Cutting red and white currants.
Red and white currants are cut differently than black currants, because they form flower buds and bear fruit not on annuals, but on older shoots, which are set on twigs that are several years old. Red and white currant sprigs live for several years, and then they gradually die off. Shoots appear on twigs in the second year of their life.
Red or white currants planted in autumn need to be trimmed low in spring, leaving after 3-4 mesh. In the second year in the spring
we look through the bushes and cut these shoots, that lie on the ground or intersect with each other. Leave all strong shoots growing vertically or slightly slanting outside the bush. In the third year, the cut is similar to the second year (Lynx.).
Lynx. In young red currant bushes, only cut out shoots lying on the ground
Red and white currants begin to bear fruit in the third year after planting. Initially, all fruits are large and good-looking. On older bushes, Due to the high density of twigs and shading, some fruits are small and mature with a delay. From 4 shrubs need to be x-rayed during the year. The bush should have no more than 8-10 branches. As new shoots grow every year, there are more and more twigs. During the X-ray we always remove the oldest twigs, which are dark gray and are most often found just above the ground. In place of the old twigs cut out, we leave the same number of young shoots. If a lot of one-year shoots grow in the bush, they can also be thinned by removing the weakest ones (Lynx.).
Lynx. X-raying the red currant bush.
Cutting bushes in plantations intended for mechanical harvesting does not differ significantly from the already described cutting. In the first two years after planting the bushes, shoots that cross and deviate along the row should be removed, which in the future could make it difficult for the harvester to separate the bush into two parts. During the period of full fruiting, remove shoots lying on the ground and shoots damaged by the harvester during harvesting.
