, currant leaf gall midge harms plants in nurseries. The threshold of harmfulness is after flowering, as well as in June and July, when caterpillars colonize 20% of the end parts of the shoots.

Control measures. Cutting out and immediately burning shoots damaged by gall midges. Autumn and early spring digging of soil under bushes. Mulching the soil with peat crumbs in a layer of 6 cm. When the first adult insects are detected, treat with Calypso 480 KS, Mospilan 20 SP, as well as other approved pyrethroids. In case of severe infection during the period when the buds are exposed, treatment is carried out with 0.3% karbofos. If necessary, after 7 - 10 days (before the gooseberries begin to bloom), the treatment is repeated.

Protection from pests and diseases is one of the decisive measures in the fight to increase productivity, winter hardiness and durability of berry bush plantings. All phytosanitary measures must be carried out in a timely manner. The greatest success in the fight against pests can be achieved by combining preventive measures with agrotechnical, biological and chemical methods. Currently, effective plant protection systems have been developed, one of which is shown in Table. 1. When choosing a particular drug, you should check whether it is on the list of pesticides and agrochemicals approved for use on the territory of the Russian Federation.

System of protective measures on gooseberry plantations in the Non-Black Earth Zone of Russia (Kulikov I.M., 2005)

How to fight gray rot on gooseberries

Gray rot is a dangerous disease that affects the lower part of gooseberry branches. As a result, the berries fall off. This way you can lose your harvest, but the disease is not particularly dangerous for the plant.

Gray mold must be combated by collecting affected berries and cutting out shoots. The crown is also thinned and fallen leaves are collected. The bush needs to be provided with favorable growth conditions, then it itself will be able to resist the disease.

Peculiarities of crop processing by season

The gooseberry has gained the reputation of a simple and unpretentious shrub that bears fruit abundantly in any season. But experienced gardeners will definitely note the need for proper feeding of the crop, as well as its susceptibility to various infections and pest attacks.

There are many problems: insects, mites, and dangerous viral and fungal infections that eat leaves and young shoots. Insecticides and acaricides are used to kill pests. Diseases are treated with fungicides, biological and folk remedies.

They take into account the stages of plant growth and development, the specifics of diseases and pests, and the peculiarities of the action of drugs. Treatments begin in early spring, continue in summer and autumn, wisely using available means. In addition to spraying the plantings, they cultivate the soil, carry out sanitary pruning, and remove diseased and deformed branches.

Each season has its own methods and preparations. In the spring, before sap flow, it is recommended to spray against pests with contact chemicals and folk remedies.

At the green cone stage, the use of contact and systemic chemicals (from insects and ticks), fungicides from infections is indicated. If necessary, plantings are treated again, maintaining the intervals specified in the instructions (usually 10-14 days).

On a note! The use of chemicals during the flowering period of the crop is prohibited!

In the summer they work with compositions according to folk recipes, biological products, and also collect pests by hand. Biological remedies for insects (Nemabakt, Lepidotsid), as well as for diseases (Fitosporin, HB-101) give very good results, but subject to strict adherence to the instructions.

Any nuances are important: temperature, humidity level, since most drugs contain elements with antimicrobial properties or microorganisms. They need to create a favorable environment, otherwise they will not see the effect.

In the fall, before the leaves fall, “chemistry” is used, if necessary, and then contact agents are used. For preventive treatments, folk remedies and biological products are suitable. In case of serious problems, you will need to spray the gooseberries with fungicides and other pesticides.

Protection of plantings must be comprehensive, since pests and diseases are “friends”, often appearing together on gooseberries. Insect attacks lead to weakening of plants, decreased immunity, and the emergence of a source of infection.

Pests spread various diseases (especially viral ones), as a result infecting healthy plantings of a wide variety of crops on the site. And only a competent approach and proper prevention guarantee protection from attacks by insidious “enemies” and infection.

Disease-resistant gooseberry varieties

To avoid problems with gooseberry diseases, choose varieties that are resistant to them:

• Neslukhovsky, Rodnik, Houghton, Malachite, Chernysh - resistant to powdery mildew;
• African and Negus are varieties of black gooseberries that are resistant to most diseases;
• Isabella resembles grapes in taste and appearance, and is practically not affected by fungal diseases;
• Russian red and yellow varieties are immune to powdery mildew and frost;
• Commander and Consul (with red berries) are resistant to powdery mildew and produce a rich harvest;
• Salut is a very resistant variety with burgundy-red berries;
• Cossack is resistant to many fungal diseases of gooseberries.

Prevention

Caring for gooseberries in the spring and fighting diseases can be made easier if you follow the rules of prevention - this is the best way to protect against diseases and insects. In particular, it is necessary:

• When planting, place gooseberries in a well-lit place with moderate humidity;
• regularly trim and rejuvenate the bush, preventing it from thickening;
• in the fall, remove from the tree trunk all plant debris in which pests and fungi overwinter;
• do not plant black currants and other crops that suffer from similar diseases and insects next to gooseberries;
• place tomatoes or flowers nearby that repel pests;
• Regularly loosen the soil at the roots and weed out weeds.

An effective way to prevent and combat diseases is to scald the plant with boiling water in the spring before the snow melts. It is also recommended to spray gooseberries against pests and fungi with Bordeaux mixture or copper sulfate every year at the beginning of the growing season, before flowering and before setting berries. Treatments using such methods make it possible to destroy possible parasites and pathogenic spores at the earliest stages, without engaging in a long fight with them.