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"60 First flowers open."

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"61 Beginning of flowering: about 10% of flowers open." Arrow A indicating the open flower and arrow B indicating the closed flowers, the same can be found on the following diagram.

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"71 Beginning of fruit growth: first fruits visible at raceme base." The circle containing fruit A is considered the first fruit formed as the petals are the first to dry. While arrow B depicts flowers that are still considered flowers. This is corroborated by the diagram below with the corresponding arrows.

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"10 Leaf tips above the bud scales: first leaves separating."

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"31 Beginning of shoot growth: axes of developing shoots visible."

"32 Shoots about 20% of final length."

'33-37 Shoots about 30% - 70% of final length.'

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"81 Beginning of ripening: change to cultivar-specific fruit colour." The first to begin changing indicated with the arrow labeled A.

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"85 Advanced ripening: first berries at base of racemes have cultivar-specific colour."

The next official step is 87, where  berries are ripe and ready to be picked. As indicated by the diagram below the picture, the picture itself is past stage 85, but not fully ripe, i.e. 87. Therefore the stage depicted lays between, perhaps 86, although it was omitted on the BBCH scale.

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Red currants come in a range of colours, such as pink yellow or white. The cultivar discussed in this project will be the red cultivar. Red currants are ripen late on the plant, are very productive and have long stem clusters (Eames-Sheavly et al., 2003). The berry when ripe is sweet but can also be sour if not ripened. They grow on a small bush that is usually 1-1.5 m tall and wide. The flowers are a pale yellow and the bush is smooth, without thorns. The red currant plant can remain productive for up to 20 years (Hansen et al., 2014). The matured harvested product is pictured below. Free image source: Pixbay.com

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'72-75 20% - 50% of fruits formed.'

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"65 Full flowering: at least 50% of flowers open, first petals falling."

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There are many different cultivars of currants, including black currants. However, Pedersen & Andersen (2012) presented findings that suggest the best options for organic production are:
Black:
‘Narve Viking’
‘Ben Lomond’
‘Ben Hope’
‘Ben Tirran’

Red:
‘Red poll’
‘Roodneus’

The cultivar monitored in this project is the Rovada variety. Information on the exact plant planted can be found on the Lehrgarten Agrarwissenschaften website under permanent crops --> soft fruit or with this link, under Red Currant Rovada.

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Red currants (R. sativum) were first recorded in Germany in the 15th century, from where they spread to the rest of Europe (Brennan, 2008). By the 1920's there were 30 different species recorded, more recently Holland has been developing new cultivars (Brennan, 2008). The Rovada is included in these new cultivars, which is (as mentioned above) the cultivar this project is following.

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It is suggested to purchase a one or two year old stock from a plant nursery and for them to be planted in early fall or early spring (Eames-Sheavly et al., 2003; Hansen et al., 2014). The suggested spacing of each plant is, approximately, 1m between plants and 3m between rows (Eames-Sheavly et al., 2003; Hansen et al., 2014; Pedersen & Andersen, 2012). Pruning should occur in the off season of late winter. Maintaining at least 2-3 shoots that are 1-2 years old as those will be the most productive (Hansen et al., 2014).  Propagation is therefore the preferred method as more mature plants will be more productive (Hansen et al., 2014).

The plant used in this project shows an example of the 2-3 main canes that should be maintained in the image below. This image was taken in early spring when new growth was just beginning.

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Requirements
Currants used for cultivation prefer:
- Well drained soil
- Moist soil
- Soil rich in organic matter
- Lower pH level (5.5-7.0)
- Areas with partial shade
- Areas with good air circulation
- Temperatures ranging from 30-(-35) oC

(Barney, 2000; Eames-Sheavly et al., 2003)

Fertilisation and Mulching
Mulching with wood chips or straw is recommended to keep the soils cool and moist (Eames-Sheavly et al., 2003). Currants are relatively demanding in nitrogen therefore annual fertilisation with manure or green manure can also be used as mulch (Barney & Hummer, 2005; Eames-Sheavly et al., 2003).

Mulching was done around the 11th of June with straw as shown below.

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"38 Shoots about 80% of final length." The image below can be compared with stage 31 in the subsequent diagram.

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The berries ripen between mid-June and mid-July. The berries are small and fragile, therefore the entire stem cluster is harvested at once. The berries are ready when they are red, but can stay on the bush for 2-3 weeks longer. The longer they remain on the bush the sweeter they will become (Hansen et al., 2014). The harvest for a mature plant can have a yield of approximately 40-60 kg (Eames-Sheavly et al., 2003).

Currants can be stored frozen, preserved as a type jam, eaten fresh or made into juices (Eames-Sheavly et al., 2003; Hui & Barta, 2006). They are also considered beneficial to human health as they are rich in antioxidants (Hansen et al., 2014; Hui & Barta, 2006).

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The disease observed during the project are listed below, with typical organic treatments or methods of prevention.

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The acronym BBCH represents the institutions that developed said scale. The institutes respectively are:

- Biologische Bundesanstalt fur land- und Forstwirtschaft (German federal center for agriculture and forestry)
- Bundessortenamt (German federal Variety Authority)
- CHemische Industry, Industrieverband Agrar, IVA (German aAsociation

of Manufacturers of Agrochemical Products)

^ As described by Hess et al. (1997)

These stakeholders came together and developed a scale that measures the phenological stages of each plant in a way that different plants can be measured by comparing approximately the same growth stages (Hess et al., 1997).  The scale is comprised of 10 principal or major growth stages, each with 10 secondary growth stages (Hess et al., 1997). This project will be formatted with each principal stage represented by the subsequent columns. Each column will then describe the secondary stages as given by Meier (2001)

The Red Currant scale used is listed under Currants, developed by Meier et al., in 1994.

The scale for currants begins from principle stage 0 and ends with principle stage 9. It does not include a principal stage 2 or 4 and are therefore not depicted in this project.

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Sprouting/Bud development

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"00 Dormancy: leaf buds and the thicker inflorescence buds closed
and covered by dark brown scales."

"01-03 Beginning of bud swelling: bud scales elongated till the end of bud swelling: edges of bud scales light coloured." Which is depicted within circle A in the Image below. The accompanying diagram from Meier (2001) shows the stage depiction expected.

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"07 Beginning of bud burst: first green or red leaf tips just visible."

"09 Leaf tips extended beyond scales", depicted in circle B in the images below.

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'67-69 Flowers fading: majority of petals fallen to the end of flowering: all petals fallen.' In the case of the observed red currant the petals fell  as the fruit were forming. Therefore the next steps continue in BBCH stage 7.

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"76 60% of fruits formed."

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'77-78 70% - 80% of fruits formed.'

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"79 90% of fruits formed."

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During the time frame of this project BBCH stage 9 was not observed. However, the stages are still described below in order to provide a complete description of the BBCH stages of the currant.

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"11 First leaves unfolded (others still unfolding)." Arrow A indicates the first unfolded arrows and arrow B shows the leaves still unfolding. The diagram below indicates the same features on the guiding illustration.

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"15 More leaves unfolded, not yet full size."

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"19 Leaves fully expanded."

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The scale descriptions are word for word in this project as they are in the BBCH scale presented by Meier (2001) as they are concise and precise. This project in no way attempts to claim these descriptions as its own. In order to maintain a separation, the descriptions belonging to Meier (2001) will be in quotation marks. Summarised descriptions such as:

"72 20% of fruits formed
73 30% of fruits formed
74 40% of fruits formed"

will be transformed into:

'72-74 20% - 40% of fruits formed'.

Additionally, the accompanying illustrations provided by Meier (2001) have been used to further depict the stages visible in the photos taken. They have been edited to highlight specific stages, the red colour is an addition to the original black and white diagrams.

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Unfortunately, this stage was not observed. However, in order to connect the visual missing links the illustrations provided by Meier (2001) will be used.

"51 Inflorescence buds and leaf buds swelling: buds closed,
light brown scales visible."

"53 Bud burst: scales separated light green but sections visible."

"54 Green or red leaf tips above bud scales."

"55 First flower buds (compact raceme) visible beside unfolded
leaves."

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"91 Shoot growth completed; terminal bud developed;
foliage still fully green."

"92 Leaves begin to discolour."

"93 Beginning of leaf fall."

"95 50% of leaves discoloured or fallen."

"97 All leaves fallen."

"99 Harvested product."

The Harvesting can take place manually or with a machine. The next 2 videos shows the harvest with a machine and the manual harvesting respectfully.

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Red & Black Currant Harvest - MaVeBo Lewedorp | SFM Technology Harvester

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Anthracnose is a disease that can occur in wet/humid conditions. I can lead to early defoliation (Eames-Sheavly et al., 2003). This does look similar to the effects of aphids , which also cause discolouration and deformation of the leaf shape (Eames-Sheavly et al., 2003). However, as no aphids were spotted during the project I can be assumed this was not the cause.

Prevention methods including removing infected leaves, both fallen and on the plant. Regular pruning to improve air flow, no watering over the foliage and irrigating in the morning (University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2015).

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This is a fungal disease that affects  leaves stems and berries. It has been observed on all of the currant bushes observed. I can be caused by increased humidity and poor air circulation (Eames-Sheavly et al., 2003).

Prevention methods include increasing air circulation or using resistant cultivars. Regular pruning or removing infected leaves, stems or fruits can also be done to prevent it spreading (University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2015).

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Other frequent diseases that occur are listed below as described by the University of Massachusetts Amherst (2015):

Botrytis Dieback and Fruit Rot (Botrytis cinerea)
- Appearance: Causes fruit and flowers to rot.
- Control: Good air circulation, remove weak canes, remove weeds to promote drying.

White Pine Blister Rust (Cronartium ribicola)
- Appearance: Yellow patches appear, may resemble rust.
- Control: Use resistant varieties, avoid high risk and humid areas.

Currant Cane Blight or Botryosphaeria Canker (Botryosphaeria ribis)
- Apparence: yellowing leaves followed by the cane dying
- Control: look for dying during early fruiting, burn infected plants, use resistant varieties.

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No pests were noticed on the plants chosen for this project. However a few of the most common will be described below.

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The pest list will be derived from the website of The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (n.d.). The website provides an extensive list of pests and diseases, although not explicitly organic is, in general, a good resource. The top 3 pests include:

Currant aphid (Cryptomyzus ribis)
- Apparence: Leaves are deformed similarly to the images of Anthracnose provided above.
- Control: Herbicide oils or biological control.

Currant borer (Synanthedon tipuliformis)
- Apparence: Larvae are white and brown while adults are clear moths.
- Control: Removal and burning of infected canes.

Currant stem girdler (Janus integer)
- Apparence: The adult lays eggs in the new shoots and the larvae eat the canes.
- Control: Removing infected canes and burning.

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"87 Fruit ripe for picking: most berries ripe."

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"89 Berries at base of racemes tending to drop
(beginning of fruit abscission)." The beginning of abscission was present on a few clusters as indicated by the blue circle. Further abscission is shown if the subsequent photo.

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The location is an experimental field near the University oh Hohenheim dorms. The name of the station is the Lehrgarten Agrarwissenschaften of the University of Hohenheim. More specifically the area the red currant is located in id the Lehrgarten Phytomedizin. This is an experimental garden for students and visitors to see a diversity of crops according to their website (Hohenheim, n.d.). The exact location is indicated on the image below with a red box and arrow.

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The BBCH stage 8 was not recorded in this plot. This is because the fruit were badly affected by Mildew which can be seen in the disease section. BBCH stage 8 was recorded from a near by bush providing what appeared to be the same variety.

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The climatic conditions provided by  the Lehrgarten Agrarwissenschaften website can be seen below.

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"56 Beginning of raceme elongation."

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"57 First flower bud separated on elongating raceme."

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"59 Grape stage: all flower buds separated." with the spaces highlighted in red.

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"39 Shoots about 90% of final length."

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Pixabay. (n.d.). Retrieved June 17, 2021, from https://pixabay.com/

Barney, D., & Hummer, K. (2005). Currants, Gooseberries, and Jostaberries: A Guide for Growers, Marketers, and Researchers in North America. CRC Press.

Barney, D. L. (2000). Commercial Production of Currants and Gooseberries in the Inland Northwest and Intermountain West of the United States: Opportunities and Risks. HortTechnology, 10(3), 557–561. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTTECH.10.3.557

Brennan, R. M. (2008). Currants and Gooseberries. In J. F. Hancock (Ed.), Temperate Fruit Crop Breeding: Germplasm to Genomics (pp. 177–196). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6907-9_6

Eames-Sheavly, M., Pritts, M., Cramer, C., Bushway, L., Merwin, I., Reisinger, R., & McKay, S. (2003). Cornell Guide to Growing Fruit at Home. Cornell Cooperative Extension. https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/67

Hansen, S., Maughan, T., & Black, B. (2014). Red Currants in the Garden. Extension Utah State University, 4.

Hess, M., Barralis, G., Bleiholder, H., Buhr, L., Eggers, T., Hack, H., & Stauss, R. (1997). Use of the extended BBCH scale—General for the descriptions of the growth stages of mono; and dicotyledonous weed species. Weed Research, 37(6), 433–441. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3180.1997.d01-70.x

Hohenheim, U. (n.d.). Lehrgarten-agrarwissenschaften.uni-hohenheim.de. Retrieved June 24, 2021, from https://lehrgarten-agrarwissenschaften.uni-hohenheim.de/

Hui, Y. H., & Barta, J. (Eds.). (2006). Handbook of fruits and fruit processing (1st ed). Blackwell Pub.

Meier, U. (2001). Growth stages of mono-and dicotyledonous plants: BBCH Monograph. German Federal Biological Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry (BBA); German Federal Office of Plant Varieties (BSA); German Agrochemical Association (IVA); Institute for Vegetables and Ornamentals in Grossbeeren/Erfurt, Germany. https://www.politicheagricole.it/flex/AppData/WebLive/Agrometeo/MIEPFY800/BBCHengl2001.pdf

Pedersen, H. L., & Andersen, L. (2012). Black and red currant cultivars for organic production. 15th International Conference on Organic Fruit-Growing Proceedings to the Conference, Hohenheim, Germany.

The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. (n.d.). Currant Ribes; Plant Health Problems. CT.Gov - Connecticut’s Official State Website. Retrieved June 24, 2021, from https://portal.ct.gov/CAES/Plant-Pest-Handbook/pphC/Currant-Ribes

University of Massachusetts Amherst. (2015, June 23). Currants and Gooseberries: Diseases [Text]. Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment. https://ag.umass.edu/fruit/ne-small-fruit-management-guide/currants-gooseberries/pest-management/diseases

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This video also shows an example of some processing. In this case into jelly and pie.

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Picking 33 lb of Red Currant and Making Currant Jelly and Pie with Grandma

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During dormancy pruning must take place. This is intended to assist in the next seasons growing, and allow air flow. The following video shows how pruning takes place and why.

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After pruning propagation is also possible during the dormancy. A nice visualisation can be found in the following video. The propagation section begins at 3:20 minutes.

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Propagating Redcurrants (Growing Free Fruit)

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There is not much maintenance required during the growing period however, pruning is required during the dormancy. This is explained further and visualised under BBCH 9. All the videos used are credited to their unloaders on YouTube.