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By its popularity in the country and garden plots the gooseberry, like its closest relative - currant, is inferior to the grapeIt is well stored, transported and gives a rich harvest of unique in its beneficial and taste berries. Yet sometimes hopes are not fulfilled, and the gooseberry does not bear fruit, but there are always reasons for that.
Fruiting gooseberries in full force begins to 4-5 th year after planting. And as long as the shrub is able to form new shoots, it will produce a decent harvest. But if you do not remove multiple branches using pruning, it will lead to thickening of the crown and a drop in yield.
An adult shrub should be 14 to 20 strong shoots of different ages. Each year, 4-5 young branches are left on the plant.
After 4 years, four-year shoots that have been bearing fruit are removed, replacing them with new ones. This procedure is obligatory from year to year, otherwise the bush will quickly grow old, and then there will not be an abundance of berries.
So, the first reason for the poor yields of gooseberries is the lack of timely pruning.
For other reasons, you can add:
- low illumination area;
- insufficient watering;
- diseases and pests;
- lack of feeding;
- wrong landing.
Air, sun and water. ..
Gooseberry is very picky about light. Due to insufficient illumination with dense planting of bushes or due to being in the shade of trees, the berries on the gooseberry are tied much less, they shrink and do not have the proper taste. If the plot is too dark, the plant ceases to bloom at all. In addition, with such a location increases the risk of fungal diseases.
Varieties with spreading bushes, such as Belarusian sugar, are planted so that the distance between them is at least 1.2 m. Compact varieties can be planted at a distance of 0.9 m from each other.
Gooseberry does not like swampy soil, choosing a plot for planting, make sure that the groundwater is at a depth of at least 1.5 meters from the surface. Otherwise, diseases, and more often, the death of the plant, can not be avoided. However, he needs constant watering. In the zone of occurrence of the roots, it is necessary to maintain a fairly high soil moisture( 80%), so the gooseberry must be watered intensively until the berries begin to soften. Later, for the accumulation of sugar in them, watering is stopped. In recent years, many gardeners prefer drip irrigation, it allows about 25% increase in yield and weight of berries, while the water consumption compared with other methods is much lower.
About the benefits of top dressing and diseases
If you plant mineral fertilizers or humus during the planting, then in the first year you should not be worried about planting gooseberries. In subsequent years, starting with the second, in order for the gooseberry to bear fruit, the plant must be regularly fed. Before flowering, in the spring, gooseberry requires nitrogen. To do this, you can put 100-150g of urea into the ground under a bush or water the plant with its solution, the same amount of urea solution per 10 liters of water. A good result can be achieved using fertilizing with liquid organic fertilizers( chicken manure, mullein).In the formation of buds appropriate feeding phosphorus. Most often, superphosphate, previously infused in water for at least one day, is used for these purposes.
At present, there are gooseberry varieties resistant to many diseases and pests. But still there are no such plants that absolutely do not need chemical protective measures. A fruiting gooseberry, weakened by diseases and pests, can not be high. Most often the gooseberry suffers from powdery mildew and is also affected by rot, anthracnose, etc.
Major pests:
- aphid;
- glass house;
- kidney mite;
- Flame;
- sawfly.
Eradication spraying of copper sulfate, aimed at combating diseases and pests, produced in early spring or late autumn, after the foliage has fallen. Please note that in no case can this be done if the buds begin to bloom. Insecticides can also be used to control pests: Decis, Arrivo, Mospilan.
If you are faced with a problem, why the gooseberry does not bear fruit, first of all think about whether it is comfortable on your site, whether it has enough sun and moisture, and whether it is overwhelmed by pests. With proper care, regular pruning and fertilizing this issue is unlikely to bother you.
