Who eats gooseberries and how to deal with pests

Fruit and berry shrubs are often attacked by insect pests that feed on green foliage, shoots, bark, ovaries and fruits. Gooseberry bushes are no exception. The most dangerous pest of culture is the gooseberry moth, which lays eggs in flower ovaries. The worms in gooseberry berries are caterpillars that feed on pulp and seeds. In addition to the moth, the plant is attacked by currant gall midge, which can be recognized by the growths on the leaves.

How to deal with gooseberry pests, prevent the spread and completely remove them from the site, what to do if it is time to harvest, read the article.

Who eats gooseberry berries

Gooseberry bushes most often attack peststhat feed on leaves, young shoots and bark: aphid, spider mite, goldfish, glass bowl, elm leaf gnaw.

The larvae of the most insidious pest of fruit and berry bushes, the gooseberry moth, love to feast on juicy berries. This is a gray, inconspicuous butterfly. On its front wings there are transverse brownish stripes. Caterpillars of green color with a black head reach 2 cm in length.

Moth is activated in the spring at the time of leaf blooming. Pupae hibernate in the ground, and with the onset of warmth, butterflies fly out of them and lay eggs inside flower ovaries.

Larvae, similar to worms, live right in maturing berries, feed on pulp and seeds. In the future, damaged fruits turn red ahead of time, then rot and dry.

Affected berries fall or remain on the bush, entangled in thick cobwebs. One adult caterpillar is capable of destroying 10-15 fruits, therefore, without timely intervention, you can completely lose the crop.

Reference. Caterpillars appear from the eggs of the gooseberry moth in 1-1.5 weeks, which eat the contents of the ovaries in a month.

Currant gall midge more often affects currant bushes, but does not mind taking advantage of juicy leaves, flower ovaries and gooseberry fruits. Pest larvae ripen in leaves, shoots, flowers, berries and hide in chambers - galls. These hiding places resemble growths. An adult gall midge resembles a small dipteran mosquito.

How to deal with pests

To combat gooseberry moth and currant gall midge, they use the method of manual collection, agricultural techniques, folk and chemical means, and also collect the affected plant parts and burn them away from the site.

Agrotechnical techniques

The moth caterpillars grow, fall to the ground, and hibernate in it until spring. The pest does not go far from its feeder and hides under the gooseberry bushes.

In the fall, gardeners dig up the ground with a pitchfork so that the pupae are on its surface and freeze in winter.

In the spring, the site is mulched with roofing felt, roofing felt, a dense black film or agrofibre. The trunk circles are covered with roofing material to prevent butterflies from flying out. Reception will be repeated from year to year until the complete disappearance of the moth on the site.

In early spring, gooseberry bushes are spud to a height of 10-15 cm and removed after flowering. Insects are not able to overcome such an obstacle, therefore they die.

Butterfly traps made of plastic bottles are hung on the bushes. Windows are cut through them, filled by 1/3 with fermented juice, kvass or beer. If you leave the bowls on the ground, slugs will also collect in them.

Hand picking infected berries also helps to get rid of moth worms. The caterpillars are collected from the bushes into an old container and destroyed.

To scare away gall midges, mint, marigolds, decorative tansy, geranium, delphinium, Dalmatian chamomile, pyrethrum, nasturtium, calendula, lavender are planted next to the gooseberry.

How to process the bushes and is it possible after that to eat berries

Fighting the gooseberry moth is a difficult task, but feasible, if you follow the recommendations of experienced gardeners and act consistently. Caterpillars crawl out of the berries when they are exposed to chemicals.

For the treatment of gooseberry bushes, biological products are used 2 times a week every 7 days: "Gomelin", "Dendrobacillin", "Lepidocid", "Entobacterin", "Bitoxibacillin". The products are safe for humans and the environment, therefore they are allowed to be used during the period of fruit setting.

Treatment with chemicals is performed at the time of bud break and immediately after flowering.

Such drugs are effective: "Aktellik", "Fufanon", "Senpai", "Kinmiks", "Karbofos", "Iskra-M", "Iskra", "Gardona". After processing, wait 2-3 weeks before harvesting.

Folk remedies alternate with chemical treatment for greater effectiveness, or are used only during the period of fruit formation.

Folk recipes:

1. A bucket with a volume of 10 liters is filled with ash by 1/3 and water is poured to the top. The mixture is stirred and insisted for 48 hours, then filtered through cheesecloth and thoroughly treated with bushes and trunk circles.
2. 100 g of mustard powder is poured into 10 liters of boiling water and insisted for 48 hours. The mixture is then diluted 1: 1 with cold water. Bushes and trunks are processed in the evening or in cloudy weather.
3. 4 kg of tomato tops are poured into 10 liters of water and boiled over low heat for 30 minutes. Then the broth is cooled to room temperature and diluted with water 1: 4. Processing is carried out 2-3 times in 5-7 days.
4. 1 kg of tobacco shag is poured into 10 liters of water and insisted for 24 hours. Before processing, 40 g of soap chips are mixed into the solution for better adhesion. Processing is performed twice with an interval of 7 days.
5. 100 g of dry chamomile pour 10 liters of boiling water, insist for 10-12 hours, filter and spray the bushes during the flowering period.
6. 200 g of pine or spruce needles are poured into 2 liters of boiling water and insisted for 7 days in a closed container, stirring the infusion daily. Before processing, the product is diluted with water 1:10. With an average degree of infection, 2-3 sprays are sufficient with an interval of 7 days.

The success of gooseberry pest control depends entirely on the efforts of the gardener. To prevent the spread of insects, the site is mulched, covered with agrofibre, the plantings are periodically thinned out, pruning is timely performed, the seedlings are fed with organic matter and minerals, and repellent flowers are planted nearby.

Conclusion

The gooseberry moth is an inconspicuous gray butterfly, the caterpillars of which can completely deprive the gardener of the harvest. The larvae feed on pulp and seeds, then fall to the ground, pupate and hibernate there until spring. Currant gall midge attacks currants more often, but does not mind eating gooseberries. Pest larvae ripen in leaves, shoots, flowers, berries and hide in growth chambers - galls.

Pest control is carried out using agrotechnical methods (hilling, mulching, covering the trunk circle with film and roofing material). To treat the bushes, chemical agents are used (Aktellik, Fufanon, Kinmiks, Karbofos, Iskra-M, Iskra, Gardona) and biological products (Gomelin, Dendrobacillin, Lepidocid "," Entobacterin "," Bitoxibacillin "). Folk remedies based on ash, chamomile, mustard, pine needles, tomato tops, tobacco shag are alternated with chemicals for greater effectiveness.