Bud mite on currants: control measures in spring and autumn

For berry bushes, which include currants, one of the most common pests has been and remains the bud mite. Despite all the measures taken by both breeders and gardeners, this harmful insect appears on the bushes with enviable regularity. Therefore, the currant bud mite and the fight against it is one of the most pressing issues for fans of growing these berry bushes.

Round buds on a currant – what is it

Ordinary buds on currants are ovoid, pointed in shape and small in size. They are evenly distributed along the entire length of the shoot, gradually decreasing towards its end. Compared to them, much larger round buds can stand out sharply on the currant, resembling a cabbage head in structure. Their appearance indicates the presence of a kidney mite on the currant. Large rounded buds are the place where the pest settles, it is from here that it begins to spread throughout the plant.

The pest itself is quite difficult to recognize with the naked eye, its dimensions do not exceed 0,2 mm. At the same time, up to 8 thousand individuals can develop in an infected kidney, which is why it acquires such “bloated” forms.

Signs of a kidney mite on a currant

Best of all, currant bushes infected with a mite become visible in the fall, after the leaves are flying around. At this time, swollen, rounded buds, in which sexually mature female ticks remain to winter, are very clearly visible against the background of the rest. The same picture is observed in early spring.

After the appearance of leaves, the appearance of a tick can be detected by indirect signs. Like many sucking insects, these arthropods are carriers of serious viral diseases. If the leaves begin to curl on the currant, their color and structure change, the shoots are deformed and “witch brooms” appear on them, then we can talk about infection of the bush with inversion, leaf mosaic or terry. It is useless to fight the tick in this case, since the disease will still kill the currant. The bush is simply uprooted and burned.

What is dangerous kidney mite for currants

The microscopic size of one individual of the tick is more than offset by its fecundity. In just 1 season, the female of this insect is able to reproduce offspring up to 5 times, increasing during this time its number to 40 thousand. Settling in the bush, the mites feed on the juices of the plant, making numerous punctures in the buds, leaves, and young shoots. A photo of a bud mite population inside a blackcurrant bud is below.

Currants that systematically lack nutrients are strongly oppressed. If you do not take any measures against the tick, the ever-increasing population of the tick will simply kill it in just 1 season. That is why this insect is among the most dangerous pests.

Remedies for kidney mites on currants

The vast majority of the time of its existence, the tick spends inside the currant buds. This makes it difficult to fight it, since the insect is actually isolated from the external environment. However, there are several ways to deal with kidney mites on currants. These include the following:

• preventive (including agrotechnical);
• mechanical;
• folk;
• biological;
• chemical.

Preventive and agrotechnical measures are a good way to avoid currant infection with a kidney mite, but they do not always guarantee a positive result.

Chemical preparations for kidney mites on currants

Chemical preparations for kidney mites on currants are a fairly effective measure, but it is advisable to use them only when all other methods have already been tried and have not brought the desired result. It must be remembered that the kidney mite is an arthropod insect, so conventional insecticides are not suitable for it. For the treatment of currants, the following acaricides and insectoacaricides are used:

• Actellic.
• Apollo.
• Vermitek.
• Kinmix.
• Kontos.
• Movento.
• Neoron.
• Nessoran.
• Oberon.
• Forbidden 4F.
• Endidor.

All these drugs do not have a strong long-term effect. Apply them at least twice, in the period before the onset of the budding phase. The interval between spraying should be at least 10-12 days.

More effective is the treatment of currants from bud mites with phosphorus-containing acaricides. These drugs are stronger, but they can only be used after harvest, in the fall. These tools include the following.

• Emphasis.
• BI-58.
• Dimethrin.
• Nitrafen.
• Pilarmax.
• Rogor-S.
• Sun Mite.
• Famidophos.
• Phosphamide.

A good chemical remedy for kidney mites on currants is colloidal sulfur. For spraying, it is necessary to prepare an aqueous solution of this substance. For 10 liters of water, you need to take 10 g of colloidal sulfur. This preparation produces a single treatment of the bushes and the root zone before the plants bloom. If necessary, spraying can be repeated after flowering, but in this case, the sulfur concentration should be reduced by half. When preparing a solution for spraying, the recommended dosages must not be exceeded. An overly concentrated solution of colloidal sulfur can burn currant leaves.

Biological agents

Biological means of protection against bud mites on currants are not inferior in their effectiveness to chemical ones, but unlike the latter, they do not have a negative impact on the environment. This is due to the fact that the active substance of such compounds is obtained from fungi and bacteria. Biological means of combating bud mites on blackcurrant and other berry bushes include the following preparations:

• Akarin.
• Actophyte.
• Bicol.
• Bitoxibacillin.
• Boverin.
• Fitoverm.

Unlike chemicals, biological preparations are less persistent and lose their effectiveness rather quickly. Therefore, their treatment is repeated many times with an interval of 7-10 days. The drugs are alternated for greater effectiveness. As a rule, processing is carried out before the end of flowering, as well as in the fall, after there are no more berries left on the bush.

A significant disadvantage of biological products is that they work only at elevated air temperatures. It should be in the range from + 15 ° C and above. With a decrease in temperature below the specified value, the effectiveness of using biological preparations to protect currants from bud mites drops sharply, and when it gets cold to + 5 ° C and below, their use is useless, since it will not give any result.

Folk remedies

To combat the kidney mite on currants, folk methods are often used. If the degree of damage to the shrub is small, it is with them that you should start. Folk remedies are good because they do not cause any harm to the environment. Such treatment can be done in early spring, when cold weather does not yet allow the use of biological acaricides. Here are the most popular folk remedies for kidney mites on currants.

• Infusion of onion peel.
• Infusion of tobacco.
• Infusion of garlic.
• Infusion of green walnuts.
• Mustard solution.
• Dandelion infusion.

A good remedy for treating currants from a kidney mite is pouring boiling water over the bushes in early spring.

Using a watering can, the shrub is watered with water heated to 90 ° C. Such treatment not only destroys ticks, but also fights well with pathogens of fungal diseases. Experienced gardeners recommend giving currants such a hot shower not only in spring, but also in autumn, after leaf fall, when buds infected with a tick are clearly visible on clean branches.

Agrotechnical measures to combat currant bud mites

Proper agricultural technology for growing currants is a good prevention of the appearance of a kidney mite. The more factors that are taken into account when planting and caring for a shrub, the less likely it is that various pests and diseases will appear on it. Agrotechnical measures include such measures to combat bud mites.

• Selection of the place most suitable for currants.
• Compliance with the requirements for the composition of the soil, its moisture content.
• Timely feeding.
• The all-rounder.
• Weeding and loosening the soil in the root zone and between rows.
• Compliance with the necessary intervals for group planting, prevention of crowded plantings.
• Selection of high-quality planting material, processing it before planting.
• Permanent visual control of the bush.
• Timely and competent pruning, destruction of plant residues.

One of the agrotechnical measures against the appearance of a currant bud mite is the planting of garlic between the rows. The smell of this plant repels insects.

A video about some ways to deal with a kidney mite on a currant can be viewed at the link below:

How to deal with a kidney mite on a currant

In early spring, even before the snow melts in the garden, it is necessary to inspect the overwintered currant bushes. If during the examination characteristic swollen kidneys were noticed, then measures should be taken immediately. Until the infection has become massive, to get rid of the tick, you can get by with the mildest measures, without resorting to the help of chemicals.

How to treat currants from kidney mites in spring

The very first measure to combat the currant bud mite, performed in the spring, is spraying with boiling water. Even if no signs of a kidney mite were found during the examination, it is strongly recommended to sprinkle the bushes with hot water. This will significantly strengthen their immunity, and at the same time kill both pests and fungal spores. Some gardeners, instead of boiling water, process currant branches in early spring with an open fire using a blowtorch or gas burner. If you lead the torch quickly and evenly along the shoots, the flame will not burn the bark and closed buds, but the pests will suffer quite badly.

If a small amount of swollen buds is found, they can be harvested by hand. This work is quite long and painstaking, since each branch will have to be examined. In the absence of leaves, disproportionately large, rounded buds infested with mites are clearly visible. They need to be pinched off and collected in a jar, and then burned. If most of the currant shoot has signs of infection with a tick, then it is better to completely remove such a branch by cutting it with a pruner under the root.

There is a relationship between the maturation period of a mature individual of the currant bud mite and the ambient temperature. The warmer it gets outside, the less time it takes for the larvae to hatch from the egg and turn into an adult insect capable of producing offspring. For example, at an ambient temperature of about + 15 ° C, the tick needs about 25-30 days to reach this stage of development, and at + 25 ° C, this period is reduced to 10 days. Depending on this, you should plan the frequency of spraying currant bushes.

With an increase in air temperature to + 10 ° C, the development of an overwintered tick begins. The first exit should be expected in 3,5 weeks, when the temperature rises to + 18 ° C. It is very important to carry out the treatment in this first wave, in this case the females will not be able to lay eggs and the population will be significantly reduced. Re-treatment will kill those mites that survived the first spray. The third time currants are treated from a kidney mite for insurance. In cool weather, it is better to use acaricides for this, but if the air temperature is high, then it would be more correct to use biological products.

How to treat currants from kidney mites in the fall

As in spring, in the fall, a number of measures must be taken to combat the bud mite on currants. If during the season, as well as during inspection or pruning, no signs of the appearance of the pest were detected (there were no swollen buds), then it is quite enough to wait for the currant bushes with boiling water. If the tick was found in the spring, and its appearance in the summer was also noticed, then the bushes should be examined more carefully. If swollen buds are found, they should be removed, but if there are 1/5 or more on the shoot of infected buds, then the shoot is cut out completely. Heavily infected bushes under the age of 5 years are cut off at ground level, subsequently growing it again, but if the bush is old, then it is simply uprooted entirely.

Treatment of currants from ticks with chemical and biological preparations in autumn is less effective than in spring, since female insects are already in the kidneys, preparing for wintering and do not migrate. At this time, it is recommended to use stronger drugs. They will not completely destroy the tick, but they will significantly reduce its number. The negative impact of strong pesticides on the environment at this time of the year is not so strong. Before the onset of the new season, such preparations are guaranteed to decompose or their concentration will decrease to negligible, not dangerous to humans or other useful inhabitants of the garden.

Currant varieties resistant to bud mite

One of the preventive measures that reduce the likelihood of this pest appearing on currant bushes is the choice of a suitable variety. Thanks to selection work, there are a lot of them. The most well-known currant varieties resistant to bud mites are shown in the table below:

Preventive measures

Prevention of the appearance of a kidney mite on a currant begins from the moment the planting material is acquired. When buying cuttings or seedlings, it is imperative to conduct a visual inspection of them. Do not take seedlings from infected bushes. Before planting, it is imperative to heat-treat the seedlings by keeping them in water heated to 40-45 ° C for 15-20 minutes. A good preventive measure is soaking a seedling or rooted cutting in a disinfectant solution for a day. To prepare it, colloidal sulfur and agrovertin (1 and 40 g, respectively) should be added to 10 bucket of water.

After planting seedlings in open ground and in subsequent years, you need to regularly cut the bushes, prevent them from thickening, remove dry and broken branches. All noted tick buds on currants must be immediately cut off and destroyed. Garlic can be planted between rows. The tick does not tolerate its smell. In early spring and autumn, the bushes should be shed with hot water.

Conclusion

The currant bud mite and the fight against it is a serious problem that can cause a lot of trouble for the gardener. However, with a competent approach and the implementation of all recommended measures for the care of currants, it is possible to significantly minimize, and in many cases, reduce to zero possible crop losses. It is also important that most of these activities are complex, they contribute not only to protection against bud mites, but also from other pests and diseases.