Content
- Detect and combat diseases on goji berries
- The real mildew and the goji berry
- No disease, but just as harmful: the Asian gall mite
- Goji berries without flower formation are not necessarily sick
- Tips
Goji berries rarely get sick
Detect and combat diseases on goji berries
Goji berries are quite undemanding as berry bushes in the garden and can provide good yields in a sunny location when harvesting the orange-red berries in Germany. However, only healthy plants can show healthy growth and flowers in larger numbers.
The real mildew and the goji berry
Goji berries are regularly attacked by powdery mildew. If this occurs on the leaves and is not treated with chemical agents, the fruits can usually still be harvested normally and processed without hesitation. As a precautionary measure against powdery mildew, goji berries should be raised to a shrub shape with not too many stems, where the regular cut ensures good ventilation and drying of the leaves. Branches infested with mildew should be cut as early as possible to avoid the infestation and disposed of with household waste.
No disease, but just as harmful: the Asian gall mite
In the meantime, the occurrence of the introduced Asian bile mite has also been detected in German cultivated areas. These only about 0.3 mm large animals are barely visible to the naked eye, but make noticeable by conspicuous bulges of the affected leaves on a Goji berry bush. As in the case of powdery mildew, the removal of infested parts of plants is considered to be an effective and gentle control measure. If possible, the branches should not be landfilled on the compost heap but packed in a plastic bag.
Goji berries without flower formation are not necessarily sick
If a goji berry does not flower, it does not automatically indicate an illness. Sometimes the plants are simply too young or the right plant variety has not been selected. It can also be due to nitrogenous fertilizer, if goji berries proliferate, but at the same time do not produce flowers.
Tips
The Goji berry is considered due to its late harvest time as a frequent host plant of the cherry vinegar fly, which lays its eggs in intact fruits. As no pesticides are approved for cherry vinegar in the field of private horticulture, only preventive measures such as regular pruning for a well-ventilated plant structure can be taken.