Black currant planting and care. Video: pruning and rejuvenating a currant bush

Blackcurrant today is one of the most popular berry crops that gardeners grow on their plots, and due to the discovery of a lot of medicinal properties of its delicious berries, currants began to be actively grown on an industrial scale.

Selection and preparation of seedlings

Black currant is a shrubby perennial crop, the bush can reach up to two meters in height, the root of the plant goes half a meter into the soil. Flowering lasts from May to June, fruiting from July to August. The plant begins to bear fruit in the second year after planting. Not only currant fruits, but also shoots and bud leaves have medicinal qualities.

The quality of planting material directly affects the quality of the future harvest, so the choice of seedlings for planting black currants must be approached responsibly. Those seedlings that have a sufficiently developed root, about five woody skeletal shoots up to 20 cm long and a formed fibrous system will bear fruit abundantly and take root better; there should also be up to two above-ground shoots up to 40 cm long.

To avoid drying out thin shoots during long-term transportation or if planting directly into the ground is not possible, the roots of the plant should be wrapped in a moistened cloth, and a film should be placed on top or placed in damp sawdust.

To prevent drying out during planting, the roots are dipped into an earthen or clay mash. If the root system is dry, such plants will take root less well. Before planting the seedlings, the damaged ends should be removed and the rest should be trimmed a little. It is not recommended to use perennial seedlings for planting; they take root much worse than young ones (1-2 years).

Landing technology

The best time for planting blackcurrant seedlings is considered to be autumn, because in spring the plants begin to grow too early, and this interferes with quality rooting. But planting in the spring is also possible, if you take seedlings that were previously in containers and watered sufficiently abundantly, this choice will make further care of the plant easier.

It is necessary to plant seedlings with a slope of 45 degrees, in which direction it does not matter, and to bury them 6 cm lower than they were in the queen cell.

This method of planting promotes the formation of additional roots, the formation of new shoots and the creation of a powerful, developed bush with a large number of branches.

The density of plantings directly depends on the selected currant variety, but low-spreading species must be planted at a distance of up to 1.5 meters in a row, the row spacing should be about 1.5 meters. The planting hole is dug up to 50 cm in depth and in diameter in the same way. Before planting, it is advisable to fertilize the hole with humus (5 kg), superphosphate (150 grams) and wood ash (1 l). When planting seedlings in a hole, they need to straighten the root system, then sprinkle it with a layer of soil, compacting it a little. After completing the work, each hole is watered with water in the amount of one bucket. To avoid loss of moisture, the soil around the bushes should be mulched with peat, sawdust or humus. Then the seedlings are pruned, leaving only strong buds (up to 4 pcs.).

Aftercare

Black currant is a moisture-loving crop, so watering must be regular and plentiful, otherwise the fruits will become small and the shoots will develop poorly. Experienced gardeners recommend watering plants in the morning and evening. You cannot stop watering even after fruiting has finished, otherwise the bushes may freeze in winter. It is important not to forget about watering when the bushes begin to grow intensively, the berries begin to set and the fruits begin to fill.

Weeds should be removed from the site so that they do not take away the moisture necessary for the normal development of currants. It is advisable that no grass, flowers or vegetables grow around the plant in an area of up to one meter square. Weeds will have to be removed manually, because the use of herbicides to destroy them will negatively affect the fruits. Such procedures are performed about twice a year, after harvesting and fertilizing the soil. Loosening the soil to a depth of 10 cm is useful for bushes.

If the necessary fertilizers were applied when planting currants, then it is not necessary to feed the plants for the first couple of years. In subsequent years or every other year, fertilizers are applied in the fall or early spring. Before loosening the soil, the bushes are fed with humus or compost in the amount of 5 kg and complex mineral fertilizers (up to 40 grams). Some fertilizers are also applied during the period of active plant development (until June). For these procedures, manure diluted in water in a ratio of 1:8, infusion of grass or bird droppings 1:10 are most often used.

Seasonal pruning of bushes

The most labor-intensive process for caring for currant bushes is their pruning and shaping. The quality and quantity of the harvest does not depend on the number of shoots; the most productive skeletal branches are at the age of 2-3 years. The first time the seedling is pruned immediately after planting, then after 3-4 years, excess and weak shoots, damaged and dried branches are pruned. The bush will be fully formed in the fourth year after planting; if development is slow, you need to cut off some skeletal branches to stimulate the growth of new shoots. A plant is considered mature if it has up to 12 branches at different ages with strong growths. Basically, five-year-old branches begin to bear fruit poorly and are removed during annual pruning of the bushes, which is best done in the spring before the buds open (in March).

Proper pruning of black currants promotes ventilation and uniform illumination of the bushes, which will have a beneficial effect on fruiting.

Reproduction

Black currants can be propagated in three ways:

division;
cuttings;
layering.

When self-propagating, one should take into account the fact that diseases that affect the plant are transmitted, so healthy and productive bushes are chosen for this process.

By division

To obtain several seedlings in early spring, it is necessary to carry out high hilling of the bush with loose soil. In the summer, you need to make sure that the ground is moist and add soil twice. Already in September, the plant can be dug up and the formed young rosettes can be separated; they are immediately planted in a permanent habitat.

Cuttings

Currant cuttings are planted from April to May or from September to October. To do this, take young shoots (annual) up to 8 mm thick, cut them 20 cm long, leaving up to six buds on each. The lower cut is made oblique, the upper cut is made straight. The cuttings are left in water overnight and then planted in soil prepared in advance. The area must first be dug up and leveled; the cuttings are planted at a distance of 15 cm from each other at an angle of 45 degrees, deepened so that only two buds remain on the surface. After this, the soil needs to be compacted, watered and mulched with peat (compost), its layer should be up to 5 cm. With proper care, the plants can be replanted next year.

Layerings

In the spring, horizontal layers are laid. The soil around the bush that will reproduce needs to be dug up so that it is loose enough, and it should also be fertilized. Powerful annual growths are bent to the ground and placed in prepared furrows (7 cm deep), then secured with staples and sprinkled with earth. When vertical shoots up to 8 cm long appear, hill up half their height with soil mixed with humus. After three weeks, the procedure is repeated. Plants are watered moderately and weeds are removed. In the fall, already well-rooted cuttings can be separated and replanted.

Diseases and pests

Among the diseases that can affect blackcurrant bushes are:

anthracosis;
American powdery mildew;
terry;
glass rust;
white spotting.

Plants are also exposed to various pests, the main ones being:

goldfish;
currant mite;
spider mite;
leaf gall midge;
sawfly;
glass;
moth;
shoot aphid;
moth.

Before treating plants with drugs, you should try to combat the misfortunes manually: remove damaged shoots and leaves, collect pest larvae. If the stage of damage is large, you can use decoctions of insecticidal plants (henbane, datura, calendula, celandine, spurge, wormwood and others), their effects are less harmful than radical chemicals. If extreme measures are necessary, chemicals are used to kill pests and diseases. When using them, do not neglect safety measures.

Now it is difficult to imagine a garden in which there would be no currant bushes. It is not difficult to purchase seedlings of this widespread crop in our country, and their cost is low. Therefore, you can not only plant currants on your site, but also create a collection of its varieties. Caring for any type of currant consists of following the basic rules of agricultural technology. At the same time, the culture always generously gifts its owners with a harvest.

From the history of culture

Currant is a moisture-loving plant; in natural conditions it chooses moist forests, slopes of rivers, lakes and swampy areas. Habitat: Eurasia, North America.

The ancient Greeks and Romans did not know the look or taste of currants. Its wild species grew at that time on the lands of Central and Northern Europe: the shrub better tolerates conditions of a temperate climate and even a cold one. He doesn't like heat, subtropics.

In the 15th century, currants began to be cultivated en masse in France, and then in Germany. The first species that Europeans became acquainted with was red currant. They paid attention to the black variety a little later.

Currants diversified the Lenten dishes of monks in Rus' in the Middle Ages

The first written evidence of the existence of currants in Rus' dates back to the Middle Ages. However, in Kyiv monasteries they were engaged in cultivation of crops back in the 11th century. The monks moved currant bushes from the forests beyond the fence of the monastery grounds.

In the gardens of Pskov, Novgorod and young Moscow at that time, currants were also found. At the same time as other berry growers, it was transferred from the forests to the princely lands.

The banks of the river on which Moscow stood were covered with currant thickets. In this regard, the river was nicknamed Smorodinovka (now the Moscow River).

By the 18th century, currants (especially black currants - Ribes nigrum) gained special honor among domestic fruit growers. But now the culture is losing its popularity. Currant plantations are being replaced by other berry bushes.

Species diversity of currants

The classification contains 190 different types of currants. Of greatest interest to gardeners are:

black currant. Distributed in Central Russia and Siberia, Europe, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and North America. The bush grows up to 1–2 m in height. Young branches are green, old ones are brown. Currant leaves are elongated, with a smooth and dark green top, lighter and pubescent bottom. Up to 5–10 flowers are collected in a color brush. Black currant blooms in May - early June. It produces fruits from July to August (determined by the variety). The black berries of this type of currant reach large sizes (about 1 cm in diameter), have a tart, sweet and sour taste and a characteristic currant aroma;
red currant (Ribes rubrum) is found in forests of Russia, Asia, and Europe, where it grows in the form of dense thickets on the slopes of reservoirs. The shoots of the shrub are sandy or gray in color. The flowering phase of this type of currant occurs in mid-May, and the fruiting phase occurs in mid-June. Juicy bright red fruits 0.8–1.1 cm in diameter have a predominant sour taste. They are collected in long clusters;
white currant (Ribes niveum). Habitat: Europe and Asia. The structure of the white species is similar to the red one. The average height of the bush is 1.5 m. The flowering and fruit production phases are identical in timing to red currants. Light yellow berries are located on a long bunch. They are sweeter than the red one, with a slight sourness;
golden currant (Ribes aureum). It grows wild in Canada, Mexico and Central America. The shrub is grown in North America, Central Asia and Europe. In our country, it grows in the gardens of Altai, the European part of Russia, the Caucasus, and the Far East. The height of this type of currant bush is 2–2.5 m. It is weakly branched, with bare or lightly downy reddish branches. Leaf dimensions: 5x6 cm. With the arrival of autumn, the foliage becomes bright orange-red; in September it turns purple and retains its rich shade until winter. Blooms in late spring for 3 weeks. The flowers are yellow or yellowish-green in color - because of this, currants got their name. In early July, the berries (0.6–0.8 cm in diameter) ripen, have a black or brownish-red hue and a pleasant taste.

Photo gallery: main types of currants

White currant has sweet white berries Red currant is less popular than black currant Black currant is the most common type in our gardens Black currant blooms in May - early June Golden currant got its name because of the light yellow hue of the flowers Golden currant is easy to bear at the time of fruiting confused with black

Black and red varieties of currants are considered to be in demand in fruit growing and more popular. Their differences:

Thanks to the essential oils contained in blackcurrant, all the upper parts of the bush of this crop are fragrant and aromatic. The red one exudes almost no aroma, has sour berries with a high percentage of wateriness;
Black fruits contain 4 times more vitamin C than red ones;
propagation of red currants is usually carried out by dividing the bush, while black currants are bred mainly by cuttings;
red is less demanding when it comes to watering and tolerates dry days better;
red currant shows better resistance against many diseases and insects, but black currant is inferior in this regard;
In one place, red currants can last about 20 years. The development of black currant is limited to 6–7 years of life, after which the bush deteriorates its characteristics.

Currant agricultural technology

The optimal place on the site is an open area with maximum lighting throughout the day. The crop feels good on any light and moist soil, especially chernozem loam.

Landing

Currants are planted late in the fall or with the arrival of spring - before the buds open. The main condition is to prepare the soil in advance. 1–2 weeks before planting, planting holes or trenches 40–50 cm deep are dug and each is filled with fertilizers (6 kg of rotted manure or compost, 20 g of superphosphate and sulfate), which are thoroughly mixed with the soil.

You can add 0.5 liters of wood ash to the hole.

On soils of average mechanical composition, seedlings are planted with the root system deepened by 8–10 cm. On heavy clay soils, there is no need to deepen the roots of the seedling.

Before planting, the holes are moistened. Seedlings are pruned, keeping 3–5 buds on one branch. When planting, the plant should take a vertical position. The roots are straightened, covered with soil, and watered. The settled soil is trampled down and covered with a layer of mulch (straw or peat).

Seedlings of zoned varieties are selected as follows: for the first commercial variety - the presence of 2 or more stems 40 cm long, five skeletal roots 20 cm long; for the 2nd commercial grade - the presence of 2 or more stems 30 cm long and three roots 15 cm long.

To preserve seedlings before planting without damage, their roots are dipped in earthen mash and then dug in for a while. Chatter is prepared from clay and mullein, diluted in water until creamy and thoroughly mixed. When storing seedlings, it is important to prevent the roots from drying out.

Planting schemes

When growing currants, either a single arrangement of bushes or a single row is used. In this case, the optimal row spacing is 2.5–3 m, and between bushes in a row is 0.6 m.

Feeding

Any type of currant is responsive to applied fertilizers. If the soil in the planting hole has been thoroughly fertilized, then no additional fertilizing is applied over the next 2–3 years of the bush’s growing season. In the fall, it is enough to embed mulch in the root area, which is laid out in the spring.

After 2–3 years, during the autumn digging process, dry potassium-phosphorus fertilizers (30 g per bush) begin to be added to the soil. Ammonium nitrate or urea is applied early in the spring - in the form of a solution or scattered directly on the snow (25 g per plant).

During the flowering phase, organic fertilizers are preferable for bushes: bird droppings (diluted with water 1:15) or mullein (1:10). During the fruit formation phase, immediately after flowering, currant bushes are sprayed with zinc sulfate dissolved in water or with the Ovary preparation.

In summer, weed stems weeded from the ridges can be placed under the currant bush. They overheat and become a good fertilizer.

Trimming

Immediately after planting, initial pruning of the bushes is performed. It is recommended to shorten all shoots, leaving 5 cm from the soil surface. In the first year there will be no harvest on the branches, but powerful young stems and a root system will develop. Low initial pruning should stimulate the development of 3-4 strong stems up to 0.5 m long.

In the process of rejuvenating a currant bush, shoots older than 4 years are removed

Anti-aging bush pruning

The purpose of rejuvenation pruning is to stimulate the renewal of the bush, the growth of young shoots that will bear fruit in the next season. A simple way to rejuvenate currant pruning for beginning fruit growers: remove one-fourth of the branches of the bush annually. To do this, mentally divide the bush into 4 parts, one of which will be removed. With this approach, there will be no shoots older than 4 years of age. Dried, stunted and diseased branches must be removed.

A more complex bush rejuvenation procedure involves removing branches:

lying on the ground;
directed inside the bush;
injured;
barren (the main crop of currants ripens on 2–3-year-old shoots);
weak growth this year.

Upon completion of the rejuvenation procedure, the tips of the preserved shoots for fruiting (not “nulls”) are cut off to the place where the wood has matured well. This promotes shoot growth and large fruit production.

The main goal of the bush rejuvenation procedure is the possibility of free (without interference) growth of the so-called zero shoots extending from underground roots.

Video: pruning and rejuvenating a currant bush

Treatment of currants from diseases and pests

Even compliance with all the rules of currant agricultural technology does not guarantee protection of the bush from harmful insects and diseases. Currant bushes are often attacked by pests - gooseberry moth, aphids, currant glass, sawfly, bud mite. Diseases of powdery mildew and anthracnose cannot be excluded. The fight against uninvited insects and ailments can be carried out using all known methods - from folk methods to the use of popular chemicals. In addition, all damaged shoots are cut out from the plant. They must be burned. This is done early in the spring or late in the fall. After removing the fallen leaves, dig up the soil under the bush.

It is easier to prevent any currant disease than to eliminate its consequences later. For this purpose, various preventive measures are carried out. In particular, watering currants with boiling water is considered one of the effective measures to prevent diseases and harmful insects. It is recommended to carry out the procedure even before the snow cover completely disappears. The bushes are sprayed with boiling water from a watering can, treating not only parts of the plant, but also the soil. Boiling water, warming the soil, has a positive effect on the awakening of the buds and increases the plant’s immunity.

Reproduction methods

Currants are propagated in several ways.

By layering

Propagation by horizontally spread layering is a frequently used method. Any method involves using strong and healthy currant bushes as mother plants. The advantages of this option are that the shoots take root easily with minimal effort from the gardener, and the mother plant does not experience significant stress.

To propagate currants by layering, one of the one-year-old shoots is placed in a trench and pinned

Layers are laid for rooting in early spring or early autumn.

Furrows 10–15 cm deep are made next to the bush.
A soft cushion of sand, peat, humus, and compost is placed in them.
To grow layering, strong one-year-old shoots or 2–3-year-old shoots with increments are selected. They are placed in the grooves and pinned with pins.
On the layering, branches will grow upward from the awakened buds. When they reach a height of 10 cm, they are hilled, keeping 1–2 leaves free.
After 2–3 weeks in the spring, the shoots are hilled again. If this happens in the fall, the shoots are disconnected from the mother plant and moved to their permanent place of growth.

By cuttings

Propagation of currants by cuttings is suitable when there is already a successfully grown variety on the site that you want to propagate. It is more convenient to harvest cuttings in early spring during the spring pruning of the bush.

Cuttings are harvested from fully ripened stems, the thickness of which is at least 6 mm and the length is about 15–20 cm. The bottom is cut obliquely, and the upper cut is made straight, 1 cm away from the upper bud.
Before planting the cutting, it, together with the preserved leaves, is soaked in a biologically active solution with Epin, Novosil, Kornevin, and aloe juice.
The cuttings are planted at an angle, lowering the tip 3–4 cm into the ground; a distance of 15–20 cm is maintained between the seedlings.
Part of the cutting with 2 buds is left free; the lower one should be in close proximity to the soil surface.
In order for root formation to proceed effectively, the moisture balance in the soil must be constantly maintained. To do this, the ground is mulched with a 3 cm layer of compost.

For better root formation, the tip of the cutting is powdered with a root growth stimulator.

Dividing the bush

Propagation of a bush by division is usually used when a valuable variety is forced to be transplanted to another place or when there is a shortage of planting material. The main advantage of this method is the rapid survival of the newly planted bush without much difficulty.

By dividing the bush, valuable varieties of currants are bred

Method technique:

At the end of September and until the beginning of October or early spring, the desired part of the bush or bush is torn from the soil carefully, without damaging the roots.
Using pruning shears or a garden saw, all old shoots are removed, and young shoots are shortened to 30 cm.
Using a sharp hatchet, divide the bush into 3–4 parts. An important requirement is the presence of clearly visible buds and an extensive system of healthy roots on the part of the plant that is intended for planting.
A bush is lowered into a hole (50x60 cm), fertilized with rotted mullein. Its roots are covered with earth, which is compacted tightly and watered abundantly (1.5 buckets of water per plant).

How to grow currants from seeds

Currants can be grown from seeds. However, you should not count on a quick harvest in this case. For the first time, a bush grown from seeds will begin to produce berries only in the 4th–5th year of life. But even here there may be a catch - the berries will probably be different from those from which the seeds were taken. The technique is simple. Ripe fruits are cut, kneaded, carefully washed, and slightly dried.

It is initially possible to dry the berries in a special vegetable dryer, after which the seeds can be removed from them.

Stratification - keeping seeds of different crops at low temperatures up to 70 o C to improve their germination. To do this, the seeds are placed in a moistened cloth or soil.

Currant seeds are used in different ways: sown in the spring (the method is reminiscent of growing vegetable seedlings) to obtain sprouts, placed in a cool cellar for storage until spring, or sown directly in a prepared trench before winter.

Growing currants on a trunk

Standard cultivation of currants in our gardens is not very widespread. However, this method of breeding crops has many advantages:

fruiting branches with berry clusters do not touch the ground, which significantly improves the quality of the harvest;
each branch receives a sufficient amount of light, which also has a beneficial effect on fruiting;
the bush is less susceptible to attacks by harmful insects;
berry picking and bush care are made easier;
compact plantings make it possible to save land;
caring for the tree trunk is greatly facilitated;
A standard bush is superior in decorative qualities to an ordinary bush.

To create a standard form of a bush, two methods can be used:

engraftment of the rootstock onto the scion;
creating your own root standard.

The first method is suitable for those fruit growers who are well versed in gardening “surgery”; the second method can be mastered even by novice gardeners.

You can create entire alleys from standard currants

Black currants are loved for their unpretentiousness, ease of propagation, low cost of planting material and, of course, for the nutritional value of the berries. Harvesting is a pleasure, because the bush has no thorns. At the same time, you can choose a variety to suit every taste, and even a novice gardener can cope with planting. I will tell you in detail from my own experience how to grow fruitful black currants on your plot correctly and without unnecessary hassle.

Planting black currants

Even a schoolchild can cope with planting black currants! The shrub is unpretentious and hardy, the survival rate is high. Therefore, you only need to choose a high-quality seedling, decide on the planting time, prepare the planting hole and follow the rules and planting scheme.

Landing location

When choosing a place for currants, select a suitable area:

with nutritious soil,
with a groundwater level no closer than 2 m to the surface,
without stagnation of moisture,
Soil pH is about 6.0.

Photo: plant black currants in a fertile area without stagnant water with slightly acidic soil

Landing dates

It is best to plant black currants in the spring - in March or April.

When planting in the spring, it is important to have time to plant the shrub before the currants come to life:

until the buds and green cone of the future leaf appear,
before sap flow begins.

If you plant in the fall, you need to be sure that the shrub will have time to take root before severe frosts arrive and a thick snow cap covers the ground.

Seedlings for planting

When purchasing seedlings, inspect the root system and shoots for integrity.
It is better to take two-year-olds as seedlings.
They have already reached half a meter in height, acquired a reliable root system, and developed immunity.

____________________________________________

Photo: the best time to plant blackcurrants is spring

Planting hole

Carefully dig up the area for the currants, add 15 kg of humus and 1 tbsp. nitroammophoska per 1 m² of soil. Break up all the clods, level the soil and only then dig the planting hole.

Immediately place a couple of shovels of expanded clay at the bottom of the hole for drainage.
The size of the hole should correspond to the volume of the roots of the seedling, so that the roots are not crowded, and they are quietly located in the hole.

Before planting, place 1 tsp in the hole. nitroammophoska and a bucket of humus, pour out a bucket of water. We will place the seedling in this nutritious liquid.

Planting scheme

Plant the bushes so that the plants do not oppress each other in the future.

If you decide to plant several varieties of black currants on your plot, then maintain a spacing of approximately 2 m between the bushes.
If you decide to plant several rows, then leave a free space of 3 m between them.

Photo: dig a hole to the size of the roots and maintain the distance between the bushes

Landing rules

We place the seedling in the hole not vertically, but at an angle of 45°.
Try to ensure that the root collar of the currant bush (the place where the roots enter the trunk) is buried 5 cm into the soil.
All that remains is to sprinkle all the roots very well and reliably compact the soil so that there are no voids left between the roots.
Next, each seedling should be watered with a bucket of water.

We leave only parts of the growths with 4 living buds on each.
To avoid infection with glassware, the tops of the cuts should be immediately painted over with garden paint.

Photo: after planting, water the bush and trim it

Blackcurrant care

Blackcurrant care begins in spring.

If the bush is young , just planted, the maximum that can be done is to dilute 1 tbsp. nitroammophoska in a bucket of water and pour under each bush.
If the bush is already several years old , and he has acquired young shoots, then you need to carefully examine them, cut off all the dried and diseased ones to healthy wood, and cover all the cuts with garden paint or garden varnish, slightly heated in your hand.
Biennial plants More solid feeding is needed. You can use 1.5 tbsp. nitroammophoska on a bucket of water under each bush. Before applying fertilizer, the soil must be thoroughly loosened, all weeds removed, then fertilized and mulched on top, preferably with a 2 cm layer of humus.

Watering

It is better to water with water at room temperature, in the evening, in doses: wait until the water is absorbed and water further.

When watering, try not to get it on the leaf blades of the plant. Excess moisture on the leaves is an additional possibility of the occurrence of such an unpleasant disease as powdery mildew.
Do not forget about watering during the hot summer period - during drought, the watering rate can be doubled. If, on the contrary, the rains are heavy and do not stop at all, then we reduce watering to a minimum.
After watering, I advise you to mulch: pour about 1 cm of humus, non-acidic peat or just dry soil under the bush.

Top dressing

In the first half of summer, black currants can be fed with organic matter: 15 kg of humus should be placed under each bush in an even layer.
During the period when the fruits begin to ripen, it is necessary to apply foliar feeding: mix 6 g of potassium permanganate, 35 g of iron sulfate and 2.5 g of boric acid.

Foliar feeding is usually carried out in the evening and always on a calm, windless evening, preferably cloudy, when the air humidity is high.
______________________________________________

Photo: adult and young blackcurrant bushes require different care

Pinching

Pinching black currants is necessary so that the plant begins to give more energy to the formation of the crop and does not waste it on creating additional above-ground mass

Around June, you can carefully pinch the ends of annual shoots, literally just a couple of buds.
In some cases, this technique also stimulates the tillering of the plant - then the harvest will be greater.

Loosening and weeding

Don't forget to remove weeds throughout the season:

the bite circle must be clean,
try to get rid of such a malicious weed as wheatgrass,
Weeds can be removed at a depth of 5 - 30 cm.

Working at maximum depth is dangerous because you can damage the currant roots, but you will destroy rhizomatous weeds such as dandelion.

Weeds are direct competitors of currants and can lead to a sharp decrease in yield

Don't forget about loosening currant rows , ideally they should be constantly loose:

You can loosen at least every day in your free time, deepening the tip of a hoe or hoe by 10-12 cm.

_____________________________________________

Photo: pinch out the tops in June, loosen the row spacing and remove weeds in the bush area

Harvesting

Black currants, unlike red ones, are not collected in whole clusters, but are picked individually, trying to remove only the ripest berries first. Black berries do not ripen at the same time, so the harvest will have to be done in 2-3 doses.
_____________________________________________

Photo: during harvesting, do not water or feed blackcurrants

Caring for blackcurrants after harvest

Feeding and watering

After harvesting, you should not start the plants:

as soon as the harvest is harvested, feed the plants with a solution of potassium sulfate (1 tsp per bucket of water under each bush),
water: once a week with a bucket of water, and so on until the beginning of November,
After watering, do not forget to mulch the soil surface.

Trimming

Around November, inspect the shoots again:

remove broken ones, those that have fallen to the ground, disturbing others, those growing in the center of the crown, and grease the cut areas with garden varnish or garden paint, which is even better,
try to maintain the currant bush in such a way that it has an average of 15 mature shoots. The rest can be safely deleted - they are considered unnecessary.

_____________________________________________

Folk remedies for diseases and pests are used for prevention:

in the spring, even before the buds open, currant bushes are watered with water at a temperature of about 80 °C at the rate of 3 liters for each plant,
remove affected shoots and leaves in a timely manner, burn them outside the site,
cut off and burn buds affected by bud mites,
Before the buds open, the bushes can be sprayed with a 1-2% solution of Bordeaux mixture, killing the fungal infection.

_____________________________________________

Photo: preventive treatments and proper agricultural technology will protect black currants

Propagation of black currant

Black currant is one of the few crops that is extremely easy to propagate and in a variety of ways:

slice lignified cuttings as long and thick as a pencil and stick into the soil in September, and each will form a new bush.
root green June cuttings in the greenhouse, watering them more often.
cover the bush with earth, leaving only one crown, then all shoots will form adventitious roots , and the shoots can be separated and planted as independent plants,
or propagate horizontal layers : spread the shoots radially over the soil surface and sprinkle them with 1 cm thick soil. From each bud, a shoot will begin to grow upward, and roots will begin to grow downward. All that remains to do in the fall is to separate such shoots, divide them into parts with roots and plant them around the site.

Black currant is a winter-hardy berry crop. Resistance to frost depends on the origin of the variety, area of growth and level of agricultural technology. New varieties bred with the participation of Siberian currant and spruce grouse have higher winter hardiness.

Growing temperature

At low temperatures, annual growths are most often damaged. Their buds and fruits freeze out.

During the flowering period, currants suffer greatly from low temperatures. Its growing season begins at 6°C, in some varieties – at 2°C, the optimal temperature for growth is 18-20°C.
In hotter weather, currant growth slows down.

In the arid southern regions, this crop suffers from heat and dry air, the amount of pulp in the berries decreases, and the skin becomes dense.

In extreme heat, black currants sometimes shed their leaves.

Lighting

Currants grow well and bear fruit with sufficient light. In a community with woody plants, its yield decreases.
Varieties with a compact bush shape must be thinned out in a timely manner, otherwise the harvest will only be on the periphery, and all the fruit formations in the center will die off.
In the shade, black currants produce a weak harvest and are more damaged by diseases and pests.

Moisture

Black currant is a moisture-loving plant. This is explained by the conditions of its formation in the wild along the banks of rivers, streams and in swampy forests.

The high moisture requirement is also due to the fact that the root system of this crop does not lie deep. It is also demanding on air humidity.

Despite the fact that black currant is moisture-loving, it grows poorly in areas where spring flood waters or summer rains stagnate; the bushes become covered with lichens, quickly age, and stop growing.

Moisture-intensive, drained areas must be allocated for this crop.

Black currants are demanding of nutrients, so they need fertile soil rich in fertilizers. The root system of this crop lies mainly in the upper layers of the soil, but its thickness increases significantly with deep pre-planting cultivation of the site.

Light soils without the addition of organic fertilizers are not suitable for this crop.
Podzolized, saline and acidic soils are not suitable for black currants.
Clay soils are best suited for currants, but others can be used if they are well fertilized and moistened.

Black currants are best cultivated on loose, fertile soils with an optimal acidity of 6-6.5 pH. It reacts to fertilizers more than other berry crops.

Increasing nitrogen doses increases berry size and yield. With its deficiency, the leaves become smaller, the growth of shoots is delayed, and small leaves acquire a red tint in early August.

Organic Fertilizer Nitrogen It is advisable to combine it with mineral nitrogen.
Potash fertilizers also have a strong effect on the blackcurrant harvest. Potassium affects the sugar content of berries. With its deficiency, a yellow border in the form of a burn forms along the edges of the leaves. Potassium chloride can cause burns, so it is better to use potassium sulfate.
Phosphorus fertilizers are also important for this culture. With their deficiency, the fruits become smaller, the yield is reduced, and the leaves are affected by spotting. To obtain a high yield of black currants, it is necessary to apply a lot of organic fertilizers in any form.

Interesting on the topic