- The powdery mildew and the goji berry
- Not a disease, but just as harmful: the Asian gall mite
- Goji berries without flowering are not necessarily diseased
Goji berries are fairly undemanding as berry bushes in the garden and can deliver good yields in a sunny location when the orange-red berries are harvested, even in Germany. However, only healthy plants can show healthy growth and flower in large numbers.
Goji berries rarely get sick
The powdery 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 preventive measure against powdery mildew, goji berries should be cultivated into a bush with not too many shoots, where regular pruning ensures good ventilation and drying of the leaves. Branches infested with powdery mildew should be cut out as early as possible to contain the infestation and disposed of with household waste.
Not a disease, but just as harmful: the Asian gall mite
In the meantime, the occurrence of the imported Asian gall mite has also been detected on German cultivation areas. These animals, which are only about 0.3 mm in size, are hardly visible to the naked eye, but are noticeable through conspicuous bulges on the affected leaves on a goji berry bush. As with a powdery mildew infestation, cutting out affected parts of the plant is also an effective and gentle control measure for gall mites. If possible, the removed branches should not end up on the compost heap, but packed in a plastic bag in the household waste.
Goji berries without flowering are not necessarily diseased
If a goji berry does not form flowers, this does not automatically indicate a disease. Sometimes the plants are simply too young or the right plant variety was not selected. It can also be due to high-nitrogen fertilizers if goji berries grow profusely but at the same time do not form flowers.
tips
Due to its late harvest time, the goji berry is considered a frequent host plant for the spotted-wing drosophila, which lays its eggs in intact fruit. Since no pesticides against the spotted drosophila are permitted in private horticulture, only preventive measures such as regular pruning can be taken to ensure that the plant structure is as well ventilated as possible.