To collect a good and healthy harvest of currants in the summer, you need to properly and promptly treat the bushes in the spring.
Treatment must be done to protect currants from diseases and pests.
Some insects become active even before the first leaves appear.
Therefore, it is necessary to spray the bushes with special preparations.
Preparations used to treat currants against diseases
It all depends on the region where currants are grown. If the snow has not melted yet in March and there are frosts at night, then there is no need to treat the bushes.
Insects and other pests have not yet woken up from hibernation, which means that it is impossible to destroy them.
Before you start spraying currants, you need to pay attention to the climatic conditions and the condition of the plants. The ideal moment is when the buds have already swollen, but have not yet blossomed. At the same time, the snow has melted, and the ground is still hard in places.
• Diseases that most affect currant bushes.
• There are few of these, but they are capable of destroying the currant harvest for several years in a row and the bushes as a whole.
• The plant can suffer from anthracnose, reversion, septoria and spheroteca.
• First you need to find out what the bushes are sick with, and only then move on to treating them.
Currant Treatment Remedies
There are many different preparations in specialized stores, many of which are gentle. The most popular preparations are: 3% copper sulfate solution, 5% iron sulfate solution, 1% Bordeaux mixture solution and ash infusion. To prepare, take 10 grams of the product per 1 liter of water, leave for three days, then strain and add 3 liters of water.
The processing is carried out in several stages:
• When the snow melts, you need to collect fallen leaves under the bushes and treat them with iron or copper sulfate, having first loosened the top layer of soil.
• When buds appear, the currants need to be treated with Bordeaux mixture.
• After harvesting and the flowering period, we treat the bushes again with Bordeaux mixture.
Getting rid of pests by treating bushes
If insects appear on your currant bushes, you will find them immediately.
Very often currant bushes suffer from: currant gall midge, bud mite, sawfly, bud moth, currant aphid and glassworm.
Treatment of currants at the early stages of pest infestation.
You can use natural or chemical products.
Natural ones are more of a preventative nature, but in case of large-scale damage it is better to use chemical agents.
For prevention, use boiling water from tobacco, celandine, garlic, onion peel, nightshade or dandelion.
For more effective control, chemical agents such as Aktara, Aliot, Inta-Ts-M, Iskra, Karbotsin and Fufanon-Nova are suitable.
Rules for treating bushes from insects and diseases
To destroy pests efficiently and without harming yourself, you need to follow simple tips:
1. First, get rid of dry and diseased branches, remove dry leaves from under the bush and loosen the soil.
2. Carry out the treatment in March or April, before the buds open.
3. The soil in the tree trunk circle must be processed, but not closer than 50-60 cm from the root system.
4. Be sure to wear a gown, hat, gloves and respirator before you start spraying.
5. Carry out treatment in the morning or evening when the weather forecast does not expect precipitation in the next 2-3 days.
6. Before diluting the preparation, be sure to read the instructions.
7. Keep children and animals away from the treatment area for 12-24 hours.
8. If there is any diluted preparation left, it should be disposed of immediately according to the instructions.
9. Don't forget that the bushes need to be watered, weeded, trimmed and fed on time. Then the currant will definitely thank you for this with a good harvest.
