[NeilH]

I'm new to the forum so hopefully this is the right place to ask this question.  The last couple of years I've had real problems with gooseberry sawfly and the worst affected bush last year didn't crop as well this year.  I'm sure I read you could prune out the centre of the bush to discourage them but looking through all my gardening books I cannot find this.  Does anyone know if this works?  I'm also going to try the biological control next year as well.  I had some left after treating my carrots and sprayed a bit on but it was after the worst of the attack...

Neil

[8doubles]

I think pruning the centre of the bush out to make it an open cup shape is more to do with makiing it easy to pick fruit without too much loss of blood !

In the past two years my gooseberry plants in pots have been ravaged by sawfly the caterpillars go into the soil to pupate so spraying the plant before the new hatch start to feed on the leaves seems favourite.

The large gooseberry bush in the garden has been untouched by sawfly for 4 years with no spraying !

[DD.]

Garden Organic fact sheet:

http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/factsheets/pc3.php

[NeilH]

Thanks I've never had any problem until two years ago the caterpillars were on a shrub the year before that.  I don't know what the shrub is but I assume it related to gooseberries?  I'm going to have to do something next year.  Thanks for the link I buy most of my seeds etc from them.  The same control different nematode is very effective against carrot root fly.

[savbo]

I think the cup shape is also meant to reduce humidity within the bush and make it less pleasant for the larvae

I also cover all round the base of my goosegogs with weed fabric, make it harder for any larvae to pupate in the soil and easier to weed!

sav

[Kleftiwallah]

Didn't that Ruth? woman on Victorian/Edwardian Farm make a stew of elderberry leaves and shook the resultant liquid over her gooseberries to deter the sawfly?

Cheers,   Tony.

[savbo]

Didn't that Ruth? woman on Victorian/Edwardian Farm make a stew of elderberry leaves and shook the resultant liquid over her gooseberries to deter the sawfly?

Cheers,   Tony.

oh no! not home made pesticides!
Surely you mean this as a general plant tonic?

sav

[Stevens706]

I've had problems with this pest for a few years, however this year I put rhubarb leaves around the base of the bushes and the problem was greatly reduced, might be a wives tale or just plain good luck

[shokkyy]

I had sawfly in two of my bushes for a couple of years, then the next year they disappeared and haven't been back since. I suspect it's just down to birds eating the larvae.

[Auntiemogs]

My new (& expensive) goosegogs were partially denuded over the course of just a few days and I can only think it must have been sawfly.  They had already fruited (3 berries, making it one per bush, but I did say they were new  ) so I took the drastic action of spraying them with Bayer bug killer for fruit and veg as I would have lost them otherwise. Seems to have done the trick and they are recovering nicely.  
Will get nematodes next year, thanks for the link DD!

[Amilo]

This year I seem to have sawfly in my blackcurrants but none in the gooseberry, strange as the currents and gooseberry's are next to each other touching?? maybe it not saw fly