One of the most dangerous diseases in gooseberry is powdery mildew. This fungal virus, affecting almost all parts of the bush (leaves, shoots, branches and berries), appears a gray-white coating, which eventually darkens to a brownish-gray hue. The most important thing is that with the advent of winter the fungus does not die, but transfers on affected parts of plants. In the spring, he throws out spores, and neighboring bushes give way to infection. That is why many gardeners want to know about the measures to combat the American powdery mildew of gooseberry, which is so called because the disease came to Eurasia from America.
Methods of combating powdery mildew
The main method of combating this dangerous for gooseberry disease is spraying. A solution is prepared, which then needs to be sprayed onto the bush and the soil under it with a sprayer with a spray nozzle. The solution is treated, as a rule, first the upper part of the bush. Then the lateral and lower parts of the bush are sprayed: try to hit all the shoots and leaves from all sides, and, of course, treat the ground around the bush. The first spraying is carried out in the early spring, before the active vegetation, that is, before budding. The second procedure is carried out at the beginning of flowering, and the third - in 7-10 days. Spraying, by the way, is carried out in calm, calm weather.
To measures to combat powdery mildew on gooseberries can be attributed and burning the entire affected bush in the event that spraying does not help. It is also better to treat nearby plants with any of the following remedies for prevention purposes.
Combating mildew folk remedies
Speaking about the fight against powdery mildew, first of all we should mention folk remedies. A good result can be expected after treatment of gooseberries with an ash solution. It is prepared from a bucket of warm water and 1 kg of wood ash, insist 4-6 days, and then use three times, every 2 days.
Among the means of combating powdery mildew is an infusion of mullein. It is obtained from 1 part of Mullein, diluted in 3 parts of water, then insisted for 3 days. After this, the infusion is decanted and used for spraying.
A good result is also the treatment of gooseberry with a soap-soda solution. It is prepared to a homogeneous liquid from 50 g of laundry soap, which should be rubbed on a large grater, 2 tablespoons of soda and buckets of water. The solution is then used before and after flowering.
Combating powdery mildew on gooseberries is a chemical method
In the destruction of the disease, a solution of copper sulfate, which is obtained from a bucket of water and 80 g of substance, has proved to be well established. The same action has a solution of nitrafen, prepared from 200 g of substance and 10 liters of warm water. Any of these tools are sprayed on gooseberries before the buds bud.
The leaves are sprayed with a 3% solution of Bordeaux liquid . It is obtained by thoroughly mixing 10 liters of water, 300 grams of quicklime and 300 g of copper sulfate.
When the gooseberry blossoms, you can apply a solution of soda ash.
To eliminate powdery mildew on gooseberries, fungicides (that is, chemicals that serve to combat fungal diseases) that are sold in specialized stores can be used. This, for example, "HOM", "Abiga-Peak", "Tivit Jet", "Vektra", "Kulumus", "Skor". They are bred in water according to the attached instructions, usually about 25-40 g per bucket of water.