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Posted on 5:21 AM by Wanto and filed under
By James Brookes

There are several varieties for compost growing of currants.

The Big Bud Mite, which causes the buds of the blackcurrants to swell out three and four times the size, will attack red and white currants, but in this case the buds are killed-they do not swell out. If, therefore, you have bushes which do not fruit or which have buds which do not open, then an attack of Big Bud Mite must be suspected. The only thing to do in this case is to use a lime sulphur spray, dissolving I pint in 49 pints of water for this purpose. It will be seen that only a weak solution is needed.

Two types of aphis can be a great nuisance: one can suck and ruin the tips, and the other curls the leaves and causes red blisters to appear. Spraying with a 5 per cent solution of a tar-oil wash in December gives good control.

Minnesota fruit is very large and brightly coloured. A strong grower. Season mid. Perfection is an excellent cropper with long bunches, large heavy berries, bush tends to spread. Season mid. Rainy Castle is medium bunches of medium-sized red fruits. Has now been largely superseded by better varieties. Some people swear by it for cordons. Season mid-late.

The caterpillar of the Currant Clearwing Moth appears in August, as a rule, and burrows into the branches, tunnelling up the centres. Affected branches usually snap off easily, or the top leaves of a branch start to wilt. Cut off an affected branch below the point of tunnelling and burn it so as to kill the caterpillar. To do this, the branch can be cut back inch by inch, if desired, until a healthy part is reached.

Birds sometimes cause trouble by pecking out the buds in the early spring, and when this happens the bushes must be heavily black-cottoned to keep them away. Pick the red and white currants when the berries are of a good clear colour. Gather the whole bunch at one time. Go over the bushes, however, three or four times so as to be able to pick the berries in the right condition. Unfortunately, birds go for red currants more than any other fruit in the garden, and therefore to be successful with them many people grow them in a fruit cage.

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