Most homeowners annually observe how white deposits form on white currants. Moreover, you can see it not only on white, but also on red, as well as black currants. It should be noted that it is the leaves of the bush that are affected. What is the source of infection of this amazingly delicious berry? This is a fungus that spends the winter on affected shoots and damaged fallen fruits. In summer, white plaque on white currants is formed repeatedly due to fungal spores that have been preserved on the "damaged" plant organs. The bushes are gradually "infected", their immunity to frost is reduced, and after a couple of years the currant dies completely.
What are the symptoms of the above disease?
If you saw a white coating on a white currant, namely on the leaves of a shrub from the underside, - know that this is the first sign of the disease. Over time, a layering of a white hue will appear on the petioles, berries and young shoots. Subsequently, the coating will become denser, its color will become slightly brown, and ultimately it will transform into felt with black dots. This is the fruiting body of the fungus.
The berries affected by such a layering acquire a grayish tint, and it becomes impossible to eat them. If such symptoms occur, this means one thing - the time for effective treatment of the bush is lost. The gardener is left with the onset of autumn or early spring to destroy all, without exception, damaged leaves and shoots.
However, it must be emphasized that white plaque on white currant is formed no more often than on black or red varieties. As a rule, the disease "progresses" in the summer season. Often it becomes infected from an affected gooseberry. Favorable conditions for the development of the disease are high humidity of air and soil, as well as warm weather. The disease can be destroyed only at the initial stage of infection.
White plaque on currant leaves is eliminated by spraying them with special chemicals. Shrub should be treated several times, and this should be done strictly according to the instructions.
In order to combat wintering infection, copper sulfate is widely used, which is sprayed on a plant in cloudy weather or in the evening. At the same time, it should be controlled so that each section of the sheet is treated with a chemical composition. In hot weather, sunlight is not recommended for spraying.
If the currant is covered with a white coating, then this problem can be eliminated without "any chemistry".
For example, you need to prepare the following composition. It is necessary to take the rotted hay or mullein in the amount of 1/3 of a standard bucket and soak the above ingredient in three liters of water, and then insist for three days. After this, the resulting substance is dissolved again in water in a ratio of 1: 3 and filtered. With this “preparation”, the plant should be treated 3 times, namely: before the flowering period, after the flowering period and before the leaves fall.
Wood ash also fights effectively against white bloom on the currant bushes - it should be placed dry in the near-stem zones of the bushes.
To minimize the risk of damaging currants with the above disease, purchase varieties that have the greatest immunity to it.