Blackcurrant sudden death

[Graham12]

One of my five blackcurrant bushes died very quickly this year (2013). One other bush lost a main branch in a similar way, the rest of the plant survives. Symptoms: 'Ben More' was about three years old and produced fruit. This year it budded as the other plants but after the fruit began to form they quickly shrivelled, the leaves fell off and the wood died within two weeks. One large branch on 'Wellington XXX' died in a similar way but the rest of the plant continued to produce fruit. I have five blackcurrant bushes, a redcurrant, a white currant, a jostaberry and three gooseberries bushes in a netted, large fruit cage, each plant is at least six feet apart. All the other soft fruit plants produced masses of fruit. My plot is located near Chorley, Lancashire.
Anyone any ideas?

[FB.]

Any pictures?

[Nicos]

Hmmm...one of my gooseberries died back by 30% this year whilst the others next to it were absolutely fine!

I put mine down to voles eating the roots. Perhaps??

do you have voles nearby??

[Graham12]

Hi
No pictures.
Voles - could be - I will check - it has to be something like that I suppose?

[Nicos]

quite possibly.
We have one tomato plant which looked rubbish compared to the other 12- and on furtling around underneath we found a 2-3cm wide tunnel!
...and yes- the plant survived but only performed at less than 50%

[Speed Gardener]

Could be a combination of root damage and the near-drought conditions of this summer.
I lost a couple of legs on a triple redcurrant cordon as well as its neighbour completely, just as the fruit was nearing ripeness. I know there are moles on my allotment and they have used the row of fruit cordons as a mole motorway in the past, probably due to the planting hole material being better for worms.
I've tried many things, drowning them with a hose, pouring gallons (and I means gallons!) of stinking comfrey water down the runs, steel baffle plates to force them away from the fruit roots, but they eventually come back.
I didn't have time to water the fruit at all this summer so I wasn't too surprised of the odd loss of a limb seeing as it has happened before, just a bit annoying to almost lose two adjacent mature cordons.
Next year, it's a portable generator and smoke machine - they don't like it up 'em!