One of the main advantages of gooseberries is their early ripening. The bushes of this crop begin to bear fruit 2-3 years after planting. At 4-5 years, fruiting is considered complete. In addition, most gooseberry varieties are self-fertile: 25-60% of the berries are set by self-pollination, and the proximity of other varieties and pollinating insects significantly increase the size of the fruits. In this article we will tell you how to increase gooseberry yields in various ways.
🎧 Collecting gooseberries and first currants: the secrets of a rich harvest
Expert summer resident Andrei Tumanov says: “How to increase the yield of gooseberries and currants on the site.” For 20 years, the author broadcast on TV a number of programs dedicated to amateur gardening and horticulture - “Hacienda”, “The Bed”, “Our Garden”, “Rural Hour”, “Field Work”.
Gooseberry yield in the Moscow region and on average in Russia
Among all berry crops, gooseberries have particularly high yields. In central Russia, as well as in the Moscow region, with proper care and favorable conditions, you can annually collect 10-20 kilograms of berries from one bush. Moreover, gooseberries can bear fruit for more than 20 years. Compared to other berry bushes, gooseberries are recognized as the most durable. It is not picky about the soil and begins to bear fruit quickly. And thanks to self-pollination, even a single bush can produce a harvest.
During the season, gooseberries on average yield up to 20-30 tons of berries per hectare.In some farms near Moscow, yields reach more than 200 centners per hectare. To obtain such high yields, it is necessary to create the appropriate growing conditions for the crop: throughout the life of the bushes, properly cultivate and fertilize the soil, thin out the bushes, and carry out disease and pest control in a timely manner.
Caring for young bushes at a time when they have not yet entered the fruiting phase is of great importance. During this time, it is necessary to have time to grow strong plants capable of producing generous harvests in the future. However, many gardeners are unaware that even old, unkempt bushes can become highly productive if you know the basics of gooseberry farming and pay attention to it.
How to increase gooseberry yields
Nitrogen fertilizers will be especially useful in spring. They need to be applied at least twice: 60 grams of urea for each bush. After flowering and the formation of berries, fertilize with organic matter: slurry or chicken droppings, diluted in the ratio: 1 part fertilizer to 12 parts water. Water the gooseberries at the rate of 1 bucket per square meter.
To obtain high gooseberry yields, you need to maintain optimal soil moisture To increase gooseberry yields, pruning is very important. It is done before the sap begins to flow and the buds open in early spring. In this case, first of all, diseased and frozen shoots are removed. Then the old branches (seven or more years old) are cut out, since fruit buds are almost not formed on them. Next, the young shoots that go inside the bush and thicken it are removed.
Tip #1. Pests are controlled by spraying gooseberry bushes with karbofos, biological products, and ash solution. A solution of baking soda helps against powdery mildew.
The reason for the small number of berries may also be insufficient pollination in hot weather. To correct the situation, you need to spray the gooseberry plantings with plain water during flowering. You also need to pick berries from the bush in a timely manner.
The ideal rate of nitrogen fertilizers (indicated in kilograms) for feeding gooseberry bushes (at the rate of 90 kg of active substance per 1 ha):
| Deadline for fertilizing | Fruiting bushes (7 years and older) | Bushes entering the fruiting phase (4-6 years) | Young bushes (up to 3 years of age) |
| 1st feeding at the beginning of the growing season in spring | 110 | 55 | 30 |
| 2nd feeding (June) during the filling of berries and increased shoot growth | 110 | 55 | 30 |
| 3rd feeding after harvesting on fruit-bearing bushes | 80 | — | — |
| 4th feeding (September) on young plantations | — | 40 | 20 |
| Total for the year (per 1 ha) | 300 | 150 | 80 |
The best gooseberry planting scheme
How many gooseberries can you pick? Much depends on what the planting pattern is. If it is necessary to harvest a good harvest, then gooseberries are planted according to a compacted pattern: the distance in the row should be reduced to 60-80 centimeters, the row spacing should be narrowed to 1-1.2 meters, and the number of shoots on the bush should be reduced to 10-14 instead of 20-30. This planting scheme makes it possible to collect 300-400 kilograms of berries from 1 hundred square meters.
And if you put the bushes on trellises, the harvest will be even higher. This is explained by the fact that, in this way, the scheme turns out to be even more dense - the bushes are planted at a distance of 40-60 centimeters from each other, and the shoots are tied at a distance of 10-15 centimeters from each other in the plane of the trellis. As a result, up to a ton of gooseberries are harvested from one hundred square meters.
The yield of almost all fruit plants depends on the soil, weather conditions and, of course, care The variety also plays an important role. For example, varieties Malachite, Russian Early, Green Rain produce only 2 kilograms per bush. And from gooseberry bushes of the varieties Neslukhovsky, Finik, Donetsk large-fruited, Ural emerald, Grand, you can harvest up to 8 kilograms. Care also means a lot. In order to get a good harvest, gooseberry bushes should be pruned every year - remove old shoots and leave the young, strongest ones.
Tip #2. Gooseberry bushes need to be fed three to four times a season: add 1 tablespoon of complex fertilizer per 10 liters of solution to the mullein.
The most delicious gooseberry varieties are susceptible to powdery mildew. Therefore, before and after flowering, the bushes are sprayed with Topaz and Fundazol, alternating them. And to increase productivity, microfertilizers are added to the fungicide solution: 1 teaspoon of Sudarushka or Ryazanochka per 10 liters of water.
In the fall, when digging the soil, for each square meter you need to add a bucket of well-rotted manure or compost and mineral fertilizers: 80 grams of superphosphate, 20 grams of potassium sulfate, 40 grams of ammonium nitrate for each bush. It is important to water the plants - this increases the yield from the bush and significantly increases the size of the berries.
For example, with full watering, bushes of the Date variety produce more than 13 kilograms of berries, and without proper watering - only 5-6 kilograms. Gooseberries especially need watering during the fruiting period - after flowering. During this period, the bushes need to be watered every week. The soil under the bushes is mulched with sawdust or straw. This makes it possible to retain moisture, which means less frequent watering of the bushes.
The best gooseberry varieties for the Moscow region
Many gardeners like bushes with yellow berries that ripen in mid-summer:
| Variety name | Characteristic |
| Honey | Very sweet, with a slight hint of honey. Small berries weigh 3-4 g and have thin skin. Non-transportable, not resistant to diseases, have thorns. |
| Russian yellow | Oval, waxy berries weigh up to 6 g. The skin is thin. Drought-resistant, self-fertile variety. |
| Amber | Orange-yellow berries weigh 5 g. Early ripening. They have prickly thorns. The variety is high-yielding. |
| Altaic | Large berries weigh 8 g. The variety is resistant to powdery mildew. Mid-early. Dessert, very sweet. |
English yellow gooseberry - an amber sweetness in your favorite garden Varieties with green berries are considered high-yielding and resistant to diseases:
| Variety name | Characteristic |
| Malachite | Round berries with a waxy coating, many seeds, weigh up to 6 g, and have a sour taste. The variety is transportable. |
| Emerald | The bush has a height of 1.5 m. The variety is productive. Early ripening. The taste of the berries is sweet and sour. Weight 5 g. |
| Belorussian | The bush is compact. The variety is mid-season. The berries are white-green with thin skin and a sweet-sour taste. Their weight is 8 g. |
| Beryl | The berries are oval, large, with thorns. Their weight is up to 9 g, the taste is sweet and sour. The variety is prone to frequent diseases. |
Varieties with red berries are suitable for making jam, compotes, and homemade wine:
| Variety name | Characteristic |
| Kolobok | The variety is mid-season, very productive, resistant to powdery mildew and anthracnose. The berries are large, weigh up to 7 g. Fragrant. |
| Krasnoslavyansky | Berries with excellent dessert taste, weigh up to 5 g. High-yielding. |
| Consul or Senator | Medium early variety. The berries are large, weighing more than 6 g. Round, with thin skin. Transportability is low. |
| Leningrad giant | Weight of pubescent, round berries is 6 g. The taste is sweet and sour. |
| Chernomor | A very winter-hardy variety, almost without thorns. The berries are oval, small, weighing 3 g, with a sweet and sour taste. |
Thornless varieties will appeal to those who don’t like to scratch their hands when picking berries:
| Variety name | Characteristic |
| Commander (or Vladil) | The berries are dark red, almost black, sweet and sour. They do not fall off the bush or crack |
| Grushenka | Medium late variety. Drought-resistant, high-yielding, disease-resistant. The fruits are small, weigh 5 g. The taste is sweet, dessert. |
| Captivator | Late ripening variety. Large berries are very sweet. Weigh 4-6 g. High-yielding. |
The gooseberry variety called Grushenka is one of the most popular among gardeners. Productivity of different varieties of gooseberries
When choosing a gooseberry variety, pay attention to the weather conditions necessary for its growth and the ripening time of the berries.
| Variety name | Characteristic |
| Ural emerald | Mid-early variety. Winter-hardy, resistant to powdery mildew. Round-oval berries with a dessert taste. Productivity 1.6 -5.6 kg per bush. |
| Hinnomaki Green | Mid-early variety. Large teardrop-shaped berries weigh 4-5 g. They are tasty, sweet and sour. The variety is frost-resistant. Productivity 4-7 kg per bush. |
| Inquita | The berries are large, oval, yellow. Weight 7 g. Medium early variety, resistant to powdery mildew. The productivity is very high. |
| English yellow | Medium early variety. Unresistant to sphere library. The berries are amber in color and very sweet. Weight 4-8 g. The skin is opaque, pubescent with single spines. Productivity is 14-15 kg per bush. |
| English green | Early ripening variety. Medium-sized oval berries weigh 3-4 g and taste very sweet. With proper care, the yield can reach 24 kg per bush. |
| Avenarius | The taste is excellent. The variety is resistant to spheroteca, frost-resistant. Round or oval berries of medium size, weigh up to 9 g. You can collect up to 13 kg from one bush. |
| Date fruit | Late ripening variety. With good care and proper pruning, the berries can reach 20 g. Oval-round or oval with a sweet and sour taste. Good transportability. In good years, you can collect up to 30 kg from a bush, especially if you add increased doses of fertilizer. In the third year of cultivation, up to 5 kg are obtained from the bush, and after three years – up to 13 kg. |
| Mysovsky 37 | Mid-late variety. Resistant to frost and drought. Medium sized berries. The yield is exceptionally high. The bushes begin to bear fruit in the second year after planting. |
Methods for increasing gooseberry yields
The following factors are considered to maintain the productivity of gooseberry bushes:
- precise cutting;
- systematic weed control;
- balanced and timely feeding of gooseberries;
- pest control;
- disease prevention.
However, experts believe that such measures are not enough to get a good harvest. Therefore, they have identified additional, very effective methods for obtaining an excellent gooseberry harvest:
- If there is not enough space on the land, two seedlings are planted in one planting hole with a distance of 15 centimeters between them. If the adjacent crowns of the bushes are formed correctly, with an increase in the amount of fertilizer, the two root systems will easily provide themselves with nutrition. It is convenient to hill them in the fall - this is done in order to reduce the likelihood of the root system freezing in winter. In three to four years, you can harvest twice the harvest.
- If you plant the bushes at an angle, this will be an excellent incentive for the growth of the root system. Thanks to the wide base, the intensity of plant nutrition increases, which has a beneficial effect on productivity.
- Gooseberries love warmth, especially its roots. However, the hot sun dries out the soil and burns the leaves. You can artificially create a warm climate at the base of the bush by filling it with gravel and sand. Such hilling during daylight hours heats the soil so much that it remains warm at night, and also prevents the evaporation of moisture after watering.
“Question and answer” section about gooseberries
Question. How and when to treat gooseberries with boiling water?
Spring spraying of gooseberry bushes with boiling water is carried out in order to kill pathogenic fungi and laid eggs of pests. As soon as the snow melts and the gooseberry buds have not yet begun to swell, you need to boil water, pour it into a watering can and evenly and generously water the bushes. For one large fruit-bearing bush, one full watering can of boiling water is consumed. The bush must be sprayed very carefully, trying to wet every branch from top to bottom with boiling water.
To make the procedure more convenient, the bush can be tied in front of it. The bush must be treated with boiling water in one go - this is strictly forbidden to do this again: boiling water burns and kills pathogenic microbes on the surface of the shoots, buds, and branches. However, it cools quickly, giving off heat. If you re-treat already warmed bushes with boiling water, it can penetrate inside the buds and burn them. Another point needs to be taken into account: when you decide to spray the gooseberry bushes with boiling water, you need to make sure that the buds on them should not be swollen.
Gooseberries began to be grown in Rus' in the 15th century. With proper care, it produces about 10-15 kg of berries from one bush. The gooseberry fruit can be colored red, green, white, yellow. Gooseberries are juicy, fragrant, large, tasty and healthy. Contains a large amount of organic acids, potassium salts, pectin, sodium, copper, magnesium, calcium and other vitamins. Gooseberries remove toxins and radioactive substances from the body and strengthen the walls of blood vessels.
Gooseberries are self-pollinating, that is, they are pollinated by pollen from their own flowers and set fruits and berries after pollination. To get a gooseberry harvest, it is enough to plant only one bush, but if you plant several bushes of different varieties, the yield will increase sharply.
Gooseberries are good honey plants; their early flowering attracts additional pollinating insects to the garden plot.
Planting gooseberries
Gooseberries have deeper roots than currants, which makes them more drought-resistant. Gooseberries tolerate partial shade well and bear fruit almost as well as in the sun. The gooseberry bush does not like high humidity, so it cannot be planted in low-lying parts of the terrain. From excess moisture, the plant is easily affected by fungal diseases. The soil for planting gooseberries should be neutral or slightly acidic, pH = 6.
Gooseberries should not be planted in an area that is waterlogged in the spring; it is recommended to plant the bush at a height of 15-20 cm. You can add compost or sand under the bed to increase the soil level. It is also necessary to add fertilizer and soil loosening agents to the planting hole so that the soil at the planting site has good air exchange; it is important to prevent rotting of the roots.
It is better to plant gooseberries on loose soil without weeds, in an area where beets, peas, potatoes, and beans grew. Gooseberries also love the soil after planting lupines.
It is recommended to plant gooseberries in early autumn or spring. But so that by winter the gooseberries have time to successfully take root and form young roots. Experts recommend autumn planting, since in spring the gooseberry’s engraftment is worse.
Gooseberries are a thorny crop, and weeding them is inconvenient, so experts recommend clearing the area of root weeds (wheatgrass) before planting gooseberries in the fall. Also, the area for planting gooseberries is dug up in early autumn and weeds with roots are selected. After digging, you need to use a rake to break up the clods of earth. To perform this action, a rake with metal teeth is used.
To plant gooseberries, a planting hole is dug in the fall 2 - 3 weeks before planting, so that there is enough time for the soil to shrink. For 1 gooseberry bush, you need to prepare a planting hole measuring 50x50 cm and 50 cm deep.
When a planting hole is dug, the top layer of soil (fertile layer) is deposited separately from the infertile lower layer of soil.
Humus 8 kg, rotted manure, double superphosphate 50 g, potassium sulfate 40 g are added to the top layer and mixed. This amount of plant nutrition is enough for a gooseberry bush for three years. If the soil on the site is clayey, then you need to additionally add 1 bucket of coarse river sand.
For planting, a healthy, one- or two-year-old, pure-quality seedling with a well-developed root system is used. Dried and damaged branches and parts of roots are removed before planting. The plant responds favorably to soaking the roots for 24 hours in organic fertilizers (3 - 4 tablespoons of sodium humate diluted in 5 liters of water). This increases the % survival rate of seedlings.
The seedling is placed in the planting hole at an angle or straight, without deepening the root collar, 5–6 cm below ground level. The roots should be spread freely over the planting hole. Place the seedling in the center, and holding it by the trunk, fill the root system with soil, gently shaking it and thus evenly filling the voids between the roots and the soil. After planting, it is necessary to water (1 bucket of water per 1 plant) in the area around the tree trunk and sprinkle with mulch (2 cm of peat or humus) so that a crust does not form and moisture slowly evaporates. The seedlings need to be cut off, leaving 5-6 buds.
In group planting of gooseberries, the distance between plants should be at least 1 - 1.5 m, between rows 3 m.
Gooseberries begin to bear fruit 3–4 years after planting and are active for 10–15 years
Gooseberry care
During the gooseberry growing season, it is advisable to feed it, prune it, water it and loosen the soil in a circle, fight pests, prevent diseases and treat diseases.
In early spring, before sap flow, or in autumn, when the plant slows down its growth, it is necessary to prune gooseberries.
In May, it is advisable to loosen the soil around the bushes and feed the bush with diluted manure or potassium-nitrogen fertilizer.
Every year it is recommended to add a mixture consisting of 25 g of ammonium sulfate, 25 g of potassium sulfate, 50 g of superphosphate, with half a bucket of compost. If the bush has grown, the amount of fertilizer per bush increases. In hot and dry summers, the bush must be watered, but only in the area of root growth; sprinkling is excluded so as not to cause gooseberry diseases.
To obtain dessert large-fruited gooseberries, additional early-summer pruning of young shoots is necessary, which interfere with the free growth and lighting of the gooseberry, leaving 5 leaf buds and one berry ovary in the brush. Using this technique you can get large berries. Fruit and berry buds are formed in the second half of summer. Therefore, when harvesting the current harvest, you need to take care of the berry harvest for next year by feeding and watering the bushes at the end of summer.
The gooseberry bush branches heavily, forming many young shoots to the detriment of fruiting. To prevent it from becoming thick and distorted, it is recommended to carry out sanitary-formative pruning. Gooseberries are pruned in early spring, before buds open, or in the fall after harvest. Pruning consists of removing old (7-8 years old) shoots; they are cut off from the base. A gooseberry bush should have 10–16 shoots of different ages.
To renew a thickened bush, early in the spring you need to trim the basal shoots and shorten the drooping branches. All this is necessary for a bountiful harvest, which is formed on last year’s unpruned growths. After the end of fruiting, to stimulate the formation of young branches, the growth is removed.
Formation of gooseberries on a trunk
Nowadays, many modern gardeners form a gooseberry bush on a trunk. This not only gives the bush originality, but also makes it convenient for harvesting. Do not forget that gooseberries have prickly thorns that scratch the body and spoil the appearance of clothes.
To form the desired shape, it is necessary to leave one shoot growing vertically. Then pruning is much faster and more convenient.
Pruning forms a rounded shape for the plant; a standard gooseberry formed in a nursery has from 3 to 6 branches in the crown, the branches are of different ages.
The central shoot is cut minimally, the side shoots are shortened more. This creates a spherical shape on the crown. After 4 - 5 years the crown
will reach the required size, further pruning will consist of sanitary cutting of old shoots. The growth of one year on old shoots does not decrease.
Growing on trellises
Gooseberries grown on trellises are convenient for picking berries, and the berries are of high quality. For group plantings, the bushes are placed at a distance of 1 - 1.2 m. The gooseberry bush should consist of four or more branches diverging from one root system. The bushes are arranged in a fan-shape, attaching trellises to the bottom wire and directing the growth of shoots vertically.
It is necessary to prune in early spring or autumn. In the first year of growth, all shoots near the ground are shortened, then, when the branches grow, three or five of the strongest shoots are selected and, after shortening, attached to the first row of wire, the rest are cut off. The next year, these shoots are attached, no longer shortened, to the second row of wire.
The side branches are trimmed so that the width of the bush is no more than one meter. After six or seven years, the bush needs to be rejuvenated; for this, old shoots are cut off and replaced with annual ones.
Every year it is necessary to cut off young branches growing from the root collar.
Gooseberry propagation
The main method of propagating gooseberries is propagation by layering; additional methods include green and lignified cuttings and dividing the bush.
For propagation by layering, two-year-old shoots that are located closer to the soil will be required. They need to be bent and stapled to a groove made in loose soil, and covered with earth in a mound. The annual growth is cut off with pruning shears and the shoots to be laid are shortened by 20%. It is necessary that the places of the nodes in the pinned shoot are in a slightly damp state, that is, it is recommended to occasionally wet the ground.
This method is the most labor-intensive and not always successful. Lignified cuttings do not produce roots in all varieties. This method is often used to propagate varieties of the American group.
For gooseberry cuttings, preparations are made in October or November. The cutting is the apical part of a one-year shoot, 25 cm long, without signs of disease. The leaves are cut from the cuttings, and the cut is treated with garden varnish or paraffin. Store this cutting in the refrigerator or bury it in the snow. With the onset of spring, such cuttings are planted in fertilized soil to a depth of 15 cm; if planted in groups, the distance between specimens is 20 cm.
The cut is renewed, there should be 2 buds above the ground, 4 buds in the ground. The soil around the cutting is compacted and watered, then the planting site is mulched with peat or humus.
American powdery mildew, or spheroteca(gooseberries, currants).
A fungal disease that affects all parts of gooseberries and currants: leaves, ovaries, berries and young shoots. The disease appears in early or mid-summer.
The affected parts of the plant are covered with a white, powdery, easily erasable coating, which gradually thickens and becomes like dark brown felt.
Diseased shoots become bent, dry out and die, and the apical leaves curl.
The fruits do not fill, become practically inedible and fall off prematurely.
When severely affected by powdery mildew, plants may die within two to three years.
The disease is caused by a fungus that overwinters on affected shoots and fallen diseased berries. The mycelium is located on the surface of plants and is attached to them with special suction cups.
In spring, the spores are released from the bags and infect the plants. The most favorable conditions for the development of the disease are dense plantings, shaded areas, and high soil moisture. Hot and dry weather, on the contrary, inhibits the development of the disease.
Control measures
Planting varieties resistant to American powdery mildew. Sphere-resistant gooseberry varieties include Izumrud, Mysovsky 7, Mysovsky 37, Malachite, Pyatiletka, Smena, Solnechny, Sibiryak, Black Negus, Shchedry, etc.
Collecting and cutting out the affected tops with leaves, shoots and berries and destroying them, that is, reducing the sources of secondary infection in the summer and primary infection in the fall.
To eradicate the infection, spray the bushes and the soil under them with iron sulfate (300 g per 10 liters of water). During the growing season, at the first signs of disease, the bushes can be sprayed with soda ash (50 g of soda per 10 liters of water) with 40-50 g of soap added to the solution for adhesion, repeating the treatment 2-3 times after 8-10 days. It is effective to combat spheroteca using fresh bleach (1-2 tablespoons per 10 liters of water).
Treatment of bushes with any of the solutions should begin when a white powdery coating appears on young leaves or berries and repeat after 10 days. If it rains earlier than 5 hours after treatment, repeat spraying. It is necessary to finish treating the bushes with the solution 2 weeks before picking the berries.
On currants, it is allowed to use sulfur preparations (40-60 g), basezol (10 g) and a 10% emulsion of the drug Topaz (2 g per 10 liters of water) before flowering and after harvesting.
The bacterial method gives good results. To do this, use an infusion of mullein or rotted manure (1 part to 3 parts water, leave for 3 days, then dilute three times with water and strain). In the same concentration, you can prepare an infusion from rotted hay, hay dust, greenhouse soil or forest litter.
The destructive effect of these infusions on powdery mildew fungus is explained by the fact that bacteria multiply in them, which, when they fall on the bushes of plants affected by the sphere library, begin to feed on the fungus, destroying it.
It is enough to treat the bushes with infusions 3 times: the first time before flowering, the second time after flowering and the third time before leaf fall. Spraying is carried out in the evening or in cloudy weather during the day.
Gooseberry anthracnose
A fungal disease of currants and gooseberries that affects the leaves. Small, vague, irregularly shaped dark brown spots form on them.
With severe development of the disease, the spots merge, the leaves turn brown, dry out, and their blades curl up with their edges.
They fall off prematurely and remain only at the ends of growing shoots. In diseased bushes, the growth of young shoots is greatly reduced, and the yield and sugar content of berries are sharply reduced.
Measures to combat currant and gooseberry disease:
In gardens infected with anthracnose, bushes and soil are generously sprayed with nitrafen or copper sulfate. Spraying is carried out before buds open in early spring.
If necessary, to combat anthracnose of currants and gooseberries, you can use Bordeaux mixture (100 g per 10 liters of water) or captan, homitin, cuprosan, phthalan, colloidal sulfur by spraying or when the first symptoms of septoria or anthracnose appear.
Cause of the disease: fungal disease. The causative agent of anthracnose in gooseberries and currants overwinters on fallen leaves.
Anthracnose is spread by conidia in summer.
White spotting of currant and gooseberry leaves
The basis of pest and disease control is compliance with the rules of agricultural technology.
A well-kept garden does not provide conditions for the development of pests and diseases.
First of all, the bushes should not be thickened; for this purpose, pruning is carried out in a timely manner and damaged parts of the plants are burned.
Autumn digging of row spacing helps to destroy a large number of wintering pests.
If pests do appear, you should not start fighting them immediately with the use of chemical pesticides.
In the case when there are few pests, you just need to collect them and destroy them manually. For example, moths are easy to collect. It is recommended to use infusions and decoctions of insecticidal plants, which cause less harm compared to pesticides. Only when absolutely necessary can you resort to chemical protective measures.
Measures to combat currant and gooseberry leaf spot (septoria): In gardens infected with septoria, bushes and soil are generously sprayed with nitrafen or copper sulfate. Spraying is carried out before buds open in early spring.
If necessary, to combat septoria of currants and gooseberries, you can use Bordeaux mixture (100 g per 10 liters of water) or captan, homitin, cuprosan, phthalan, colloidal sulfur by spraying or when the first symptoms of septoria or anthracnose appear.
The second spraying is carried out 10 days after harvesting.
Spraying is carried out in compliance with all rules.
It is necessary to remove all fallen leaves under currant and gooseberry bushes (this is where the fungal spores overwinter) and dig up the soil in the tree trunk circle (late autumn or early spring).
Septoria blight spreads especially strongly in dense plantings.
It is necessary to prevent the spread of weeds on the site.
Cause of the disease: fungal disease. The causative agent of white spot on gooseberry and currant leaves overwinters on fallen leaves.
Septoria is spread by conidia in summer.
Gooseberry goblet rust
Goblet rust appears on leaves, flowers, ovaries, unripe berries in the form of bright yellowish-orange pads (goblet) on the underside of leaves, flowers or young berries.
The causative agent of the disease is a multihost basidiomycete fungus. The spermogynial and aecial stages develop on currants. Goblet rust lesions are detected in the spring.
First, black spermogonia appear on the upper side of the leaves. Then goblet-shaped aecia form on the underside of the leaf.
When ripe, a powdery mass of brightly colored aeciospores emerge from the aecia. They are round, unicellular, 15-20 x 12-18 microns.
By mid-summer, diseased leaves, flowers or ovaries fall off. Aeciospores are carried by the wind and, falling into a drop of water on various types of sedges, infect them, causing the formation of small rusty-brown uredinias with urediniospores. The latter are unicellular, colorless, 18-40 x 16-23 microns.
Urediniospores are spread by air currents, raindrops or dew. Over the summer, several generations of these spores are formed. At the end of the growing season, teliospores are formed in the form of dark-colored scabs. They are bicellular, 34-58 x 15-22 µm, with a double shell and a stalk. The fungus overwinters with teliospores.
In the spring they germinate into basidia with basidiospores and again infect currants. The period of mass formation of basidiospores coincides with the time of flowering. The development of goblet rust is facilitated by heavy spring rains and the placement of currant plantations in low, damp places where sedges grow.
When severely affected by goblet rust, up to 50% or more of the berries and 40-78% of the leaves may fall off.
Increased resistance of black currants against goblet rust was noted in the following varieties: Goliath, Neapolitanskaya, Minskaya, Chereshneva, Suite Kyiv, Nina, Zoya, Cantata. Resistant varieties of red and white currants are considered to be Dutch red, Pulkovskaya, Faya fertile, Red Bulanskaya, Gonduin, Versailles white.
Control measures:
Spraying berry plants with 1% Bordeaux mixture or preparations that replace it (ciram, captan, etc.). In this case, the early timing of spraying plays a decisive role. The first spraying is carried out during the period of leaf blossoming, the second - during the period of bud formation; the third - immediately after flowering.
European gooseberry powdery mildew
The fungus attacks gooseberries, sometimes red currants and some other plants of the Grossulariaceae family.
Signs of the disease appear on the upper and sometimes on the underside of the leaves in the form of a whitish, gradually graying felt consisting of fungal mycelium (2a). On fruits these signs appear only occasionally.
During the growing season, the disease spreads through conidia. They overwinter and cause primary infection in the spring mainly by cleistocarps with bags and spores (2b, 2c).
Unlike American gooseberry powdery mildew, the appendages of European powdery mildew cleistocarps have characteristic fork-shaped branches.
The disease is rare, so there is practically no fight against it. If necessary, apply the same measures as against American powdery mildew.
Gooseberry mosaic
Symptoms of gooseberry mosaic: a bright yellow pattern appears on the leaves along the main veins of the gooseberry leaf in the form of stripes.
As the disease progresses, the leaves become wrinkled and small.
Gooseberry bushes affected by mosaic bear fruit poorly and produce almost no growth.
Measures to combat gooseberry mosaic: viral diseases are practically untreatable. Bushes showing signs of disease should be uprooted and burned.
Methods to combat the disease are only preventive in nature - the use of healthy planting material, timely treatment of plants against sucking insects to prevent the spread of gooseberry mosaic, compliance with quarantine measures.
Cause of the disease: A viral disease of gooseberries, caused by the smallest particles of a living protein substance - a virus that lives and develops only in the cells of living organisms.
Viruses spread with the sap of diseased plants, sucking insects (aphids), herbivorous mites, during grafting of diseased cuttings onto healthy plants, and when pruning diseased and healthy crops without intermediate disinfection of the instrument.
The main carriers of gooseberry mosaic are aphids.
Currant glass
This is a small butterfly with transparent wings, a span of about 2.5 cm. An orange border stands out along their edges. Externally, the butterfly resembles a wasp. The caterpillar has a brown head and a white body.
Glasswort damages currants and gooseberries mainly in the non-chernozem zone.
Two weeks after the gooseberries bloom, butterflies begin to fly, laying eggs. Numerous caterpillars emerge from them, penetrating into the core of the branches, where, as they move towards the base of the bush, the pests make passages, disrupting the physiological processes inside the branches, which then dry out.
The caterpillars damage the branches within two years. The drying out of flowers and berries that never had time to ripen is a clear symptom of the destructive work of the glass inside the branches. After two years, the caterpillars pupate, butterflies emerge from them, and a new development cycle of the glass cell begins.
Control measures
It is recommended to take healthy cuttings for planting (signs of damage: black hole in the center of the cut, dead bud). In the phase of dormant buds, it is necessary to prune the bushes. Immediately after harvesting, it is recommended to spray the bushes with 10% karbofos (75 g per 10 liters of water, no more than twice).
Moth
This yellow-winged butterfly flies out to lay eggs during the ripening period of currant berries, and if it is not there, then to the gooseberries, where voracious caterpillars appear, which gnaw through holes in the leaf blades. When leaf fall begins, the caterpillars hide under the leaves in cocoons. The four-centimeter gray caterpillars are especially dangerous during bud break. They devour them by crawling onto the bushes. They also eat leaves. The bushes lose their leaf apparatus. Having finished eating the leaves, the caterpillars remain on the bushes for further pupation.
Control measures
When there is a massive emergence of caterpillars in the summer, it is necessary to spread film or other dense material under the bushes, onto which the caterpillars are shaken off and destroyed.
During leaf fall, all leaves must be raked and burned or buried deep in the ground.
In the spring, to destroy caterpillars, bushes are treated with karbofos and bitoxybicillin (100 g per 10 liters of water).
Ognevka
This is a butterfly with gray wings with a span of about 3 cm. The front wings are noticeably darker.
During the bud-appearance phase, it lays eggs on the inflorescences inside the flowers, and later on the ovaries. The caterpillars that then appear destroy the flowers, and gnaw holes on the set berries through which they eat away the contents. The place where they settled is covered with cobwebs, in which prematurely reddening berries and clusters of dried fruits appear. Each caterpillar destroys up to 15 berries per season.
In the second ten days of June, the caterpillars pupate in the soil, where they overwinter.
Control measures
The same as when fighting leaf-eating insects.
Recently, gooseberry moth has been successfully combated using lepidocide (4–6 tablets per 1 liter of water). To destroy a generation of caterpillars, spray twice with an interval of 7-8 days during the period of their mass emergence.
1-2 days after treatment, begin agricultural work on the gooseberry plantation. A month before picking gooseberries, stop spraying.
Fufanon is also quite effective in a concentration of 110 ml per 10 liters of water. This drug can simultaneously destroy sawflies and moths, which also requires two sprays.
The drug phosbecid is also applicable to amateur gooseberry plantings to destroy the gooseberry moth. The concentration of the solution is 15 ml per 10 liters of water at a consumption of 1.5 liters per 10 square meters. m area. With double treatment, the drug destroys pests not only on gooseberries, but also on raspberries, currants and strawberries. The interval between spraying is 10 days. After three weeks, the berries can be consumed fresh or processed without fear of poisoning.
Shoot aphid
This small insect is common in all regions where berry crops are grown. Aphids damage all types of currants and gooseberries. Located on the tops of the shoots, the pest sucks out the juices from the leaves, which curl, and the shoots stop growing and become bent. The eggs remain on the bark of currant and gooseberry bushes until spring. After the spring buds open, the larvae appear.
Control measures
In amateur gardens, when there is a small concentration of aphids, collecting ladybugs and moving them to bushes with aphids is quite effective.
Removing damaged leaves along with aphids is advisable only at the first signs of damage.
In the spring, during the period of leaf blossoming, and after a decade, you can spray the bushes with infusions of shag, chamomile, and yarrow.
When there is a massive accumulation of aphids, you should use drugs such as beta-cypermethrin-kinmix, EC in a concentration of 0.24 to 0.48, which, when sprayed, can kill not only aphids, but also sawflies.
Treatment is carried out during the growing season, excluding the time of flowering and the beginning of ripening of berries.
Decorating a garden with gooseberries is a very correct decision, which will require the gardener to know the basics of choosing the right seedlings, selecting a planting site, fertilizing, watering, propagating and pruning. Knowledge of the rules for combating diseases and pests will help keep the plant healthy and the harvest consistently tasty.
Gooseberries are often called “northern grapes”. Gardeners love it for its high yield, unpretentiousness and pleasant dessert taste.
And the comparison with grapes is not accidental. Gooseberries not only contain a huge amount of vitamins, but they also make wine no worse than grape wine!
Gooseberries are a traditional berry crop, without which it is difficult to imagine a garden plot. Its fruits are superior to many others in terms of the amount of ascorbic acid. It contains a large amount of sugars, organic acids, calcium, phosphorus and iron.
Gooseberries begin to bear fruit quite quickly and are capable of producing up to 30 kg of berries from one bush. With good care, it can bear fruit for more than 15 years. The berries are very diverse in taste, size and color from emerald green to purple-black. They ripen 1.5-2 months after the start of flowering.
How to choose seedlings correctly?
As soon as the snow has melted, but the buds have not yet awakened, it’s time to buy gooseberry seedlings! After all, we must plant it as early as possible!
In the nursery, choose seedlings with a good root system: highly branched, fibrous, 20-25 cm in size. A healthy seedling should have 2-3 main shoots.
When and where to plant?
Gooseberries bear fruit well in almost any soil. The only things he doesn’t like are waterlogged, heavily podzolized, too sour and cold. Flooding of the site with spring waters is also unacceptable. Gooseberry roots are located shallow in the soil and, when overwatered, quickly begin to rot. Therefore, it is better to place bushes in elevated places, protected from cold winds.
Gooseberries can be planted in the spring, before buds open, or in the fall. For planting, we select free areas, preferably not occupied by fruit trees. When shaded, the bushes are severely affected by powdery mildew, reducing the yield and quality of berries.
We plant young seedlings at a distance of 1-1.5 m from each other in a row and 2 meters between rows. I do not recommend planting several gooseberry seedlings in one hole. So it quickly thickens and ages, and caring for the thorny thickets becomes impossible.
We prepare the soil for planting gooseberries in the same way as for currants, only we dig a deeper hole.
When planting, add 8-10 kg of humus or compost, as well as a good dose of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers (up to 100 g of active ingredient per 1 sq. m). We use a mixture of phosphate rock or bone meal with superphosphate as a phosphate fertilizer, and wood ash as a potassium fertilizer. We thoroughly mix all the fertilizers with the soil removed from the hole and fill it with this mixture. Such feeding will provide the growing gooseberry with nutrients for the first 3-4 years.
We plant the gooseberries somewhat deeper than they grew in the nursery, and at an angle (for better formation of additional roots and new basal shoots). To ensure good survival and branching, we cut off the above-ground part of the bush after planting, leaving 3-4 buds on the shoot.
How to care?
The main task in the first years after planting is to ensure rapid rooting of seedlings and create conditions for active growth. Therefore, we keep the soil around the bushes moist and loose and regularly free it from weeds. To retain moisture in early spring, be sure to mulch the soil after loosening. You can mulch with compost, which in the fall, when digging, is simply buried in the soil.
To improve the illumination and ventilation of the bush, we lift the branches hanging to the ground on supports in the summer, and remove them from them in the fall. This way we create conditions for the retention and accumulation of snow. Gooseberries are less winter-hardy than currants and need more protection in winter. In harsh winters with little snow, gooseberry roots may freeze. Plants need help to survive the cold without loss! Therefore, as soon as the snow falls, we carefully shovel it under the bushes - the more, the better! Covered with a fluffy blanket of snow, the bush will overwinter well and in the spring will produce many new root shoots. Gooseberry flowers and ovaries, as a rule, do not suffer from frost.
When and what to feed?
In the spring and summer (from bud break to the end of shoot growth), gooseberry bushes need feeding. The need for nitrogen is especially great at this time. In the second half of summer and until late autumn, plants need more phosphorus and potassium.
Good results are obtained by fertilizing with solutions of bird droppings, mullein, slurry or mineral fertilizers. To prepare mineral fertilizer, take 30-50 g of ammonium nitrate, 50-80 g of superphosphate and 20-30 g of potassium salt in a bucket of water. We feed the plants once during the formation of the ovary.
When and how to water?
Although gooseberries are quite resistant to temporary drought, high yields of large berries are possible only on sufficiently moist soil.
We do the first watering of gooseberries after flowering - during the period of increased shoot growth and ovary formation. The second - during the ripening period of the berries, and the third - after harvesting, for the formation of future flower buds.
In a dry autumn, abundant moisture-replenishing watering is necessary to enhance root growth and improve the overwintering conditions of plants. To ensure proper watering around the bush, we dig a ditch running approximately along the perimeter of its crown. We supply 30 liters of water into it for each bush. When the water is absorbed, we level the groove. After watering and loosening the soil around the bushes, we mulch each time.
How to prune?
We prune gooseberry bushes in order to give the plants the correct shape. In addition, proper pruning will protect the bush from thickening and will contribute to a bountiful harvest. You may be surprised, but even a newly purchased bush, consisting of only 3-4 branches, should be pruned! On each of them you need to leave 2-4 buds, and the rest can be safely removed. Don’t worry, next year the bush will grow rapidly and, perhaps, will already produce its first harvest!
In the spring of next year, as soon as branches from the roots begin to grow from the ground, we leave 3-4 of them and remove the rest. We choose only powerful, well-developed shoots. Their tops will need to be cut off so that side branches appear. However, for varieties with a high degree of branching, this procedure does not need to be done: everything will work out by itself. Remember that the degree of shortening of the shoots should correspond to the degree of their development. The basic rule: the more branching, the more moderate the pruning.
If you stick a branch into the drainage hole of the pot in the spring, then by autumn you will have a new plant
Do you want your gooseberries to be larger? Then in the summer, do additional pruning of green shoots, leaving no more than six leaves and one berry in each tassel.
This simple technique allows you to obtain gooseberry fruits of a much more impressive size than usual.
How to reproduce?
I make a cut on one or several branches close to the ground. I bend the branch to the ground, dig a shallow hole, and lower the branch into it. Then I fill the hole with soil and water it. I keep the soil moist all summer. By autumn, roots form in the section of the branch. In the spring of next year, I separate the rooted seedling from the mother bush. The new plant is ready to plant!
We cut cuttings from root shoots or annual growths of fruiting branches. Each cutting 20 cm long should have at least 4-5 buds.
To root gooseberry cuttings, we prepare a “school”. We dig trenches up to 30 cm deep in open ground and fill them with coarse river sand. A greenhouse can also be used for a nursery.
Before planting, pre-soak the cuttings in water or a solution of a root formation stimulator for a day. Then we plant it in the nursery obliquely, according to a 5x10 cm pattern, so that one bud remains on the surface.
After planting and watering, mulch the soil with a small layer of humus (up to 5 cm thick). During the growing season (until the end of August), we periodically feed the seedlings with solutions of mineral fertilizers: 40 g of ammonium nitrate per bucket of water, 20 g each of superphosphate and potassium salt (sylvinite, kainite).
Gooseberries can produce adventitious roots from below, at the base of the branches. Therefore, bushes can be propagated by division.
In the fall, we dig the bush out of the ground and divide it into parts that have their own roots and shoots. At the same time, we remove the old branches and shorten the young ones.
Surprisingly, the economic crisis that broke out last year had a beneficial effect on the development of homestead agriculture. Many people began to acquire plots in order to save part of the family budget by growing berries and fruits for their family, as well as for sale.
Of course, beginners and inexperienced gardeners have many questions, in particular, which crops are the most profitable. What and how should you grow to get a good profit? How to correctly calculate the potential benefits of growing a particular crop before planting? Let's try to calculate how much you can earn by planting gooseberry bushes on your personal plot.
Gooseberries - planting and watering, fertilizing
The best time to plant gooseberries in the central and northern regions is early October.
If planted earlier, the wood will not have time to accumulate plastic substances that contribute to successful wintering, which means that the plants may die from exposure to low temperatures. If planting is done later, the plants will not have time to take root.
They will not die over the winter, but in the spring they may be delayed in development. Gooseberries, planted at the optimal time, have time to take root, begin to grow vigorously in the spring, develop quickly and increase the yield. In the south of Ukraine, gooseberries are planted a little later - from mid-October to the end of November. If the optimal autumn months for planting are missed, you can plant in late autumn or already in the spring, without waiting until next October. True, the plants will develop more slowly, but you will gain one growing season.
The gooseberry planting scheme depends on the gardener’s goals. If you want to get the maximum possible yield from a bush, the distance in the row between the bushes should be at least 1 m, the row spacing should be at least 2 m, and an adult bush should consist of 16-20 branches of different ages. If you want to get the maximum yield from the area, the plantings are compacted - the distance in the row is reduced to 60-80 cm, the row spacing is reduced to 1-1.2 m, and the bush is reduced to 10-14 branches. In this case, the berries will be slightly larger.
If you use equipment, for example, a walk-behind tractor, to cultivate the soil, the row spacing needs to be made wider; if you work with hand tools, narrower. In general, the area occupied by the crop should be enough for adequate nutrition, and the plants should not interfere with each other and your work. So everyone determines the planting scheme themselves, based on their needs and the capabilities of the site.
Planting gooseberries is done as standard, just like planting any other berry bushes. Dig a planting hole 40x40 cm, 40 cm deep. A bucket of rotted manure or compost and 0.5-1 kg of complex mineral fertilizers are added to it. You can add wood ash to them. All additives are thoroughly mixed with the soil and a seedling is planted in this mixture.
I apply organic fertilizers only during spring planting; I had to refuse to apply them during autumn, since mole crickets, May beetle larvae and other “evil spirits” overwinter in them, which can safely eat the entire root system of the seedling until spring. After planting, it is customary to water the seedlings, but I do it differently. Before planting, I pour 3-5 liters of water into the hole, after it is absorbed, I pour the same amount of water again, place the seedling in the hole and, holding it with one hand, fill the hole with soil.
What is it for?
When a seedling is covered with soil and then watered, voids are formed in the soil, and when the soil is moistened, small roots are displaced and injured. My planting method eliminates such consequences, since the roots are in viscous soil, the consistency of sour cream, in which voids cannot form.
I plant a seedling, sprinkle it with earth, leaving a circle around the trunk 5-15 cm deep - to facilitate watering and fertilizing. A day after planting, it is necessary to mulch the holes or at least loosen the soil around the plants. If this is not done, the moistened soil will begin to crack, tearing the roots apart.
I plant gooseberries 5 cm deeper than the root collar of the seedling, which promotes the formation of additional roots and shoots. It is better to hill up the seedling for the winter. In the spring I loosen it and trim it, leaving 2-3 buds above the soil level. Under no circumstances should gooseberries be allowed to bear fruit during the first growing season - this weakens the plant and negatively affects its further development. An exception may be two-year-old seedlings with a strong root system. You can leave a few berries on them to control the variety.
During the first growing season, caring for gooseberries consists mainly of watering, loosening the soil and normalizing the number of shoots. Every year I leave 3-4 young shoots on the bush. After the fourth year of fruiting, I remove the four-year-old branches, replacing them with young shoots. Then I repeat this operation constantly, from year to year. If you do not normalize the shoots and do not replace old ones with young ones, the bush will quickly grow old and the harvest will be low. An adult bush should consist of 15-20 branches of different ages in order to bear fruit without reducing yield for 10-20 years (depending on the variety).
If humus and mineral fertilizers were added to the planting holes, in the first year of the plant’s life you can do without fertilizing. From the second year until the end of the bush’s life, regular fertilizing is necessary to obtain a full harvest. Moreover, at different phases of the growing season, gooseberries need certain nutrients. In spring, before flowering, nitrogen is most needed. It can be applied either dry or liquid.
For example, sprinkle 100-200 g of urea under the bushes, depending on the age of the bush, and embed it in the soil. Or water the soil under each bush 2-3 times with a urea solution (1-2 tablespoons per 10 liters of water, from 3 to 20 liters per bush). Fertilizing with liquid organic fertilizers: fermented infusion of mullein (1:10) or chicken manure (1:20) has a positive effect. Nitrogen is added 2-3 times with a break of 7-10 days. During the period of bud formation, plants must be fed with phosphorus. The most common fertilizer is superphosphate. Since chalk is used to bind phosphorus, it appears that superphosphate does not dissolve in water. In fact, it takes a lot of time to dissolve, so superphosphate is infused for at least a day, stirring the solution periodically. Phosphorus dissolves in water, and the chalk that binds it settles to the bottom in the form of a white sediment.
It is recommended to strain such an infusion before use, but even if this is not done, there will be no big trouble. You can also use ammophoska. The same fertilizers can be applied in dry form - it is better to do this in early spring, since they do not dissolve in the soil for a long time. Usually two feedings with phosphorus are carried out with a break of 7-10 days.
An excellent result is achieved by combining root feeding with foliar feeding. when the bushes are not only watered with a superphosphate solution, but also sprayed. The fact is that when watering, fertilizers begin to act 15-20 days after application, and when foliar feeding - a few minutes after spraying. It is worth remembering one rule: liquid fertilizers are applied only to moist soil. If you water solutions on dry soil, the preparations burn the roots of the plants, which can lead to their death.
From mid-August, nitrogen application is stopped. If this is not done, the shoots continue to grow until late autumn, do not have time to become lignified and, as a result, may not survive the winter. The autumn application of phosphorus-potassium fertilizers, on the contrary, promotes the ripening of wood, strengthens plants, and increases their frost resistance. They are applied 2-4 times in September-October (the norm is from 20 to 100 g of active ingredient, depending on the age of the bush and the amount of fertilizing).
One of the main factors influencing productivity is the optimal moisture supply of plants, and it is not the same at different periods of their development. In the first year after planting, gooseberries, like other berry bushes, are watered constantly so that the soil moisture in the root zone is 80% of the total field moisture capacity [FMC]. Its percentage without special instruments can be determined as follows: dig a hole 15-20 cm deep in the area, take a handful of soil from it, compress it in your fist and throw it down from a height of about 1 m. If the lump remains intact or breaks into 2-3 large pieces - there is enough moisture. If it crumbles into many small pieces, watering is necessary.
Humidity is maintained at the specified level throughout the entire growing season of young plants. However, adult, fruit-bearing bushes require intensive watering - until the berries begin to soften, after which watering is stopped so that the berries can accumulate sugar. If this is not done, the peel will be sour. After picking the berries, watering is resumed and continues until late autumn. The so-called winter watering is very important. It is carried out in October-November, moistening the soil to a mud-like state. The more moisture the plants accumulate, the higher their frost resistance will be, and the easier and more painlessly they will survive winter temperature fluctuations. Several watering methods can be used.
For example, when sprinkling, water the area with a hose or install all kinds of water spray systems. This method has disadvantages: huge water consumption, the need to loosen the soil after each watering, and the most unpleasant thing is that moisture falling on the leaves and berries contributes to the development of various diseases. The next method of watering is flood watering, in which the hose is simply left on the ground so that the water flows freely. In this case, the hose must be regularly moved from place to place, that is, the process must be constantly monitored.
In addition, water flows without restrictions in all directions, which does not allow watering to be carried out evenly. With ditch irrigation, water is used more economically and less time is required. For ditch irrigation, a roll of earth 10-15 cm high is poured along the perimeter of each row, at a distance of 30-40 cm from the plant trunks.
A “bath” is formed around the row, which is very easy to fill with water by simply lowering the hose into it. If this ditch is mulched, there will be no need to loosen the soil. I would like to note that gooseberries tolerate watering with cold water directly from a well or well, but the berries ripen several days later than when watered with heated water. Drip irrigation, from my point of view, is the most economical and productive.
On both sides of the row, at a distance of 15-20 cm, drip irrigation lines are laid through which water or nutrient solution is supplied. Since the liquid flows rather slowly, it has time to heat up before it reaches the root zone. The yield and weight of berries, compared to other irrigation methods, increase by 25-30%, and water consumption decreases. Of course, you will have to spend some money to purchase the system, but the costs will pay off fairly quickly.
Protecting gooseberries from diseases and pests
In a plant weakened by diseases and pests, all its strength goes into the struggle for survival, and not into fruiting. It is almost impossible to obtain a high yield in conditions of a high infectious background. I myself witnessed how sawflies ate all the leaves on 40 gooseberry bushes in one day, after which the berries could not ripen. In recent years, many resistant gooseberry varieties have appeared, but this does not mean that there are varieties that do not require chemical protection measures at all.
Gooseberries - how to deal with powdery mildew
The main scourge of gooseberries is American powdery mildew, brought to Europe from the New World. At one time, it destroyed huge areas of gooseberry plantings and significantly reduced the popularity of this crop, since varieties resistant to it did not appear immediately. Along with powdery mildew, gooseberries can be affected by anthracnose, rot, spots, etc. The most common pests are glass beetles, bud mites, sawflies, aphids, moths and gall midges
I will not dwell on the description of each disease and pest; all this can be read in specialized literature. As for protection, a set of measures should be applied that are simultaneously aimed at protecting against both diseases and pests. In late autumn, after leaf fall, and in early spring, before buds open, spray with iron sulfate (300 g per 10 l of water), copper sulfate (150 g per 10 l of water). The bushes are sprayed thoroughly and abundantly, until the drops flow down the branches, and both pathogens, pests and their eggs are destroyed. Under no circumstances should you spray the bushes after the buds have awakened to avoid burns. The next spraying is carried out in the phase of separation of flower buds.
To destroy most pests, broad-spectrum insecticides are suitable: arrivo, actara, decis, mospilan and the like. Immediately after flowering, treatments are carried out - against pests with the drugs described above, and against diseases (it is best to use systemic fungicides such as Ridomil).
These treatments protect plants from pathogens and pests until the end of harvest. In late autumn, as I already mentioned, vitriol is sprayed. By using the protection methods described above, you will maintain the infectious background at a very low level, which will allow you to harvest high yields. It is very important not to treat gooseberries with preparations containing sulfur. Gooseberries cannot tolerate it. Read the instructions carefully, as even the preparations recommended for processing gooseberries may contain sulfur.
Since there are no chemical measures to combat viral diseases (terry disease, mosaic, nectar drying of branches, etc.), preventive measures are used. This, first of all, involves regular weeding and mowing of weeds - breeding grounds for pests and diseases, including viral ones, not only in the berry garden, but also around it. In addition to weeding the area, affected, dried out, broken branches and leaves are cut out and burned. This also kills a large number of pests.
Productive varieties of gooseberries
The gooseberry bush needs shaping and rationing. Broken, dried and four-year-old branches, as well as those affected by diseases and pests, are systematically cut out. In autumn and spring, remove all branches growing inside the crown. The harvest from them is small, and wood and greens take away nutrition from the berries. The main gooseberry crop is formed on overgrowing branches; for their intensive formation, the main shoots can be pinched. There are varieties, for example Krasen, in which in the initial period of development the branches bend in an arc, touching the ground. To prevent this from happening, they are pinched on the inner bud during the growth process.
Recently, absolutely thornless gooseberry varieties have been in fashion. However, it is worth noting that the most delicious berries so far come from the prickly varieties. It seems to me that in the conditions of personal plots, thorns are not such a problem.
There are also varieties with different bush structures - spreading, semi-spreading, erect. Preference is usually given to the latter. But even the most powerful variety can bend its branches to the ground during the ripening period and break under the weight of the berries. Therefore, it is worth providing supports to support the branches in a vertical position. The easiest way is to hammer in wooden stakes and nail slats to them or pull a rope.
For cultivation, it is better to take large-fruited varieties, with a berry weight of more than 5 g. Until recently, only green-fruited gooseberries were recognized in Europe. Today the situation has changed, and colored varieties have become no less popular.
The following varieties with green berries are most suitable for growing highly marketable berries: Beryl, Malachite, Grossular, Green Rain, Invicta, Knyazhich, Rodnik, Kiy (Sla-vuta), Snezhana, Ural Bes-thorn, Ural Emerald, Lada, etc.; with colored berries: Grand, Kamenyar, Karpaty, Plum Seedling, Neslukhovsky, Serenade, Black Velvet, Ural Pink, Dessert, No. 105, Shannon, Kiev Prize, etc.
As for the Ukrainian markets, gooseberries, regardless of size and color, are in great short supply. Moreover, high quality berries are generally impossible to find.
However, before planting a plantation, it is worth studying the market, because gooseberries are not in equally good demand everywhere.
How much can you earn from gooseberries? Long gone are the days when I tried to calculate the maximum possible profit.
It is better to rely on average indicators. The average yield of gooseberries in household plots is 300-400 kg per hundred square meters (can reach up to a ton). The minimum wholesale price is 40 rubles per 1 kg, retail - 60-80 rubles per 1 kg. And this is the price of very mediocre quality berries. I think you can get more for the berries of modern large-fruited varieties. And you can multiply the tons collected on the site into hryvnias without my help.
I wish everyone generous harvests and high earnings.
Gooseberries: both healthy and productive
Gooseberries are not often sold on the market. Gardeners simply refuse to grow this shrub due to the fact that the plant is often susceptible to disease.
And those summer residents who cannot imagine their garden without gooseberries rely on modern varieties that are resistant to disease. However, practice shows that even such bushes cannot do without chemical protection.
The main scourge of gooseberries is American powdery mildew. In addition, the plant may suffer from anthracnose, rot, spotting... And pests do not sleep: glass beetles, sawflies, aphids, moths, bud mites, gall midges are deposited. Therefore, protection methods must be comprehensive.
In early spring, before the buds open (!), I carry out eradicating spraying with a solution of iron sulfate (300 g per 10 liters of water) or copper sulfate (150 g per 10 liters of water). I process it thoroughly and generously - until the drops run down the branches.
In the phase of separation of flower buds, broad-spectrum insecticides are suitable to destroy most pests: Aktara, Decis, Mospilan (according to instructions). Immediately after flowering I repeat the same treatment against pests, and a systemic fungicide like Ridomil Gold works well against diseases. These treatments are quite enough for the gooseberries to “last” until the end of the harvest.
In the future, depending on the situation, additional treatments may be necessary. Let's say, if suddenly the bushes get sick during a period of frequent rains against a background of high temperatures or aphids appear on the plants.
In late autumn, in October, I carry out eradicating spraying with a solution of copper or iron sulfate (the proportions are the same as in the spring).
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