Almost all household plots grow various vegetables and fruits. A special place among fruit plants is given to currants. It has unique healing properties that our great-great-grandmothers knew about. However, not all owners know how to properly care for this shrub, so many of them sooner or later begin to wonder why blackcurrant does not bear fruit. You will learn about the causes of this problem from today's article.
What is this plant valued for?
The cultivation of wild bushes began to engage in monks living in the territory of Kievan Rus. This happened in the distant X century, and from that moment they began to breed it in almost all European states. Those who know why blackcurrant does not bear fruit well will be interested in how this plant is useful.
The berries, buds and leaves of this shrub have excellent healing properties. They contain a large number of essential oils, so they are used as a disinfectant. In addition, blackcurrant has a diaphoretic, diuretic and fixing effect. It contains many different vitamins, including A, P, B and C. It is also rich in iron, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, potassium, sodium, pectins, flavonoids, glycosides, glucose, organic acids and tannins.
Why does the blackcurrant bush not bear fruit?
Under favorable conditions, this plant annually brings a crop. Moreover, the peak fruiting falls on the fifth year from the moment of planting. With proper care and favorable conditions, about thirty kilograms of berries can be collected from one hectare. However, some gardeners complain about the lack of a good harvest and begin to look for reasons why blackcurrant ceased to bear fruit.
One of the most basic factors that can reduce the number of ripened berries is considered to be earlier flowering. If it fell on a cold period, when pollinating insects do not show proper activity, then you should not count on getting a plentiful crop.
The second, no less important, reason is an incorrectly formed bush. Some amateur gardeners, due to inexperience, leave an excessive number of root shoots or completely ignore this process.
Choosing a landing place
Those who want to understand why blackcurrant does not bear fruit should understand that the yield also depends on where the bush is located. Perhaps he was placed in the shade and lacks the sun's rays. Or, on the contrary, currants grow along the fence, warming up in extreme heat and killing those who have not had time to ripen the fruits.
Bushes are not recommended to be planted on acidic soils. The areas where it is planned to grow currants, it is advisable to pre-invest. This should be done a year before the start of the proposed landing.
How to form a bush?
So that you do not have a question in the future: “Why does blackcurrant not bear fruit?”, It must be provided with proper care. In young bushes planted in early spring, it is necessary to cut off almost the entire terrestrial part so that no more than two or three buds remain on each branch. This manipulation provokes the formation of new basal branches.
After a year, in early spring, you need to trim the shoots so that two buds remain above the ground. For further fruiting, usually leave no more than three shoots. All other branches are completely deleted.
In the third year, twelve healthy basal shoots are left on the bush, in the fourth - no more than twenty. These manipulations contribute to good fruiting. On the bush thus formed, rather large berries appear.
Crop Disease Diseases
For those who do not know why blackcurrant blossoms, but does not bear fruit, information about ailments that impede the normal formation of berries will be useful.
One of the reasons for the lack of harvest may be reversal. A leaf of currant affected by this disease becomes longer and acquires a pointed shape. The characteristic aroma ceases to emanate from the plant, and the flowers change color to purple. Bushes infected with reversion must be dug up and destroyed.
Another pest that prevents fruiting is the kidney tick. To prevent its occurrence between the bushes, it is recommended to plant garlic. A tick affecting young kidneys is actively developing inside them.
Those who want to understand why blackcurrant does not bear fruit will be interested in learning about another reason. She is a glass butterfly. Leaves affected by this pest begin to fade. The insect gnaws the moves inside the young shoots. Affected branches need to be cut and sealed with garden var.
Is it possible to rejuvenate old currant bushes?
This is done by cutting off the entire terrestrial part, with the exception of annual healthy branches. Moreover, root shoots are shortened so that only one or two buds remain on the surface of the soil. During the first two years after rejuvenation, it is recommended to carry out the procedure of forming a bush, making sure that as a result there are no more than five or six shoots of different ages.
In order to grow strong and well-bearing currants, you need to regularly fertilize the soil with humus and mineral fertilizing, as well as to loosen and water it in a timely manner.