Why there are no berries on gooseberries: reasons for the lack of fruits

Poor harvest reasons

Gooseberry is a very persistent and tenacious perennial shrub, it is not afraid of frost, not too picky about the composition of the soil, regularly bears fruit for 15–20 years. An adult bush brings about 15 kg of berries annually. The first fruits can be obtained 2 or 3 years after planting, and a full harvest can only be said for 4–5 years. But sometimes summer residents say that the gooseberry has stopped bearing fruit. It happens that the bush grows vigorous and green, even blooms, but there are no berries at all, or there are few ovaries that fall off without growing. There may be several reasons for this.

The gooseberry loves a sunny place, the shade helps to reduce the yield. When water stagnates in the area of ​​the root system, this also negatively affects the number of berries and the health of the entire bush. If after a few years it turned out that the bush was planted in an unsuitable place for it, then you need to dig it out, cut the edges of the roots and transplant. It is advisable to think over and prepare the conditions in advance - transplants postpone the harvest. After planting in a new bright place in the prepared soil, the bush must be cut, not only cut out the oldest branches, but also shorten all the shoots by a third. 4 years after transplanting (or earlier), you can get a full harvest of tasty and healthy berries.

Incorrect or simply insufficient pruning of the bush leads to its excessive thickening. The branches shade each other, do not allow new shoots to develop fully. The berries grow on young branches. From the 2nd to the 5th year, most of them are formed, and then the number dramatically decreases. That is why branches older than 5 years need to be removed annually.

Pruning is usually done in early spring before the buds bloom, or in autumn when the leaves have fallen. The first 4 or 5 years, pruning is aimed at forming a bush, removing excess shoots growing from the root. And then they simply do not allow the bush to become too thick by removing old branches.

The ideal gooseberry bush should not consist of more than 20 strong shoots of different ages, and the oldest ones should be removed from it, which will stimulate the formation of berries on the younger branches.

Gooseberries bloom early enough. It's good if the weather is already settled, but there are spring frosts. Of course, the plant itself will not suffer, but the flowers may freeze, which means that there will be no harvest (or almost no harvest).

Self-pollinating gooseberries bear fruit well, even if only one bush grows on the site, but when several bushes of different varieties grow nearby, then the yield will be much larger.

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About the benefits of feeding

This courageous bush grows on the poorest soils, but in order to get a rich harvest, you need to take care of regular feeding. It is believed that two seasonal feeding is the required minimum. The first time fertilizers are applied immediately after flowering, they will help to ripen the crop and grow new shoots. The second time feeding is carried out after harvesting, they will ensure the growth of fruit buds of the next year and prepare the plant for the winter period.

After flowering, a bucket of five times diluted mullein or a bucket of ten times diluted bird droppings is poured under the bushes. And after picking the berries, wood ash and superphosphate are added to the soil. Some summer residents add compost or humus and ammonium nitrate to the soil in early spring. Of course, how the gooseberry bears fruit depends on timely feeding, but you need to focus on the condition of the soil and the plant itself.

Other diseases and pests

Diseases and pests can inflict a devastating blow on the entire plant, they are often the answer to the question of why there are no berries on the bush.

The shading of the bush often contributes to the appearance of diseases. Gooseberries suffer from powdery mildew, late blight, white spot, goblet rust.

American powdery mildew, or spheroteka, covers leaves and shoots with a white bloom from the very beginning of spring. Spores very quickly cover the entire bush, the ovaries begin to fall off, the leaves curl, and the shoots deform. The diseased bush becomes like a brown felt lump. If the disease has reached such a stage, it is useless to fight. The bush must be dug up and burned, and the ground around must be disinfected. It is possible to fight the spheroteka only at the initial stage, and it is better, of course, to prevent it.

At the slightest hint of white bloom, which at first is easily removed from the leaves, you need to process it with Bordeaux liquid. You can make a solution of wood ash or soda ash, add laundry soap to it. Many treat the bushes with Bordeaux liquid as soon as the snow melts - for prevention.

White spot appears as brown spots on the leaves, then the spots brighten and turn white. Leaves are affected, fruits are much less common, but the disease damages the entire plant. If you run it, the crop will die. The affected leaves must be cut off and burned, the ground under the bush must be loosened to a depth of 3 cm. The bush and the ground under it must be treated with a solution of copper sulfate. To prevent the onset of the disease, the ground under the bush is treated with a solution of manganese sulfate, zinc, boron.

If the leaves become pimply uneven, covered with orange spots, it means that they have been struck by a fungus that causes goblet rust. Bordeaux liquid will also help against it, and it is advised to water the soil with a solution of potassium permanganate in the spring.

The appearance of brown-brown spots on the leaves may indicate the appearance of anthracnose. When the spots grow and cover the entire leaf, it loses the ability to participate in photosynthesis. If you start the disease, the leaves will fall off, the plant will die. Copper sulfate, chomycin, nitrofen, colloidal sulfur - these funds will help to overcome or even prevent the disease, which means the death of the plant.

To avoid the hassle of gooseberry treatment, it's best to take care of prevention. Correct timely pruning of bushes, loosening and disinfection of the ground under them, regular application of fertilizing will make your plants much stronger.

There are varieties that are resistant to fungal diseases, but selection does not promise 100% protection.

Pests also do not bypass gooseberries. Aphids, gooseberry moth, sawflies, moths, willow scabbard can cause him trouble.

Aphids lay eggs at the base of the buds, the larvae feed on sap, which is sucked first from the buds, and then from young leaves.If colonies of this small pest are found on the tips of the shoots, then the affected parts of the branches are cut off and burned. The bushes are treated with a solution of soap and ash, decoction of tobacco, yarrow, mustard. Aphids do not like the smell of tomatoes, so it is good to plant them next to gooseberries.

Moths are butterflies that lay eggs on the underside of leaves in summer. Young caterpillars feed on these leaves, and hibernate under bushes in spider cocoons. In order to prevent them from entering your site, you need to remove plant debris, loosen the ground. If the pests have already appeared, the bushes are treated with decoctions of tobacco, wormwood, tansy. In the absence of progress, they resort to special drugs - "Aktellik", "Iskra", "Kinmiks".

The pale-footed and yellow sawflies lay their eggs directly in the leaf tissue, the larvae eat the leaves, leaving only veins. During the summer, two generations of these pests are removed, and the second is especially harmful. They hibernate in the upper soil level under bushes. The best prevention is loosening the earth, digging in autumn, cleaning up plant residues. Decoctions of tobacco and herbs or insecticides against leaf-gnawing insects also help against sawers.

The moth leaves its offspring inside the flowers, completely depriving the plant of the possibility of fruiting. Bitoxibacillin or lepidocide is used against it.

Scabbards suck out the sap of plants, piercing the bark with proboscis. Saves them from whitewashing the bark with slaked lime, spraying with honey and soap solution.

Prevention against all pests is the correct agricultural technique, the fulfillment of all sanitary requirements. Such measures will minimize the possibility of damage to pests and diseases, which means they will save the crop.

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