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Currants

Deciduous shrub, 1 to 1.5 meters high, palmately lobed leaves with five lobes. Strong shrub, sensitive to aphids and white disease. Birds also sometimes want to peck a berry.

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Photo: Thue - CC Public Domain

Currants: redcurrant (Ribes rubrum) blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum) and gooseberry (Ribes uva crispa) originate from the western part of Europe. Deciduous shrubs, 1 to 1.5 meters high, palmately lobed leaves with five lobes. The plant has inconspicuous, yellow-green flowers. The berries (red, white or black) have a diameter of between 8 and 12 mm and hang in clusters of 3 to 10 berries. The length of the truss is 4 to 8 cm. An adult bush can yield 3 to 4 kilos of berries; harvest July, August and early September. Gooseberries are usually green and covered with fine hairs.

pest insect

recognize the caterpillar of the harlequin butterfly
The Magpie, Photo: Jean Pierre Hamon – CC BY-SA 3.0

Leaf and blossom are eaten by caterpillars (the berry span caterpillar) of Magpie Moth (Abraxas grossulariata).

Aphids, Photo: Rasbak – CC BY-SA 3.0

Deformed leaf and berry: aphid (Aphidoidea).

Young leaves are eaten away: caterpillars of the common gooseberry sawfly (Nematus ribesii) .

Wilting branches; tunnels in perennial wood: currant clearwing (Synanthedon tipuliformis).

Buds are thick and do not open or are misshapen: big bud mite (Cecidophyopsis ribis).

red blisters caused by the blood blister<encoded_tag_open />wbr<encoded_tag_closed />louse on currant
Red blisters on the leaf caused by the Currant blister aphid, Photo: Jerzy Opiola – CC BY-SA 4.0

Red blisters on the leaf: Currant blister aphid (Cryptomyzus ribis).

Holes in often a single berry with spinning around it; berry matures early: Gooseberry Knot-horn (Zophodia grossulariella).

Soft spots develop in the red berries, the berries become dull and can then rot: Asian fruit fly (Drosophila suzukii).

recognize scale insects on currant
Brown scales on the branches of currant, photo: Anna Janssens

Brown scales on the branches of the currant: scale insects (Coccomorpha).

Fungi & diseases

Leaf and berry are covered with white mold: powdery mildew (Podosphaera mors-uvae).

Brown spots followed by grey mold fluff: Gray mold (Botrytis ssp.).

recognize coral spot
Coral spot, photo: Pethan – CC BY-SA 3.0

Orange-red raised spots on the branches; branches die off, sometimes followed by the entire shrub: coral spot (Nectria cinnabarina).

Currant and gooseberry leaf spot, Photo: Jerzy Opiola – CC BY-SA 4.0

Small, irregular black-brown spots on the leaf, after which discolouration to yellow or brown; affected leaves already fall in July after harvest: Currant and gooseberry leaf spot (Drepanopeziza ribis).

recognize American gooseberry mildew
American gooseberry mildew, photo: AgroFlora.ru

White fungus on young shoots and berries; shoots lag behind in growth and affected berries are no longer edible: American gooseberry mildew (Sphaerotheca mors-uvae).

Small yellow-orange (rust) spots on the leaf: rust.

Other

Berries are snatched: birds.

Leaf margin discolours, curls and withers. Early leaf fall: potassium deficiency.

recognize damage to attachments
Dried and fallen berries, photo: Hul . family st

In early spring, starting berries have dried up and fallen off: frost damage.

recognize the cause of affected currants
Damaged and dried out red berries, photo: Jeannine Lamain

Damaged and subsequently dried out ripe berries: hail and heavy rain can cause this, especially after a period of drought followed by rain. The berries swell, making the skin thin and fragile.

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