Why raspberries dry and what to do?

Often experienced and novice gardeners have to deal with drying out of raspberry bushes. If you do not pay attention to this phenomenon, then the shrub may die altogether. First, you need to find out the cause of drying, and only after that it is determined with the method of struggle.

Drying of the leaves is called a withering symptom. Most often, young shoots are exposed to this phenomenon during the period of active growth. The main signs of wilting of a raspberry tree are as follows:

• leaves change color from brownish green to yellow or brown;
• a cobweb appears on the foliage;
• the bark on the stems cracks, a plaque appears that is not characteristic of the usual state;
• berries are relatively small, do not ripen, lose their taste.

There may be several reasons why raspberries begin to dry. The most common ones are the following.

• Improper care. Raspberry grows quickly enough, new shoots appear. Everyone lacks both sunlight and food from the soil, so the weakest stems begin to dry out.
• Dry weather can sometimes cause dryness. The leaves curl, the berries do not pour, and the bark of the stems cracks only because they simply do not have enough nutrition.
• If the raspberry bushes were originally planted in a shady area, then during the period of prolonged rains, moisture can accumulate in this place. The plant begins to actively absorb it, which is why it is exposed to various diseases, which in the future may contribute to drying out.
• Acidic soil. Fungi and other pests spread in it, which, starting from the root system, gradually attack the entire plant.

Also, the reason for the drying of raspberries, including during the fruiting period, are possible diseases. Root cancer is very common. It is a bacterial disease that affects the root system of the raspberry bush. The provocateurs of occurrence are drought, acidic soil, long-term cultivation of crops in the same place. The main symptom of the disease is the appearance of growths on the roots (sometimes they can reach 10 cm in diameter). It is they who do not allow the roots of the bush to absorb a sufficient amount of moisture. As a result, the leaves dry and curl. In this case, the berries are absent or present, but dry and small.

Another disease is called "raspberry rust". Symptoms of the disease are twisted and dry leaves that turn yellow at the edges. Chlorosis is also a fairly common disease. Its causative agent is a virus that penetrates through cracks in the bark of the stems. The bush dries up, the tips of the leaves curl up. Insects carry the virus. Weakened plants with a lack of trace elements are considered the most susceptible.

Drying of raspberry bushes can also begin due to the attack of pests.

• A mite entangling raspberry leaves with cobwebs. The pest places the cobweb on the inside of the leaf. It prevents the foliage from developing normally, which ultimately leads to drying out of the greenery and shoots, and the raspberries turn black.
• Stem galitsa. By themselves, adults are practically harmless, but they lay their larvae in cracks in the bark. Waste products are a strong poison that provokes the appearance of neoplasms. As the disease progresses, the plant gradually weakens and dries up.
• Aphids are a pest that attacks not only raspberries, but also other shrubs in the garden. Outwardly, it is a small midge with wings. She lays the larvae. Aphid infestation is fatal to raspberries. If you do not spray with approved drugs in time, the plant will die.
• Raspberry beetle. The females of this pest lay the larvae on raspberry bushes. Because of this, the berries deteriorate and dry out.

After the main reasons for the drying out of raspberries are clarified, you can decide on the methods of struggle. They can be both mechanical and chemical (using means).

If the raspberry dries up due to the large number of stems, then they must be thinned out in time. To do this, you need to cut out the young in a timely manner, as well as remove the dried shoots with a pruner. As an additional measure, you can try the following:

• moisten the soil as it dries out (in hot weather, watering should be abundant and frequent);
• it is necessary to water in the early morning, at least 2-3 liters of water for each bush;
• mulch the beds in order to retain moisture.

In order to combat the increased acidity of the soil, it is necessary to use auxiliary means. These include:

• chalk (500 g per square meter);
• slaked lime (400 g per square meter);
• dolomite flour (the volume is the same as when chalk is introduced into the soil).

Raspberry rust can be fought with several chemicals at once. These include a 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid. To obtain the desired concentration, it is necessary to dilute 400 g of the drug in 10 liters of water. This solution should be used to spray diseased shoots. If the disease progresses quite actively, then the concentration of the solution should be increased to 3%. You can also use the drug "Fitosporin-M". Add a few drops of this product to a glass of water (200 ml) and spray the diseased plant. There are several methods of dealing with chlorosis. The simplest is to introduce gypsum into the soil at the rate of 100-120 g per cubic meter. This is necessary in order to eliminate alkalization of the soil. Also, the plant needs feeding with nitrogen-containing preparations.

When raspberries are invaded by a spider mite, they are treated with a solution of colloidal sulfur or Karbofos. It is better to warn the appearance of the larvae of the stem galitsa in advance. To do this, in the spring, you need to carry out preventive treatment. It consists in using "Fufanon". The drug in an amount of 20 ml is dissolved in 10 liters of water. The solution is intended for processing the soil, which must first be dug up.

Aphids can be fought with Actellika solution (15 ml per 10 liters of warm water). Both healthy and infected shoots are sprayed. To get rid of the raspberry beetle, in the fall, you need to dig up the soil under the bushes, avoiding damage to the root system. In summer, the preparation "Guapsin" is used for spraying shoots. In order to make a solution, you need to dilute 250 ml of the concentrate in 10 liters of water.

In order to prevent the development of diseases and prevent the raspberry stems from drying out, it is recommended to regularly carry out preventive measures. They are as follows.

• In autumn, the soil should be carefully dug up, loosened and treated with Bordeaux liquid. In addition, gypsum can be added to the soil.
• In the spring, you also need to loosen the soil, cut out excess shoots, apply nitrogen-containing fertilizers and re-treat with Bordeaux liquid.
• During the ripening of the kidneys, treatment with biofungicidal preparations is carried out.
• Repaired raspberries in early May must be treated with Topaz. It is better to do this in the morning hours, but not during the rains. The concentration should not exceed 2 ml per 10 liters of water.

Preventive measures should be taken regularly. If, for some reason, they did not cope with the task at hand, it is necessary to switch to methods of combating drying out in a timely manner.