Currants and gooseberries (Ribes) are an alternate host of white pine blister rust, and some states regulate or ban planting them - especially black currant. Check your state's rules before planting, and where white pines are nearby choose a rust-resistant cultivar.
Well established · suboptimal if ignored → advise
How it works
White pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) needs BOTH a Ribes and a five-needle (white) pine to complete its life cycle. The rust is a minor nuisance on Ribes but can be lethal to white pines, which is why some states restrict Ribes planting - strictest for black currant (Ribes nigrum), the most susceptible type. A rust-immune cultivar breaks the cycle: it cannot host the rust, so it cannot pass it to a pine.
What to do about it
Check your state's Ribes regulations before planting - a 1900s federal ban was lifted in 1966, but some states still restrict planting, especially of black currant. Where white pines grow nearby, plant a rust-immune cultivar - 'Consort', 'Crusader' or 'Titania' black currant, or a resistant gooseberry - which cannot carry the rust to the pine.
How much it matters: Not a garden-yield figure; the consequence is regulatory and to white pines, not to the Ribes crop (the rust is "little more than a nuisance to the grower of currants", UMN). No number is stated or invented.
The evidence
Evidence: not yet confirmed against its 6 sources.
what this rests on - 6 pointers
UMass Extension, 'Currants and Gooseberries' (New England Small Fruit Management Guide), umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment (read 2026-08-05): 'Some New England states regulate aspects of Ribes spp. production within their boundaries due to their role as alternate hosts of White Pine Blister Rust (Cronartium ribicola)'; 'This disease is the primary reason for limited commercial production of Ribes in North America'; 'Most black currants (Ribes nigrum) and white pines (Pinus strobus) are extremely susceptible'; resistant cultivars named include 'Consort', 'Crusader', 'Ben Sarek', and 'Titania'.
USU Extension, 'How to Grow Red Currants in Your Garden', extension.usu.edu/yardandgarden/research/red-currants-in-the-garden (read 2026-08-05): 'In the early 1900s, currants were banned in the northern United States to prevent the spread of white pine blister rust. However for most states, including Utah, the ban was lifted in 1966'; 'Most red currant varieties are actually immune to the disease, with black currant being much more susceptible.' USU gooseberry page: 'White pine blister rust requires both a Ribes species and white pine to complete its life cycle.'
Iowa State Univ. Extension, 'Growing Currants and Gooseberries in the Home Garden', yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu/how-to/growing-currants-and-gooseberries-home-garden (read 2026-08-05): 'Several states, however, still ban the planting and cultivation of black currants'; 'Consort ... along with Crusader and Coronet, are resistant to white pine blister rust.'
UMN Extension, 'Growing currants and gooseberries in the home garden', extension.umn.edu/fruit/growing-currants-and-gooseberries-home-garden (read 2026-08-05): 'Currants, gooseberries and other plants in the Ribes genus play a part in white pine blister rust'; 'Blister rust is little more than a nuisance to the grower of currants, but can be devastating to white pine trees'; 'Planting remains restricted in some areas of the U.S.'; 'Crusader ... Immune to blister rust'; 'Titania ... immune to blister rust.'
Penn State Extension, 'Home Fruit Plantings: Gooseberry and Currant Variety Selection', extension.psu.edu/home-fruit-plantings-gooseberry-and-currant-variety-selection (read 2026-08-05): 'Black currant (Ribes nigrum) is the most susceptible, though resistant varieties are available'; 'Titania ... Has very high resistance to white pine blister rust.'
NOT PROMOTED TO VERIFIED (invariant 4): the quotes above were gathered and quoted, not yet confirmed against the live pages. Five extension sources agree on the host relationship, the state regulation, black currant's susceptibility, and the resistant-cultivar remedy; promotion is one source-read away, the other rules here path.
Where this rule stops
RIBES ONLY, scoped by applies_to.species like other rules here. It is an ADVISE rule, not a block and not a blacklist (maintainer ruling 2026-08-05): currant and gooseberry are legal, widely grown crops that SOME states regulate, unlike autumn olive, which another rule here blacklists as a banned invasive weed. The severity axis measures garden outcome; this is a REGULATORY / off-site advisory, so it sits at advise and carries its weight in the claim wording (check your state's rules), not in a severity the app never shows (D-105). The state list is deliberately NOT enumerated in the corpus: regulations change and vary, so the rule tells the gardener to CHECK their own state rather than asserting a state list that would rot (UMass names CT/MA/ME/NH/RI/VT pointers, several of which say "no regulations at present").