Blackberry diseases
Blackberry leaf spot
(Septoria rubi west.)
This is the most common blackberry disease, caused by the parasite Septoria rubi, and it is manifested especially on the leaves, although it also attacks all aboveground parts. In the spring, spots appear on the back of the leaves, which gradually spread and the leaves dry out. The attacked young men are to blame. The whole plant lags behind in growth and development, bears less and the fruits are of poor quality. The intensity of the attack is especially strong when the weather is cold and humid and when the blackberries are raised on hard clay soil. That is why aerated places and lands that are not wet and heavy are chosen for lifting blackberries.
As a chemical measure of control, spraying with copper preparations proved to be effective, the first spraying as soon as the first spots appear on the back of the leaf, and the second 15-20 days after the first spraying, with the same agent and in the same concentration.
Rust list
(Phragmidium rubi- ideae)
This fungal disease is manifested in the beginning of spring on the back of the leaves in the form of orange spots, which turn black during the summer and cover the entire leaf. Diseased leaves dry out and fall off.
It is protected against this parasite by spraying with Penncozeb, Mancozeb, Dithane or systemic Tilt. The first spraying should be reported in the phenophase of bud swelling, and 2-3 sprays with the same means and in the same concentration should be repeated before the beginning of blackberry flowering.
Anthracnose
(Plectodiscella veneta burk.)
Blackberry anthracnose is a particularly present and very dangerous disease, especially causing great economic damage in rainy years. The parasite attacks shoots, flowers and fruits. On the shoots it causes round clumps of gray color, and in the attacked inflorescence the fruits develop only on one side. Diseased fruits are deformed and of poor quality.
As an indirect measure of control, it is recommended to avoid planting blackberries in areas where there is frequent dew, in valleys where there is no ventilation. Of the chemicals, Antracol, Mankogal, Dithane, Captan, Merpan, Quadris, Switch are recommended.
Blackberry pests
Raspberry beetle
(Byturus tomentosus)
The raspberry beetle is a dangerous pest for both raspberries and blackberries. It causes damage to flower buds, flowers and fruits. The adult insect is a straw-black stubborn beetle. His upper jaws are well developed. It winters as an adult insect or larva in the soil at a depth of 5-25 cm. In mid-April, the imago appears and feeds on flower buds and fruit trees. In mid-May, the insect mates and lays 30-40 eggs, one in each bud or flower. The eggs hatch into larvae, whose development takes about 5-6 weeks and during that time they damage more fruits. The adult larva leaves the fruits and at the beginning of September transforms into a pup that overwinters in the ground or an adult insect that overwinters hatches from it. Damage is caused by the imago (adult insect) and the larva of the raspberry beetle. Chemical control is aimed at adult insects in the period before flowering.
Glassblower
The glassfly is a wasp-like butterfly. Symptoms of the presence of this pest are wilting and drying of blackberry shoots. The glassblower has one generation per year. Winters in the caterpillar stage at the root or shoot of a blackberry. In the spring, the caterpillar transforms into a doll from which butterflies hatch at the end of May. The flight of butterflies is from May to the end of July. The female lays eggs on the shoot of the blackberry, and when they hatch from those eggs, the caterpillars burrow into the shoot, building a long corridor from root to tip.
The fight against glassflies consists of pruning to the ground withered and dry shoots and burning them.
Raspberry cutter
The raspberry cutter is like an adult imago butterfly, whose caterpillars can reduce the yield of blackberries by 50% in certain years. It has only one generation per year. The butterfly lays its eggs in the flowers of the blackberry, from which the caterpillars that cause the greatest damage hatch only in the spring of the following year, biting the buds. If an attack of this pest is noticed, it is recommended to spray with diazinon-based preparations.
In addition to these pests, blackberries are also attacked by aphids, May beetles, blackberry wasps and others.
American cricket Cicadetta Montana
The American cricket Cicadetta Montana is a "relatively new" insect in blackberry and raspberry plantations. It has not been specially treated on any domestic site in the sections "Raspberry and Blackberry Diseases" and is a novelty in terms of its control. What is certain is that adult females lay eggs (larvae) in the cut tree of the plant from the end of May to the middle of July. For a while, they rest right next to the part where the tree is damaged, and then they move to the root where they feed and lie down from the ground. Treatments with known insecticides are so far quite unsuccessful, especially since the time of action of this insect is in an awkward period for bees and the fruit of the plant.