yellow color showing on ribes leaves

black currant and picture below shows leaf closeup

blackberry leaf closeup

closeup of leaves of a currant - not sure what the brownish color means

P.S. I planted strawberries between the plants and am trying to remove any leftover mint plants which grew in the area before.

The only leaf that looks bad to me is the yellow on that ribes leaf. The rest look normal at least from what I see in pictures. I don't know what causes that yellowing; look on the bottom of the leaf for mildew. Since it looks like only a few leaves have that I would not (yet) be concerned about it.

Scott

Yellow leaves can be caused by soil deficiencies, overwatering, and viral infections as well as a few other things. The part that concerns me here is it looks viral. They have been banned in several states (currants) due to viral transmission to other plants.

Tomato Ring spot causes symptoms consisting of varying degrees of chlorotic spotting
and vein banding. Chlorosis may vary from a few spots or blotches, to a mild vein
banding in a leaf, or to a chlorotic leaf with only a few green spots. The chlorotic areas
may die and turn brown. On a single plant, the amount of chlorosis may vary from mild
symptoms on a single leaf to conspicuous yellowing of the entire plant.

Just google currants and virus/viral there is quite a bit of information. Soil deficiencies can also cause this, but other plants would be having similar problems not just the black currant.

"They have been banned in several states (currants) due to viral transmission to other plants. "

The first time I ever heard that! I know one fungus that infects white pines needs to first be hosted by a black current. The fungus needs both hosts, and it was easier to remove currants, than pine trees. Most states dropped those bans now, 3 or 4 still have it. My state allows White Pine Blister Rust resistant black currents to be grown. Many varieties are resistant.

Thanks for all the feedback !- hopefully I won't need to remove all the berry plants - I was really hoping this would succeed.

It seems fungus infects currants more than anything else. You may want to try a fungicide, and also if a deficiency try amending soil by adding humus-manure compost Just add it to the top. Sold at big box stores, it's less than 2 dollars a bag. A slow release fertilizer would not hurt, don't overwater.

I'm curious about the way you are growing the black and red currants. They seem to be tied up to wires. Is that correct?

The top picture seems to have yellow flowers. If so it isn't a black currant ie Ribes nigrum but more likely a clove currant (Ribes odoratum). Red currants are a third species, Ribes rubrum. I have never grown R odoratum but R nigrum and R rubrum need different treatment from each other with regard to pruning. Neither needs any staking or tying up unless you are going to grow the red as a cordon. (Blacks don't make cordons.)

Yep it was a federal ban a long time ago, my grandfather used to grow several varieties of these when i was a kid. The black currants tend to be disease prone, although newer varieties of these plants have been bred to be resistant to these problems.

"The top picture seems to have yellow flowers. If so it isn't a black currant ie Ribes nigrum but more likely a clove currant (Ribes odoratum). Red currants are a third species"

Yellow leaves on this plant are not normal even if it is a red currant. Blotching was the main clue on that leaf. I personally would pull the currant as i think its a virus and i wouldnt want it to transmit to other plants. I lost a whole patch one time. The good news is the blackberries look like they are in good shape.Dont worry at this point about the production level of the blackberries as it takes about 3 years to get them into full production in the home garden. I cuurently have 6 different varieties growing on my property and they definitely are a hardy plant.

ABz5B - I didn't write 'yellow leaves' I wrote 'yellow flowers'. There appear to be yellow flowers in the top picture. You can see them against the white wall just to the left of the blue string. I grow red and black currants and neither has yellow flowers. I wasn't commenting on the yellow leaves at all, just drawing the OP's attention to the fact that the top picture doesn't show either a red or black currant.

Here yellow leaves could well be a virus. We have a virus called blackcurrant reversion virus transmitted by mites but I don't know if you have that in the US

Thanks for the info/identification - I lost tags of two of the berry plants and I'm not sure what they are - the others are black current, aronia, red current, blackberry. As I said above, Initially I had all blackberries but due to lack of knowledge a number of them died.

The wires are there because I got sick of staking everything
and as my friend has a vineyard, I've planted a heap of vines
all along the fence (except for where the berries are planted),
so it's a continuation of that / useful for any tieing I need to do.

I'm in Croatia on the coast. Is there anything I can try before pulling it out - I'm starting to be a bit of an organic nut - I have vermicompost and am about to start making aerated compost tea ?

flora_uk: Gotchya sorry bout that misunderstood there

There are a few organic methods to prevent fungus, Garlic, sulfur, copper. ehow.com has a few mixtures you can brew up. Ive used a few on some blackberries that got cases of anthracnose, but virus wise (if there is one) there isnt anything you can do for the plant now.

All your plants looked healthy except for the one with the yellow blotching. keep at it, nothing like eating fresh berries out of the garden :)

OK - now I know the OP is in Europe I would say it could well be BRV. If you study unopened leaf buds are any of them large and swollen? This is where the mites live. Google Big Bud Mite. In future patrol your black currants in Winter and rub off any spherical buds.I also think that in Croatia it might be a bit hot in Summer for black and red currants, especially up against a wall. Are their roots getting into the mortar foundation for the wall? I think they'd be happier in a moister, shadier spot away from any walls. Blacks in particular are greedy bushes and like deep rich ground at their feet. If either black or red currants are flopping there is something wrong. Both should be sturdy self supporting shrubs with stiff branches and twigs. They should not need any support.

Thanks for the info - here's a bit more info:
I checked the buds and can't see any that are swollen BUT
in a hurry to do the gardening alongside the other jobs, I didn't
do a detailed examination of the plant in question. Would like your opinion.

The plant has 2 new shoots (out of the ground) and the old one which has one branch half way up and the 3 forking branches you see in the picture.

On the left hand forking branch I see this damage/hole (unbelievable, but I didn't see that detail ;) ). The leaves are green/yellow just on the 3 forking branches - could this maybe be the cause of it or is it a virus / what should I do about it ?

The other thing I observed (now that I'm looking at things in more detail ;) is that the leaves on the new shoots have a fine dust / pollen on them - maybe it's just pollen, but anyway the info can't hurt ;)

Regarding the area not being best choice for ribes/currants etc. - I had a feeling this was the case but really wanted to try it. On the photo you see a glimps of a white wall on the right (3 storey house) which blocks the sun for half a day and in the afternoon, the sun isn't always on the ribes/currants, so hopefully it will work -well, I'll try it. Now I just need to modify the existing drip system as I've made a lot of changes including the raised beds.
The soil is not very good (analysis indicates low biomass) but the vermicompost/compost tea should fix that over time.

I'm afraid I can't be much help to you on this plant because I have never grown a Ribes odoratum, only R nigrum and R rubrum. Sorry.

The leaves at the top of your bush look a different shape from those on the stems coming from the base. It is almost as if it is a grafted standard and the root stock is sprouting. I have never heard of that being done with black currants. Do you think that is possible with yours?

This post was edited by flora_uk on Fri, Apr 19, 13 at 13:59

Your keen eye for detail just showed how much of an "apprentice gardener" I am ;) You're right - if you look at the
picture of the close-up of the "hole" in the outer forking
branch, the 3 forking branches going up have one sort of
leaf. On the same main stem where the 3 forking branches
are, but just below the grey part (which could be a graft),
there is another stem but it has the same leaf type and yellow
flowers as the 2 new stems coming from the ground i.e. only
the 3 forking branches have the same leaves (the ones which
are yellowing) - looks like I need to go to the nursery and
try asking there - will post if I find out anything interesting.

This post was edited by vjeko on Fri, Apr 19, 13 at 12:29

Well, I took the pragmatic approach, showed the nursery where
I had bought the currant and asked for another ( I burned the old one) - so now I'm happy again (till the next problem arises ;) Now to work on the vermicompost tea brewing.

Sounds like the best solution. Good luck.