Fruits· Ribes nigrum

Currant Growing Guide

Currant is a temperate deciduous bush fruit of the genus Ribes, grown overwhelmingly for processing rather than fresh sale — juice, concentrate, purée and freezing — on the strength of its very high vitamin C and anthocyanin content. Blackcurrant is the commercially dominant type; red and white currants are the same genus grown mostly for fresh and garnish markets. Poland is the largest European and second-largest world producer at roughly 180,000-220,000 tonnes a year, where the crop is completely mechanised. It is one of the few crops whose cultivation is legally restricted in parts of the United States, because Ribes is the alternate host of white pine blister rust.

3,605

kg/hectare

moderate

Water Needs

full sun

Sun Needs

FAO. 2025. FAOSTAT: Production: Crops and livestock products. Accessed on 13 October 2026. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL Licence: CC-BY-4.0.

Growing Conditions

Frost Tolerance

high

Drought Tolerance

low

Humidity

moderate tolerance

Heat Tolerance

low

Soil Requirements

Soil Type & pH

Best soil types: loam, sandy loam, moisture-retentive soils

Drainage: good

Planting Guide

Planting Methods

hardwood cuttings, bare-root or containerised bushes

Yield & Economics

Yield Range

420 - 20,820 kg/ha

Common Pests & Diseases

Common Pests

blackcurrant leaf midge (Dasineura tetensi)
blackcurrant gall mite (Cecidophyopsis ribis)
aphids

Common Diseases

white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola)
powdery mildew (Podosphaera mors-uvae)
leaf spot (Drepanopeziza ribis)

Use AI crop disease detection to identify issues early and prevent crop losses.

Growing Tips

CHECK THE LAW BEFORE THE AGRONOMY if planting in the United States. Ribes hosts white pine blister rust, which is lethal to five-needle pines; a federal ban ran 1911-1966, state bans persisted for decades, New York lifted the last one only in 2003, Maine still runs an eradication programme and some states still bar importing plants.

Rust-resistant cultivars such as Ben Sarek and Consort exist, but treat resistance as time-limited: a strain overcoming it in many varieties was identified in New Hampshire in 2012.

This is a processing crop, not a fresh-market one. Plan for over-row machine harvest and a juice or freezing contract; the value is in vitamin C and anthocyanin content, not appearance.

Frequently Asked Questions

What soil does Currant need?

Currant grows best in loam, sandy loam, moisture-retentive soils soil. Good drainage is required.

What is the expected yield for Currant?

Across 38 countries with grounded data, reported national yields for Currant range from 420 to 20,820 kg/hectare, with a median of 3,605. These are national statistics, not a best-case figure — an individual farm's yield depends on variety, climate, soil and management.