Gooseberry: Encyclopedia II - Gooseberry - Pests

Gooseberry - Pests

The bushes at times suffer much from the ravages of the caterpillars of the gooseberry or magpie moth, Abraxas grossulariala, which often strip the branches of leaves in the early summer, if not destroyed before the mischief is accomplished. The most effectual way of getting rid of this pretty but destructive insect is to look over each bush carefully, and pick off the larvae by hand; when larger they may be shaken off by striking the branches, but by that time the harm is generally done; the eggs are laid on the leaves of the previous season. Equally annoying in some years is the smaller larva of the V-moth, Semiothisa wauaria, which often appears in great numbers, and is not so readily removed. The gooseberry is sometimes attacked by the grub of the gooseberry sawfly, Nematus ribesii, of which several broods appear in the course of the spring and summer, and are very destructive. The grubs bury themselves in the ground to pass into the pupal state; the first brood of flies, hatched just as the bushes are coming into leaf in the spring, lay their eggs on the lower side of the leaves, where the small greenish larvae soon after emerge. For the destruction of the first broods it has been recommended to syringe the bushes with tar-water; perhaps a very weak solution of carbolic acid might prove more effective. The powdered root of white hellebore is said to destroy both this grub and the caterpillars of the gooseberry moth and V-moth; infusion of foxglove, and tobacco-water, are likewise tried by some growers. If the fallen leaves are carefully removed from the ground in the autumn and burnt, and the surface of the soil turned over with the fork or spade, most eggs and chrysalids will be destroyed. Spraying the plants with potassium sulphide has been found useful in fending off a variety of further parasites and fungi (such as the American gooseberry mildew) which may attack gooseberries specifically.

Like other Ribes, the Gooseberry serves as an alternate host for white pine blister rust, which can cause serious injury to white pines. For this reason, there are laws against Gooseberry cultivation in some places.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Pests", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki