What's eating my black redcurrant?

Black Redcurrant 'Ben Lomond' is mainly threatened by currant aphids, gooseberry sawfly caterpillars, and birds that strip ripe fruit. Big bud mite (gall mite) is a serious currant-specific pest causing swollen, failed buds. Net the bushes as fruit ripens and inspect buds from late winter onward.

Leaves pucker and turn red-blistered on the upper surface; colonies on the underside in spring. Blast off with a strong water jet; use insecticidal soap or neem oil. Encourage ladybirds and lacewings.

Caterpillars rapidly skeletonise leaves from the centre of the bush outward, sometimes defoliating entirely. Inspect undersides of leaves from late April; hand-pick egg masses and early larvae. Spray pyrethrin if infestation is heavy.

Buds swell to a round, ball-like shape in winter and fail to open in spring; spreads reversion virus. Remove and bin swollen buds. Severely affected plants should be dug out and destroyed; no effective miticide for home gardens.

Fruits stripped before or just as they ripen. Cover with fine-mesh fruit netting supported on a frame as berries colour up; remove netting promptly after harvest.