What to do if growths appear on raspberries in winter: this pest will turn shoots into dust
In the cold season, this pest is most dangerous for raspberries.
If you don’t take measures, you can forget about the harvest, and the bushes themselves will eventually turn into dust.
Often, when inspecting or pruning plants, gardeners notice rounded thickenings on the shoots.
This means that the bush is damaged by a gall midge. The larvae of this insect penetrate the trunk, where favorable conditions are created for them: it is safe, warm, and there is a huge supply of food - the juice of the plant itself.
By spring, the larvae are ready to pupate. When this happens, the trunk at this point turns into dust. This leads to a disruption of sap flow, the raspberry does not receive enough nutrients and bears fruit worse.
If you don't get rid of the midge, there will be even more of it next year. The easiest way is to eradicate the problem at the very beginning.
Before pupation, you need to cut off the shoot in which the larva overwintered. If it has settled almost at the very ground, then you will have to remove the entire plant.
Such branches must be destroyed or disposed of as far away from the site as possible, otherwise the work will be of no use.
