Kitchen Garden Forum

I have some red and black currant bushes, in a bed with a couple of gooseberries. All have been badly affected by gooseberry sawfly. If I remove the gooseberries, will the currant be less likely to be attacked next year? I'd be grateful for advice.
lynda

Can't offer much advice I'm afraid as my blackcurrant, redcurrant and gooseberry bushes are all located fairly close to each other and on occasions when my 3 gooseberry bushes have been almost stripped bare by gooseberry sawfly, none of the blackcurrants or redcurrants have been affected. I'd sort of assumed that these creatures only attacked gooseberry leaves. Now you've intimated that other fruit bushes can be equally affected I will have to keep a closer eye on my currant bushes.

I'd leave the berries alone unless you want to reduce the strain on the plant. Give the plants a good feed and they usually put on new leaves. It is more effective to keep checking for the caterpillars and get rid of those before they defoliate the plants in the first place. Unfortunately they have usually moved in and eaten everything before you notice.

I agree that these creatures have really voracious appetites. I have seen my gooseberry bushes in superb condition one day, and on checking again about 48 hours later, they can have been virtually stripped bare.

Hi ltweddle, you could try nematode control, nemasys does one for most pests and is organic, expensive I know but it might help break the life cycle. Alternatively a regular check in the centre of the bush where they hatch and you may catch the blighters before they do too much damage. Does anyone know if they attack jostaberries which are a gooseberry blackcurrant cross?

These little beasties over-winter in the soil around the bush so the best way to control them is to remove the top layer of soil and replace with fresh clean soil/compost then in the early spring put something like the black ground cover around the bush. Should the bush get attacked again they will fall off and you can dispose of them easily and stop the cycle.

Beryl.

Ah! This could have solved a bit of a mystery.
Our soft fruit bushes are situated where the hens free range and we often see them doing acrobatic pirouettes to snatch at the leaves.
They look really funny.
Perhaps they`re really targetting wee beasties on the bushes.
(We never get any fruit on the lower branches, they nab the lot when they ripen but space is short and we can`t afford to have nothing growing in the hen run area)

Elderflower - I suspect you may be right. Looks like your hens are getting their meat and veg all in one go !

Hello All. There is also the Magpie moth which could be the culprit. Their caterpillars are around in June and their foodplants are blackcurrants and gooseberry. The caterpillars of this moth are quite distinctive and larger than the sawfly larva (But not as big as a cabbage white's caterpillar) and are easier to spot.

My black/red currants are with the gooseberry bushes and they have not (so far!) been attacked by sawfly larvae, when the gooseberries have. I usually find aphids are the main pest that I have to watch out for on these, with their honeydew creating the ideal spot for sooty mould growth.
Cheers!