Hi, My red raspberry plants are not doing well. The veins of many leaves are yellow and on some plants the entire leaves have turned a light yellow/wh...
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Raspberry plant and fruit problem #759262
Asked June 30, 2021, 11:18 AM EDT
Hi, My red raspberry plants are not doing well. The veins of many leaves are yellow and on some plants the entire leaves have turned a light yellow/white. This started well before they started making fruit for the year so I don't think it is just the old canes dying back. The berries that are being produced are small and crumbly on all plants of that variety. There are also some rust spots on a few leaves of new shoots. I have attached pictures of the veining and small berry clusters before they ripened and a picture of a whole shoot that turned yellow. Any ideas what may be causing this?
Background info: This patch was started about 12 years ago - I don't know what variety as they came from a friend, but they used to produce nice big red berries. I also have black raspberries in another row. We have kept the raspberries in rows, removed old canes when they were done fruiting and thin some in the spring. My soil is very sandy. For many years it did very well. We did not fertilize early on. At some point around 6 years ago we didn't mow between the rows often enough or weed it well and with our sheltered/minimal amount of wind in our yard, I think we got a fungal disease. To combat this we mowed the patch to the ground one spring and started a spraying regimen. For the past 3 years we have sprayed Captan at bud break and again after the petals fall. We also started fertilizing/adding compost on top (maybe not enough though since it hadn't had any for years?). I think we even threw some peat moss on top last year to change the pH. Two years ago I bought a few Killarney plants (hoping for disease resistance against possible fungal pathogen). The Killarney plants are seemingly doing well and are producing nice sized berries that are not crumbly so I do not think that the crumbly berries on the other plants are due to low pollination.
I would appreciate any suggestions for improving my patch. I would also be willing to send more/other pictures if needed.
Hennepin CountyMinnesota
Expert Response
Thank you for writing.
Many people are having trouble with raspberries this year. Tell me how you water these plants? Send me a picture of the underside of a couple leaves.
I watered them a couple times during the two week hot dry spell with an overhead garden hose sprinkler. Most years I only water them a few times a summer. I’m attaching more pictures. The first two pictures are of rust spots on new growth (0759) and then the back of that leaf (0760). The next 4 are the fronts (0761, 0763) and backs (0762, 0764) of leaves with yellow veins. 0765 is the top of a new shoot that turned yellow and 0766 is the back of those leaves. 0771 shows a very crappy looking fruit cluster (possibly underdeveloped spots along with sunburn and what looks like dried mold).
I just noticed that there are also some weird leaves on my new black raspberry growth. I have attached those pictures now as well. Thank you for your review and advice.
I watered them a couple times during the two week hot dry spell with an overhead garden hose sprinkler. Most years I only water them a few times a summer. I’m attaching more pictures. The first two pictures are of rust spots on new growth (0759) and then the back of that leaf (0760). The next 4 are the fronts (0761, 0763) and backs (0762, 0764) of leaves with yellow veins. 0765 is the top of a new shoot that turned yellow and 0766 is the back of those leaves. 0771 shows a very crappy looking fruit cluster (possibly underdeveloped spots along with sunburn and what looks like dried mold).
Putting it all together, you have plants that are stressed. Although the crop may be a loss this year, I suggest 40% garden sun shade to cover and see what happens.
The brown spots do not appear to be severe enough to be brown spot but the culture rules--thinning your plants, letting air circulate are good practices. The pictures do not allow me to assess the density of the whole bed. https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/raspberry-leaf-spot
Thank you for all the information. I’m processing it all and planning what to do now and what to do differently next year. I am certainly planning on watering more regularly to reduce stress and thinning a bit more to lessen competition. I will be monitoring for tarnish bugs, which I may be able to influence. Let’s hope it’s not virus, which I cannot influence.
Thank you for all the information. I’m processing it all and planning what to do now and what to do differently next year. I am certainly planning on watering more regularly to reduce stress and thinning a bit more to lessen competition. I will be monitoring for tarnish bugs, which I may be able to influence. Let’s hope it’s not virus, which I cannot influence.