VikingPrincess Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 About 5 years ago, my wild black raspberry bushes contracted the dreaded Orange Rust virus. They say you need to destroy the affected plants to keep the disease from spreading but I have hundreds of bushes here, we could never dig them all up. They do still produce nice berries, though. Are they safe to eat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I would think so. I've never heard of a plant fungus that would attack humans. If it produced a toxin I'm sure there would be warnings out there. We've eaten tons of the black soot mold that grows on apples. We're still all here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 You may want to treat them organically by simply feeding them well and cutting out the worst canes. Make sure they get a lot of air movement and sun. Somewhere along the line you may start to see new canes that are more resistant. http://www.ipm.uiuc.edu/fruits/diseases/orange_rust/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VikingPrincess Posted April 17, 2008 Author Share Posted April 17, 2008 Thanks much, Petee and Lavender. I could never cut all the diseased ones out because there are literally hundreds, and some grow so thickly together that I could never even make my way back through to them. This, th disease keeps spreading. Even though it is an airborne virus, my blackberries remain OK for the time, but they are susceptible too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 They do say not to plant any bramble fruit close to where wild ones grow. The wild ones usually have something, and while they may have learned to live with it, it will kill of the more susceptible tame ones. Fungicides aren't that expensive, and while there is probably no help for the wild ones, you might try spraying any tame ones you have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VikingPrincess Posted April 18, 2008 Author Share Posted April 18, 2008 None of the bushes I have are tame, they are all wild. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 Can your husband mow paths through them or somehow create some openings so they get more air movement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 None of the bushes I have are tame, they are all wild. You don't have to worry about plantings then. In a wild populating the disease will run its course. If there are a few resistant plants they may multiply as the susceptible ones die off. Or if the whole stand dies off a more resistant strain may eventually replace it. The other option is that you will get a really bad year for the fungus one summer and the plants will get a reprieve. Mother Nature will do what Mother Nature will do. Enjoy them while you have them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badmonkey Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 My plants got hit hard with this last year. At the end of the season I cut them far back. This year there are a lot of new plants growing. With any luck the orange stuff will be gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 I'm afraid that rust fungus infects the whole plant (or so I've read) so it is in the root as well. I hope you burned or otherwise got rid of the infected branches. The spores will overwinter in them and can be travel on wind currents. It is always a good idea to burn plants that are infected with anything. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badmonkey Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 Can't burn here in the city. I may have made a BIG mistake. I placed the plants in my composte bin. We will see what happens. I'll keep you posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 Wow! I don't think a compost heap destroys fungus. Don't let that compost get near the raspberries next year. The good news is that these rusts are mostly plant specific. The ones that affect red raspberries won't infect roses, black raspberries, blackberries or other plants. If you have red raspberries you might want to read this. http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/3000/3210.html There is an alternate host, the white spruce tree. To complete its life cycle and survive there must be a white spruce nearby. Elimination of the alternate host breaks the cycle and eliminates the fungus. If you have red raspberries and this is the fungus you have, I lied, it is not systemic. That would be the black raspberry orange rust which VP has. You probably need to get it identified for sure. (You never mentioned whether you have black or red raspberries. I think red because that is what I have.)There are fungicides affective against some of the rust fungi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 You may want to take a specimen with evident damage to the Clearfield County Extension Office in Clearfield. They will get it identified for you. I've taken a couple of things there and they'll call you if they can't figure it out right away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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