At any summer cottage you can find a currant bush. This is due to the variety of varieties, the winter hardiness of this shrub and the enormous benefits of the berries themselves. But sometimes the harvest of this plant begins to fail, and summer residents are perplexed as to why black currants are drying up and what to do in such a situation. It is important to establish the true reason why the plant began to die, so that appropriate measures can be taken at the initial stage.
Causes of drying out
The reasons why currants began to dry out may be different. The main provoking factors include:
- natural influences;
- pest attack;
- disease of the plant itself.
Adverse weather conditions
The shrub may dry out during hot, dry periods. This usually happens in the summer, when the plant is exposed to the scorching sun for a long time.
If the landing site was initially chosen incorrectly, this can also lead to its death.
Especially when the period of prolonged rains begins. The roots of the plant, without adequate drainage, are flooded with water and gradually begin to rot and die. And the bush dries up. In this case, earth should be poured under the bush, and small grooves should be dug around the perimeter, within a radius of 60 centimeters. Thanks to this, excess liquid will drain from under the soil.
Poor watering
In hot and sultry weather, currants should be watered thoroughly. If this does not happen, the plant dries out. Shrubs should be watered correctly in the summer. This should be done when the scorching sun begins to go down, especially when it is July.
The water must be settled. It is prohibited to take it from a borehole or well. Water that is too cold can damage the roots of a plant that is already suffering from hot weather. The shrub should be watered abundantly in summer. This is especially true when the berries begin to ripen.
Possible diseases
Another reason that the bush began to dry out and wither may be a disease of the plant itself. The most common ailments of the currant bush include:
- mosaic of a veined or striped nature;
- a fungal disease such as anthracnose;
- powdery mildew (European or American);
- rust is columnar or goblet.
Columnar rust
Columnar rust appears as small orange dots covering currant leaves. A shrub can catch this disease from coniferous trees growing nearby. You need to save the plant as quickly as possible. To do this, it should be treated with a solution of Fitosporin.
If this remedy does not give the desired result, then you can try one percent Bordeaux mixture. The plant should be treated with it for four days in a row, then a break of ten days is taken and, if necessary, the course is repeated again.
Anthracnose
This disease most often appears in mid-summer. It can be recognized by spots with a diameter of one millimeter, which have a brown-red tint. If nothing is done, the spots increase in size and cover the entire leaf. As a result, it dries up and dies.
The causative agent of this disease is a fungus. Its spores persist throughout the winter in fallen leaves that lie under the bush itself. And then it begins to take root in the wood. In this regard, in the spring it is recommended to burn all the foliage. The bush itself should be sprayed with solutions that contain fungicides.
Also in the spring you can treat the bush and the soil near it with a two percent solution of Karbofos or Nitrophen. And at the end of summer it can be sprayed with Fundazol.
Tuberculariosis
Tuberculariasis is considered a fungal infectious disease that affects berry bushes. Most often, it is black currants that suffer from it when they begin to bloom. Red lumpy spots first appear on the inside of the leaf. And already in August all the currants dry up.
This process begins from the top of the bush shoots.The branches become covered with dark brown tubercles, gradually affecting the entire wood. In this case, dry and diseased branches must be trimmed, and the bush after harvesting must be treated with the following preparations:
- Homecin;
- Captanol;
- Topsina M.
Insect pests
Some insects also cause the currant bush to die, and its leaves and branches dry out completely. It is better to determine the presence of such a pest at an early stage, before the bush has time to die completely. To do this, you need to know the distinctive features of the attacking insects.
Aphids and ants
Ants and aphids most often attack the currant bush. You need to carefully inspect the area around the bush. If there is an anthill nearby, you need to move it as far as possible with a shovel. The ground itself should be filled with water so that the insects leave.
Additionally, you can spray the plant with an ash solution. To do this, you need to dissolve a glass of ash in a full bucket of water. The shrub can also be treated with a soap solution with the addition of mustard powder.
Kidney mite
The bud mite is another cause of currant death. It is very dangerous for the plant, as it begins to destroy the buds of the bush. Because of this, the yield is significantly reduced. A plant that has been affected by such a pest is almost impossible to cure. It is recommended to dig it up and burn it so that the neighboring bushes are not damaged.
The fruits themselves on such a bush ripen poorly and have a sour taste. The leaves look smaller compared to healthy ones. But the petioles, on the contrary, are longer.
Spider mite
Spider mites greatly damage the leaves of shrubs. White round dots begin to appear on them.Over time, they grow, transform into spots and completely begin to cover the damaged leaf, as a result of which it dries out. Then the branch is affected.
These mites are carriers of diseases, which is why the currant bush can hurt and dry out for a long time. You can defeat spider mites or kidney mites using special solutions. It could be:
- Karbofos;
- colloidal sulfur;
- Phosphamide.
Glassware
Glasswort is another pest that acts secretly and sometimes unnoticed by the summer residents themselves. You can recognize this insect by the wilting of the currants, which have not even had time to bloom. The shrub sheds berries, and its leaves become small. Glassworm damage begins from within the branches. And the older the currant bush itself, the more likely it is to be attacked by this pest.
If affected branches and shoots are found, they should be cut off and burned. The soil around the bush should be loosened regularly by adding ground black pepper, tobacco dust or dry mustard. Thanks to such measures, the pest begins to disappear.
Ognevka
The moth is easier to recognize than other pests on a currant bush. In this case, you can notice gnawed leaves and berries wrapped in a dense web. And upon closer inspection, you will be able to see light green caterpillars with a black head, which are swarming in the affected fruits.
The harm from the moth is that it eats the fruit at a fairly high speed.
Most often, it will settle on those bushes that bloom profusely in the summer. Only special preparations will help protect against such a pest. This:
- Kinmiks;
- Aktellik;
- Fufanon;
- Iskra M.
It is recommended to spray the bush with these solutions before flowering begins.Then in the summer the problem that branches with berries dry out on red currants can be avoided. But in the fall it is useful to properly hill up such bushes. Then the butterfly larvae will not be able to get out from under a large layer of earth.
What to do if the problem cannot be identified
If the summer resident has not been able to establish the main reason why the currants are drying up, then it is better to prune such a bush. You should start with the affected branches, which are then necessarily burned. This is done in order to prevent infection of other healthy branches.
When a currant bush has been growing in a summer cottage for a long time, then perhaps the time has already come and it needs to be uprooted. In order for other bushes to bear fruit on such land in the future, the soil should be fertilized.
Preventive actions
To avoid such a problem as drying out of the currant bush, it should be properly cared for. It is important to initially choose a suitable place where the shrub will grow. It is better that it is away from coniferous plants. You should also avoid stagnation of moisture in the soil. In severe drought, the currant bush should be watered abundantly. It is better to burn fallen leaves immediately.
Do not forget about regular treatment of the crop with special insecticides and fungicides that help the plant protect itself from pests.
