Blackcurrant drop

[ALAN HOWELL]

Hi  all,

Just wondered how you folks had done with your Blackcurrants this year,I have four "BEN SAREK" bushes and in previous years have cropped excellently.This year we have had lots of pre ripe fruit drop leaving the bushes with hardly enough worth picking.I can't see any disease or any reason why this should occur.How have you faired?....Alan

[ALAN HOWELL]

[beejay]

Funny you should say that, the same has happened to ours. They (can't remember variety) were fine & dandy then we had some heavy rain which bent the branches down low & then later noticed that lots of the berries weren't ripening (infact looked a funny sort of red/brown colour) & feel off when I gently shook the bush. I assumed it was something to do with the rain. We have a few left - but never had this happen before.

[Anne Robertson]

None of the  of black or red currant bushes that I planted last year have fruit on them, is this normal for the first year after planting? The bushes look really healthy and have lots of foliage on them.

[Robert_Brenchley]

My redcurrant is doing really well, but there's not a lot on the blackcurrants.

[slugcatcher]

i have had this problem with gooseberries, they have been droping of the bush.
The odd blackcurrant has fallen off but not to bad.

Ron

[chrispea27]

I have had some of the berry drop problem also I think it is to do with the very very dry spells we have had and then thunderstorms causing the bushes to panic and drop fruit to try and make sure some make it to seed stage?
Sounds logical(mr spock) anybody any other ideas?

[Robert_Brenchley]

It does sound logical; I was thinking the same thing myself. A lot of my gooseberries dropped but I rescued those.

[jennym]

It's lack of water causing the berries to drop prematurely. The plant protects itself by discarding fruit (that requires water to make it swell) so that other parts of the plant get the water.
You may be interested in the reply given to another correspondent about rejuvenation of blackcurrant bushes:


Blackcurrants - these are lovely fruit. Start rejuvenating them now. You can do this by:
Copious watering and include a high nitrogen feed. Cut out one third of the stems down to ground level right now. New stems should start to grow, and the fruit for next year will come from this new growth. You can also cut down around a quarter of ther old stems in February next year, and that will also make new growth, which may or may not fruit next year. Basically, cut down one quarter to one third of the stems every year in early February to maintain a supply of fresh stems. The newer stems that come are less woody looking and paler in colour. Blackcurrants produce stems from ground level, they shouldn't really have a 'trunk'. So, you can earth up around the base of the plant too.
I've just started picking, and gathered 1.5kg today with more to come. (5 year old bush).

[Robert_Brenchley]

I've also had a serious June drop from my apple trees, which I put down to lack of water, and the plums are doing nothing. I think that was cold weather while they were flowering.

[giantseye]

I agree with RB.

I think alot of the problems with fruit this year is to do with the strange weather we have had over the last few months :(

It's affected us let alone the plants.

[AndrewB]

Ani

Yes its normal to have no fruit first year, should get some next year