Dormant buds are "blind" and don't grow out in the spring

Spring Frost

Spring frost may be a serious limiting factor to currant and gooseberry production. Some early flowering cultivars are sensitive to freezing temperatures in spring. Late flowering cultivars should be planted in regions where spring frosts occur to avoid this problem.

Gooseberry Mite

Swollen, dormant buds of R. nigrum cv. Brodtorp, infested with gooseberry mite. Photo courtesy of Stuart Gordon, Scottish Crop Research Institute.

Close-up of dissected black currant bud infested with gooseberry mite (at arrow). Photo courtesy of Stuart Gordon, Scottish Crop Research Institute.

• Causal organism: Cecidophyopsis grossulariae Collinge, Europe
• Crops affected: Black, red, white and ornamental currants, gooseberries, species

This gooseberry mite can cause dormant buds of currants and gooseberries to swell somewhat (but not into a ball). During the winter, the mites remain inside the bud scales and feed on the developing bud tissues. In the spring (in April or May), the mites emerge and begin feeding on young developing gooseberry leaves.

Leaf damage caused by gooseberry mites infesting newly expanding Ribes curvatum Sm. leaves.