How to treat gooseberries in the spring from powdery mildew.

Gooseberries, like many other berry bushes, are susceptible to fungal diseases. To avoid contamination, it is necessary to process the shrub at the very beginning of the growing season.
Powdery mildew is one of the most common fungal diseases. It infects young leaves, shoots and gooseberries. As a result, it is impossible to get a good harvest of berries.

What is powdery mildew
Powdery mildew is a fungal disease. Signs of infection appear on gooseberries immediately after flowering. This usually happens in May or early June.
The factors contributing to the appearance of powdery mildew are dry, hot springs and mild winters without frost. In this case, the spores of the fungus, which "hibernate" in the fallen leaves, do not die. With the first warmth, they infect the shrub.

How to tell if a gooseberry is infected with powdery mildew
This fungal disease affects young leaves, shoots and berries, covering them with a gray-white bloom. After a while, the affected parts of the gooseberry turn red. The leaves curl up into tubes and fall off. Young shoots stop developing and growing. Then they dry out. The berries become unusable. Thus, the harvest can be completely lost.

Means for controlling powdery mildew
Prevention of infection with fungal diseases is the most effective way to combat powdery mildew. First, you should purchase a gooseberry variety that is resistant to these diseases. Secondly, in the fall or early spring, it is necessary to prune diseased or dried shoots. Thirdly, in the fall, it is best to remove the fallen leaves and burn it. Thus, the risk of infection can be reduced. The soil around the shrub must be dug up and mineral fertilizers that contain potassium and phosphorus must be applied.

If all these measures did not help, then chemical treatment should be applied. To do this, you can use such popular drugs as: Raek, Rakurs, Chistotsvet and many others.
If it is not possible to purchase them or do not want to use "chemistry" for other reasons, you can turn to folk remedies. But it should be borne in mind that with a strong infection of the gooseberry, they will not be as effective as chemical preparations.
If the above preventive measures have been taken, then folk remedies will help to avoid fungal diseases.

Here is some of them:
- a solution of soda ash (50 g per 1 liter of water) with the addition of 1 tablespoon of soap. It is necessary to process the shrub twice with an interval of 4 days.
- Bordeaux mixture. This drug is very effective not only in the fight against powdery mildew, but also against other fungal diseases. The leaves must be treated with a 1% solution. All treatments should be carried out in calm weather.

If our article was useful to you, please put your finger UP and do not forget to subscribe to the channel. Until next time!