Growing currants and gooseberries is illegal in Maine and there’s a good reason for it

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 16, 2021

Growing currants, gooseberries and other related berries is prohibited in Maine. And though some gardeners wish the law would change, there’s a good reason for it, experts say. Gooseberries, currants and European black currant belong to the genus Ribes. Though they have caught on in health food circles and pick-your-own farms elsewhere, plants in the genus Ribes are the required host for a devastating fungus called white pine blister rust, which infects and eventually kills the Eastern white pine trees that fill the forests of Maine. “The biggest threat to the forest in Maine isn’t fire or wind or rain or hurricanes, it’s really introduced pests from other places that have no natural control. That’s what was going on with blister rust,” said Tom Doak, executive director of Maine Woodland Owners.