Powdery mildew is one of the most dangerous diseases of gooseberries. This disease can not only destroy the entire harvest, but also completely destroy the plant itself in a few years. The disease occurs quite often, and the breadth of its spread knows no bounds. Powdery mildew develops especially actively in warm and fairly humid weather.
At the end of May and beginning of June you need to turn Special attention on the plant, it is during this period that you can notice a somewhat loose coating on it white. If no measures are taken, over time the plaque will begin to acquire a darker brownish tint. It becomes much denser, crust-like.
Prevention
Powdery mildew – fungal disease, beginning its active development in spring period with the arrival of warmth due to numerous disputes. Despite the fact that the disease is serious, it is not difficult to fight.
In this case, there are two main directions of action: agrotechnical and chemical, which together provide an excellent result.
If the gardener does not recognize chemical methods, then agrotechnical ones in combination with folk remedies will be sufficient.
Powdery mildew on gooseberries is very dangerous, and therefore, in order to prevent its occurrence, every gardener needs to take preventive measures:
- 1. Gooseberry bushes need to be pruned in the fall or in early spring, this has a beneficial effect on its development. Thanks to this, the plant is able to resist various kinds of diseases. At the time of pruning mandatory Branches damaged by the disease should be removed.
- 2. If berries have already appeared, the growing season is in full swing, and powdery mildew has appeared on the plant, then such berries should be removed as far as possible. The spores of the disease survive the winter on affected shoots, and sometimes on fallen leaves. Thus, with the arrival of spring, last year's fallen leaves need to be burned.
- 3. As soon as very coldy passed, and the buds on the bush have not yet appeared, the gooseberries should be doused hot water, the temperature of which should not be less than 90 degrees. Based on it, you can prepare a special solution of potassium permanganate (dilute to Pink colour) or soda (2 tbsp. per 10 l hot water). This pre-treatment can combat almost any fungal infection.
- 4. To fertilize shrubs, it is better to use only potash or phosphorus fertilizers. They have a beneficial effect on the plant’s resistance to powdery mildew. As for nitrogen fertilizers, they should be abandoned, since nitrogen itself can lead to the fact that the shoots, without having time to get stronger, are most affected by the disease.
Such preventive methods should be used comprehensively.
Additional measures to avoid occurrence powdery mildew on gooseberries:
- 1. The area where the plant grows must be as clean as possible at any time of the year. The weeds present on it should be destroyed, and the shoots should be removed in a timely manner. Under no circumstances should the soil be contaminated.
- 2. Planting material must be selected extremely carefully. The future plant must be strong and healthy. Gooseberry varieties are very diverse and therefore it is important to choose those that are better adapted to the region.
- 3. Regularly carry out pruning and bush formation. Remove all unnecessary branches and plants from the site and burn them outside the site.
- 4. Try to clean the area as much as possible after leaf fall and thoroughly clean the soil.
Folk methods of struggle
Many gardeners avoid the use of chemicals and prefer unconventional methods of getting rid of a particular disease. Folk remedies and methods for combating powdery mildew are very diverse, and everyone can choose the most effective, efficient and economical.
More popular recipes traditional treatment plants are:
- 1. Soap with soda. Affected plants can be cured by spraying with a special solution prepared on the basis of soda and soap. Spraying is carried out even after the flowering period of the plant. To do this, you need to take 50-60 g of soda ash and a little laundry soap, pre-grated, for one bucket of water. This is necessary so that the resulting solution is thicker and sticks better to the plant.
- 2. Potassium permanganate. Powdery mildew can be treated with a special solution of potassium permanganate. With the help of this tool, preventive measures are also carried out. To prepare the drug, you need to take one bucket of water and add 1.5 g of potassium permanganate to it.
- 3. Mullein solution. Measures to combat powdery mildew are very multifaceted. For example, a solution of mullein, infused for 3-4 days, can perfectly cope with this problem. To prepare the composition you need to take fresh mullein and mix it with clean water in a ratio of 1:3. After this, the solution is infused and mixed again in a ratio of 1:3. The damaged plant should not be sprayed very generously, but thoroughly. You can use a simple broom for this. The event is held every week.
- 4. Whey. If the leaves of the plant are already damaged by the disease, then any fermented milk product mixed with water in a ratio of 1:10 will be an excellent help. Whey is better. It is necessary to stir the composition until it has a homogeneous consistency, and then use it to spray a diseased plant.
- 5. Horsetail-based decoction. This composition can be prepared from dried (100 g) or fresh grass (1 kg). The available raw materials should be soaked in one bucket of water for 24 hours, after which the solution is boiled for an hour, filtered and cooled. Then you need to dilute the resulting composition with water in a ratio of 1:5. The finished product can be stored for no more than one week. Spraying should be carried out regularly, from the very first day of the growing season.
- 6. Tansy. A decoction based on this plant will also help cope with the disease. To do this, you need to take 300 g of fresh or 30 g of dry plant and dilute it in one bucket of water. It must be used without diluting. This composition is sprayed not on the plant itself, but on the soil in which it grows. Tansy is classified as poisonous plants, therefore, when working with it you must be extremely careful and follow all safety measures.
- 7. Urine. Urine is also perfect for fighting powdery mildew. 200 g of the substance dissolves in 5 liters of water. The ingredients are mixed well with each other, and the process of spraying the diseased plant is immediately carried out. This method should be used immediately after the gooseberry bush blooms. The procedure should be carried out 3-4 times a season with an interval of 7-10 days.
Ash in the fight against disease
This remedy has been known since ancient times. Its effectiveness has been confirmed by more than one generation of gardeners.
Ash is used in many ways, the most common of which are:
- 1. Dry ash - used in early spring. To process the ash, you need to carefully sift it through a sieve, and then pour 10-20 g under each bush of the plant.
- 2. Ash infusion - the drug must be used twice a month throughout the entire season. Recipe for preparing the concentrate: you need to take the raw material and fill it with hot water in the proportion of 300 g of ash per 1 liter of water. The composition must be infused for five days, after which it is carefully filtered. All branches and shoots of the plant are sprayed with this medicine.
- 3. Dry ash - can be safely used when digging the soil. More often this happens in spring or autumn period. It is necessary to scatter the drug at the very root. 200-300 g of raw materials per 1 sq. m. After sprinkling, you need to pour a little water or sprinkle thin layer soil so that the ash penetrates the soil as best as possible.
For cooking ash solution required:
- sift dry raw materials;
- dissolve it in hot water in the proportion of 1 kg of ash per 10 liters of water;
- leave the composition for 4-7 days, while the contents are stirred every day;
- on the last day, do not touch the composition, but let it settle, after which the liquid is poured into another container;
- with great desire already finished composition you can dissolve laundry soap;
- after this, the damaged bushes are treated with a special sprayer;
- the sediment that remains is diluted with plain water and the roots of the bushes are watered with it.
Gooseberries can be treated with freshly prepared mixture in dry and windless weather. It is advisable to carry out the procedure in the evening. It is very necessary to treat the leaves and shoots of the plant from all sides. To do this, use a sprayer or a soft paint brush.
If you find a gray-white coating on the gooseberry fruits, this indicates that your plant has been infected with a dangerous disease - powdery mildew. This disease came from America. It spreads throughout the plant quite quickly.
Over time, the whitish coating turns into a gray or even brown tint. It is necessary to combat this disease immediately after the first signs of powdery mildew are detected.
Description of the disease
You can understand the presence of powdery mildew on gooseberries if a loose cobweb has formed there. white coating. Over time it will turn into brown spots. If treatment is not started, then in addition to the fruits, the disease will begin to affect shoots and leaves, which over time turn yellow and curl.
Cracks form on the fruits and they begin to crumble, even though they are not yet ripe. In this case, it is necessary to carry out treatment measures as quickly as possible. Otherwise, powdery mildew will spoil the bush, and it will no longer bear fruit, and then it will disappear completely.
Video shows powdery mildew on gooseberries:
Prevention
Old branches and those that produce little fruit need to be cut off. Place tops of tomatoes and potatoes under the bush, and also water them with a solution of EM preparations. The tops will slowly decompose under the influence of bacteria, which will ingest fungal spores. But when the leaves all fall off, remove the rotted tops from the area and burn them. In autumn and spring, be sure to dig up the area.
Another excellent prevention would be to plant gooseberry varieties that can resist powdery mildew. This should include:
But which variety of cauliflower is best to plant will help you understand this
To plant gooseberries, you need to choose only healthy and strong plants that are already adapted to the growing conditions in a certain region.
Fitosporin-M is considered an excellent prophylactic agent. It is based on a concentrate of Bacillus subtilis bacteria. And although the product is considered very effective. It can only be used for prevention, since it cannot treat powdery mildew. But how to treat powdery mildew on currants and gooseberries is indicated
Fitosporin-M
How to treat with drugs
Today in specialized stores you can see different kinds drugs. But they are all divided into two large groups– chemical and biological. Modern fungicidal preparations allow you to quickly cope with powdery mildew. Their active components penetrate the plant cells, treat it and create reliable protection from the development of fungus.
Taking into account what product will be used to combat the disease, the bushes should be treated 1-4 times with an interval of 7-10 days.
Today the following drugs remain the most popular:
In addition, gardeners can use the following chemicals:
Home control methods
To combat the disease, you can use proven folk remedies. The following recipes can be considered the most effective:
Powdery mildew is a common disease that affects various crops, including gooseberries. You can fight it with both ready-made drugs and folk remedies. Of course, it is better to carry out prevention in a timely manner so as not to give fungi a chance to develop. And if you don’t fight the disease, then be prepared for the fact that you will have to say goodbye not only to the harvest, but to the crop itself.
Gooseberries can be found in almost every garden. These berries are loved for their unique taste and high content of vitamin C. It must be remembered that the older the bush, the greater the likelihood of it being affected by powdery mildew. If no measures are taken, the disease can not only reduce the yield, but also completely destroy it, as well as affect shoots and even roots.
Powdery mildew on gooseberries is a fungal disease, it is spread by microscopic particles - spores that are transferred to the plant by insects or wind. You can also find another name - American powdery mildew of the gooseberry bush - since this disease came to us from America. Powdery mildew is divided into two subspecies - true and false. The spores overwinter well on the lower branches, in the thickness of the foliage and soil under the bush, and in the spring they begin their journey through the crown.
Powdery mildew on gooseberries requires active use of control measures against it, since it can appear on raspberries, currants, and even roses. With the onset of warm and humid weather, on the lower part of the first leaves close to the ground, when the plant is infected, you can already notice a white, loose coating, similar to scattered flour. Such leaves should be disposed of as soon as possible, removed and burned. If you miss the first signs, then the white coating will subsequently become dark, brown with a dense texture, affecting all parts of the plant: leaves curl, infected branches become crooked, and the berries spoil before they ripen.
Weaknesses of the disease
It must be borne in mind that the disease is fungal in nature. There are three main methods of treating gooseberries for powdery mildew: agrotechnical, chemical and agrochemical. The agrotechnical method consists of immediate pruning of leaves and branches with signs of damage, planned pruning before and after the end of the growing season, as well as planting varieties resistant to downy mildew. At the very beginning of spring, you need to clear the bush of damaged and old branches, and the ground of last year's foliage.
Knowing that mushrooms form spores twice a year, in spring and summer, we process gooseberries three times during the growing season: before and after flowering, and also before autumn leaves fall. Treat the bushes in the evening, liberally treating the entire plant, as well as the ground under the bush, with the solution. Irrigation is carried out using a wide-spectrum sprayer, paying special attention to the underside of the leaves. Before processing, we get rid of possibly infected leaves or other parts of the plant, and collect all the litter in which the spores could overwinter.
Properly formed, strong shoots resist powdery mildew infection well. This largely depends on feeding with potassium and phosphorus fertilizers. The use of nitrogen fertilizers, on the contrary, suppresses the growth rate of shoots and makes them easy prey for fungal infections. If many plants on the site are affected, then it is necessary to apply potent chemicals protection against powdery mildew on gooseberries. For this purpose they use copper sulfate or special drugs.
Protecting gooseberries from powdery mildew by an agrochemical method combines the methods described above and gives a very good results. For the treatment of plants it is used as folk recipes, and special chemicals.
Folk remedies
How to deal with powdery mildew traditional methods, know experienced summer residents and gardeners. In early spring, the bushes are treated with a hot (about 90 degrees) solution of potassium permanganate. By thoroughly pouring it with this solution, the shoots and soil under the bush are disinfected. After flowering, the plant is treated with a solution of ammonium or potassium nitrate. One of the cheapest and effective ways– treatment using an aqueous infusion of wood ash. The bushes are irrigated at the end of spring three times every other day. The ash residue diluted with water is watered on the soil under the bush.
If a white coating appears on the gooseberries, it saves soda solution with soap. The bush is treated with this thick solution, and the ground under the bush is watered with the diluted remainder of the mixture. Another way to combat fungal diseases is treatment using kefir or sour milk, which is carried out three times every three days. You can also use whey for this.
The resulting film prevents the fungus from breathing and makes the gooseberries healthier. A solution of soda, aspirin, liquid detergent, vegetable oil and water. The bush is treated with this composition twice a month throughout the season.
At the initial stage of infection, the plant can be treated with a decoction horsetail. Plants are irrigated three to four times every five days. A decoction of tansy is used to water the ground around the bushes twice a year, in spring and autumn. The decoction can be used for irrigation onion peel. Treat with this infusion before flowering, after flowering and before leaf fall. In the same mode they are treated with mullein solution.
Fighting with chemicals
Modern fungicidal preparations help actively fight against peronospora, which includes powdery mildew. These are Quadris, Skor, Tilt, Topsin, Fundazol. WITH for preventive purposes use Fitosporin M. This drug is very effective in preventing the disease, but is powerless in the fight against the disease itself when it has already manifested itself. Biofungicidal methods include the use of mullein, which is described above.
Prevention
Fungal diseases are much easier to prevent than to treat. Let's start by choosing a place for the bush. For gooseberries choose sunny areas, With low level groundwater, good drainage to prevent powdery mildew from developing. The distance between the bushes should be sufficient for good ventilation and drying of the soil. Usually they are planted in rows with an interval of 1 - 1.5 meters, and row spacing should be at least 1.5 - 2 meters.
It is undesirable to plant gooseberries after crops that can be affected by the same pathogen: yoshta, raspberries, currants. Now you can choose varieties that are resistant to fungal infections. In combination with agrochemical measures (timely pruning of the crown, removing diseased parts of the plant and burning them, preventive treatment of plants, loosening and mulching the soil, fertilizing with potassium and phosphate fertilizers) all this helps to overcome the disease and get a rich harvest.
Video “Fighting powdery mildew”
In this video, a specialist will talk about effective methods combating powdery mildew.
The sweet and sour gooseberry is loved by many gardeners. And how can you do without a single bush on your summer cottage knowing about great benefit gooseberries? After all, it is the richest source of vitamin C.
But when growing this berry in their garden, not everyone manages to get large and beautiful fruits of the harvest due to ignorance of how to protect the bushes from various pests and diseases. One of the most difficult problems for beginning gardeners is the appearance of powdery mildew on gooseberries. This disease is the worst enemy for the plant, which destroys not only the fruits, but also over time kills the viability of the entire bush, even affecting the roots.
Powdery mildew
Powdery mildew on gooseberries is a fungal disease spread by microscopic spores. Gooseberry bushes can become infected through insects that carry spores, or mycelium with spores can get onto the plant bush with the help of wind masses.
Read also the article:! 
Powdery mildew develops not only on gooseberry bushes, but is also worst enemy raspberries, currants, . It is not at all difficult to detect affected areas with this disease. Mycelium with spores form a white coating on gooseberry foliage, similar to scattered dry flour. 
Powdery mildew affects not only the leaves of the bush, but also the young shoots of gooseberries. 
If measures are not taken in time, powdery mildew will eventually affect gooseberry fruits.
The disease begins its development at the end of May, when the gooseberry forms new shoots and throws out color for the further formation of fruit ovary. Favorable conditions Warm weather and a humid atmosphere create conditions for spore reproduction.
The development of the disease begins from the lower branches of the bush; it is on them that last year’s infecting spores can survive. Many summer residents, not recognizing powdery mildew at the very beginning, are surprised by this picture. 
This is what powdery mildew looks like after a few weeks, the light coating becomes rough and changes its color to brown. Such fruits are unsuitable for consumption, since the peel is very difficult to peel off from the berries, especially when they ripen.
All affected leaves curl over time, stop growing, and the shoots change their arched shape and dry out. Most of the ovaries fall off, leading to loss of yield. If the plant is not helped, then it simply dies.
How to fight powdery mildew?
Even such complex diseases fruit bushes, like powdery mildew, can be prevented and controlled. The fight against powdery mildew involves three approaches.
- Agrotechnical - applicable for minor damage to bushes, when isolated cases of damage are detected.
This method consists of planting gooseberry varieties resistant to powdery mildew and timely pruning of infected branches in autumn or early spring.
Resistant varieties include “Kolobok”, “Harlequin”, “Ural Grapes”, “Grushenka”, “Kuibyshevsky”, “Mashenka”, “Senator”, “Afrikanets”, “Yubileiny”, “Finnish”, “Houghton”.
The cut infected material is burned or buried in the soil in places remote from the gooseberry plantation.
With the onset of the first spring warmth, it is necessary to remove last year's foliage from under the gooseberry bushes, which can also serve as an excellent breeding ground for spores.
Damaged leaves and branches must be removed immediately. Before the buds on the branches of the gooseberry bushes swell, they are treated with a solution of potassium permanganate heated to 90°C; a hot shower disinfects all the branches and the soil under the bush itself (two tablespoons of potassium permanganate are diluted in ten liters of water).
It is worth feeding gooseberry bushes only with potassium and phosphorus fertilizers, which are responsible for the formation of full-fledged strong shoots that can resist powdery mildew, while nitrogen fertilizers, on the contrary, inhibit the development of young shoots, making them more susceptible to this disease.
- Chemical - applicable when large gooseberry plantations are infected and consists of spraying the bushes with potent drugs.
For this, copper sulfate (one hundred grams per ten liters of water), drugs “Topaz”, “HOM”, “Tiovit Jet”, “Vectra”, “Cumulus” are used.
- Agrochemical - a combination in practice of the above methods for combating powdery mildew.
In the question of how to combat powdery mildew on gooseberries, folk recipes are also valuable, the effectiveness of which has been proven by the practice of many gardeners.
Traditional methods of treating gooseberries for powdery mildew include the following measures:
- preparing a solution for spraying gooseberry bushes from soda and coarsely grated laundry soap (fifty grams of soda and soap per ten liters of water);
- preparing a solution with ash (three kilograms of ash per ten liters of water);
- preparing a solution with urine (one glass of urine per five liters of water).
Spraying bushes is carried out in the same way as chemicals, before and after flowering, if necessary, the action is repeated several more times.
Gooseberries without powdery mildew - video
Chemical drugs will save your time and quickly cure the disease
Folk remedies
- For the first remedy you will need a tablespoon of soda, 75 g of laundry soap and 15 liters of water. First you need to prepare a solution of soap and water, then add soda. Ready-made product Water the root zone of the plant, as well as the leaves, using a watering can with a strainer attachment. The procedure is carried out once or twice with an interval of 7-8 days.
- Dissolve 1.5 kg of ash in 5 liters of hot water and leave for 24 hours. Filter the infusion and use it for spraying crops. Carry out the treatment twice - before flowering and after. You can spray the plants after flowering 2 times if necessary. The interval between procedures should be 7-9 days.
- Dilute 200 g of urine in 5 liters of water. The resulting product is sprayed immediately after flowering. The treatment can be repeated 3-4 times at the usual weekly intervals.
- In the first stages of the disease, spraying with a solution of potassium permanganate is recommended. To prepare the product, add no more than 1.5 g of potassium permanganate to a bucket of water and mix.
- 1 part fresh mullein diluted with 3 parts clean water and leave for 4 days. The resulting solution is diluted again in the same way (1:3) and used for spraying plants. The treatment should be thorough, and for watering it is advisable to use a regular broom, with which you will be able to apply the product as liberally as possible to the leaves.
Powdery mildew can be defeated using folk remedies, but they must be used several times
Powdery mildew is not a rare problem. And if you don’t want to deal with it, then you should plant varieties that are resistant to it on your plot. These include:
- "Grushenka";
- "Kolobok";
- "Ural grapes";
- "Kuibyshevsky";
- "Finnish";
- "African";
- "Harlequin";
- "Masheka";
- "Senator"
- "Houghton";
- "Anniversary".
On a note! Least susceptible to powdery mildew!
But there is also a gooseberry that is highly susceptible to this disease:
- "Date fruit";
- "Seedling Lefort";
- "Golden Light";
- "Triumphal";
- "Russian";
- "Prune."
How to prevent the development of the disease?
And of course, we must not forget about prevention.
- Be sure to spend the autumn or spring pruning bushes, and remove infected shoots and burn them outside the site.
- Inspect the bushes in spring and summer for the presence of infected shoots and leaves and, if found, remove them immediately.
- Before winter and early spring, carefully collect leaf litter under bushes, since powdery mildew spores can safely survive the winter in fallen leaves.
- In the spring, before the buds begin to swell, pour boiling water over the bushes - this is an excellent prevention of not only powdery mildew, but also other fungal diseases.
- It is advisable to fertilize the crop with potassium and phosphorus fertilizers and try to refrain from using nitrogen fertilizers, since the former increase resistance to powdery mildew, and the latter often do not allow the shoots to fully ripen, which leads to severe damage by this disease.
It is advisable to combine preventive measures and apply them comprehensively. Have a good harvest!