Why does black currant not bear fruit and what to do with a poor bush?

Content

The main reasons for the lack of fruiting
A young bush does not bloom
The ovary does not form or crumbles
What to do in order for the currants to bear fruit?
Preventive measures

It is possible to understand why black currant does not bear fruit, only having information about what the culture needs for the full development and passage of all stages of the growing season. A shrub can give a crop only when it is in optimal conditions and receiving high-quality care. Having found out the reason for the lack of fruiting, you need to try to eliminate it - and then everything will fall into place.

The main reasons for the lack of fruiting

If the bush looks healthy outwardly, but refuses to bear fruit, you should not get rid of it immediately.

Usually, black currant produces many berries on shoots under three years of age. More mature branches should be removed without regret.
Red currant bears fruit actively on shoots that are 2 to 5 years old, and bloom earlier than black.

The bush fruiting occurs annually. The volume of the crop depends on adherence to agricultural technology and characteristics of the variety. However, sometimes for some reason the bush is left without a crop. A variety of factors can affect the flow of the flowering and fruiting process.

A young bush does not bloom

Sometimes summer residents are faced with such a phenomenon when a young currant bush develops well, has bright juicy foliage, but for some reason refuses to bloom. Neither painstaking care, nor regular watering and feeding helps. In this case, they say that the bush "fattens", that is, it actively increases the vegetative mass to the detriment of flowering. This situation usually develops due to the excess nitrogen content in the soil.

The imbalance can be corrected by stopping the application of nitrogen fertilizers. Instead, the plant should be fed with a high content of phosphorus and potassium.

The ovary does not form or crumbles

It happens that currants bloom, but berries are not formed on it. Or the ovary appears and falls off a little later. There are 10 main reasons for this:

Poor quality seedling. The quality of the planting material plays an important role in the further development of the bush. When buying, you need to pay attention to the fact that the roots are branching and have a length of about 20 cm, there are no leaves on the branches, and the shoots themselves are not shorter than 50 cm.If you plant a seedling with foliage in the fall, the plant will begin to lose moisture, the root system will dry out and in the future will develop worse. The shrub will be weakened and will not be able to bear fruit for a long time.
Planting a completely or partially sterile variety. In this case, the ovary falls off in the first 2 weeks after formation. Some cultivars require specimens of a different cultivar for cross-pollination. If this condition is not met, there will be no harvest. There are also just weedy varieties that practically do not bear fruit.
Cold windy weather during flowering period. Such weather conditions prevent insects from pollinating flowers, and fruit setting does not occur.
Planting in a highly shaded area. In this case, the currants may at first bear fruit, but then they will stop doing it. Lack of illumination inhibits all life processes of the shrub, including fruiting.
Wrong watering regime. Currants do not get enough moisture. Drought can provoke shedding of the ovary.
Lack of annual pruning. As a result, the bush becomes overly thickened, begins to suffer from shading, or its shoots age and reduce productivity.
Viral diseases. As a rule, such diseases are incurable. With the development of a viral disease, the plant worsens fruiting and, in the end, completely ceases to produce a crop.
Lack of balanced dressings or their untimely introduction. With a lack of nutrition, good fruiting is out of the question.
Fungal diseases, pests. If you do not take care of the prevention of fungal diseases and protection from harmful insects, the currant becomes infected, which leads to the depletion of the bush and the cessation of fruiting.
Illiterate planting or transplanting of currants. After it, the plant recovers for a long time and is sick, there is no strength left for fruiting.

Before planting a seedling, make sure that it is zoned for the area of further cultivation. Having planted a variety with low frost resistance in a cold region, the summer resident risks being left without a crop for the reason that, as a result of exposure to severe frosts and cold winds, the buds of the bush will freeze. Additionally, such plants can be affected by early fall or late spring frosts. In this case, it is pointless to wait for the fruiting of currants.

What to do in order for the currants to bear fruit?

What can be done in order for the currants to start producing crops? First you need to make sure that the shrub has enough moisture and nutrients, it is not depleted by pests and diseases:

In hot dry weather, under each bush, it is required to pour 50 liters of water weekly. No watering is required in rainy weather. Only with a sufficient amount of moisture will currants give large juicy berries.
Nitrogen fertilizing for the shrub is necessary only in the spring. Starting from the flowering period, only fertilizers containing potassium and phosphorus are applied. In the fall, you also do not need to feed the bush with nitrogen, otherwise the shoots start growing, but do not ripen before the beginning of winter, which leads to their freezing.
Of the diseases, the cause of infertility is most often the reversion (terry) of the currant, caused by a special virus. On a diseased bush, the leaves change shape, lengthen. Berries lose their aroma, flowers are deformed and turn pink. The bush must be uprooted, nothing can be helped in this case.
If the shrub is infected with rust or spheroteka, chemical fungicides are used - Fundazol, Topaz, Bordeaux mixture, Tiovit Jet. From folk remedies, a solution of ash or iodine is suitable.
When attacked by pests, insecticides are used - "Aktara", "Biotlin", "Tanrek", "Inta-vir". You can also spray an infected bush with a decoction of tomato tops or onion peels, infusion of garlic.

Annually in the fall, they carry out sanitary and rejuvenating pruning of the bush, cutting out broken, diseased, non-fruiting branches and unnecessary shoots.

If the currant blooms, but it does not have enough strength for fruiting due to the wrong planting site (shaded area, acidified soil), the bush is transplanted to a more suitable place. You cannot plant shrubs close to the fence and walls of buildings, the distance should be at least 1 m. It is important to observe the distance between the bushes, if there are several of them. Planting should be free, especially for black currants (spacing up to 2.5 m).

Preventive measures

For planting, necessarily zoned seedlings are chosen, preferably self-fertile.

Among the varieties of black currant do not need cross-pollination:

"Openwork";
Alexandrina;
"Belarusian Sweet";
"Vologda";
"Glebovskaya";
Dashkovskaya;
"Dubravskaya";
"Beauty of Altai";
"Poetry";
"Fedorovskaya".

When choosing a variety that requires pollination, you will have to plant several bushes of different varietal variations. It is better to purchase seedlings in large nurseries with a good reputation, in this case the quality of the planting material is guaranteed.

Before planting currants, acidic soil must be limed using standard means:

slaked lime,
crushed chalk,
dolomite flour.

If a young bush "fattens", you can reduce the fertility of the soil by the introduction of clay soil, bone meal.

Before planting, the bushes are immersed in a hot water bath for 15 minutes as a preventive measure. Already planted bushes in early spring are doused with boiling water from a watering can to protect against diseases and pests, and when the buds open, they are sprayed with 1% Bordeaux liquid. In spring and autumn, they dig up the soil in the near-trunk circle, which makes it possible to destroy the larvae of pests wintering in the upper layers of the soil. All fallen leaves must be removed and burned.

During late spring frosts, to protect the currants, the bushes are watered by sprinkling or sprayed with water, allowing an ice crust to form on the shoots. When thawing, the water generates heat, which saves the currants from freezing. Covering material can also be used to protect against the cold in spring. These measures increase the chances of successful fruiting.

If the site is located in a lowland where return frosts are inevitable, it is advisable to build a bulk mound before planting a bush so that the plant rises above the ground level. You can also insure yourself by planting several specimens of currants with different flowering periods. In this case, the likelihood of not being left without a crop will increase.

In order for the currant to bear fruit well, it is necessary to take a responsible approach to the process of planting and growing it, water it in a timely manner, fertilize it, protect it from frost, diseases and pests. And it all starts with a competent choice of varieties. Observing all these conditions, you can be sure that the harvest will always be abundant, and the berries will be juicy, large and sweet.