The cherry is not only a popular ornamental tree, but also an interesting way for ambitious fruit growers to harvest edible fruit themselves. As with many other fruit trees, problems are more common due to triggers of all kinds. These can have a negative impact on the health of the crop and thus reduce your potential crop yields. As soon as you recognize which disease it is, you can implement appropriate measures.
Cherry Tree Diseases
If you have cherry trees in your garden, you may have noticed one or two deficiency symptoms. Especially if the location is not ideal, cherries can appear weaker. Contrasted with these are cherry tree diseases which are caused by bacteria, fungi or other reasons. Numerous cherry diseases can make life difficult for the tree and ruin your harvest. It is important to recognize these in order to be able to take the necessary measures. Therefore, below you will find the 8 typical diseases that can affect your cherry.
gum flow
Gum flow is the exudation of a sticky substance from the rind of the cherry. Over time, this leads to the death of individual branches or parts of the trunk. Especially in young trees, gum flow can cause the entire tree to die. The disease is mainly caused by an unbalanced water balance, especially when there is too much watering or the tree is planted in an unfavorable spot that is very wet over the winter. Remove affected parts of the plant as early as possible, because this is the only way to prevent the disease from spreading. In extreme cases, the cherry tree has to be felled.
tip: Gum flow is a disease that can appear as a symptom of other diseases and, over time, weakens the fruit tree even more.
Monilia fruit rot
Monilia fruit rot is a fungal disease, which affects the shoots and fruits of the cherry. If the shoots are affected, you can tell by the dried flowers on the branch tips. This then spreads to the entire shoot until it has also dried up and died. If the fruit is the victim, it will be attacked by a brown mold that is clearly visible. The cherries rot and get stuck on the tree. If you have this condition, do the following:
- remove affected fruit
- also pick up from the ground
- remove affected shoots
Do not take too much time with the treatment, because the fungi can spread very quickly.
Valsa disease
Valsa disease, also known as toad skin, can be recognized by the following symptoms:
- reinforced rubber flow
- Bark becomes "warty"
- Bark discolours
- Parts of the bark tissue die off
- fruits rot
The reason for the toad skin is also an unfavorable location. Cherries should always be in a well-drained spot that is airy but sheltered from the sun. Carefully remove the affected areas and then treat the wounds.
fruit tree cancer
If you are struggling with fruit tree canker, you must also remove and care for affected areas. Fruit tree canker is caused by a fungus if you cut the cherry tree incorrectly and it has many untreated wounds. The mushrooms then get into this. It can be recognized by its cracked bark, which is also dry. The wood also discolours and after a long time growths form, which indicate the disease.
Fruit tree canker on an apple tree
tip: Always make sure to use clean and sharp scissors for annual trimmings. The more effective your tool, the safer the pruning for the cherry tree.
shotgun disease
If your cherry is suffering from reddish spots on the foliage that will turn into holes if left untreated, you are probably dealing with shotgun disease. Shaped like the size of buckshot, these holes accumulate over time until the leaves fall from the tree. The shotgun disease can even spread to the fruits and shoots until they die off too and sap even more strength from the cherry. If you notice this damage, you should note the following points:
- remove affected branches
- Discard fallen leaves and fruit
If you often struggle with shotgun disease, you should think about using preventative measures. These usually come from specialist retailers and are designed to combat the pathogens. This remedy is used just before the cherries begin to bloom, which varies depending on the type and location of the tree.
Shotgun disease on a cherry tree
bacterial burn
The bacterial burn sounds dangerous and it is. The disease causes the tissues of the branches and the flesh of the cherries to decompose. As a result, large holes appear in the cherries, which means that they can no longer be used or even eaten. Bacterial burns, easily recognizable by their brownish color, can also lead to gum flow. If rain then falls on the affected areas, the pathogens drip onto the lower branches. The only thing that helps here is collecting the affected fruit and removing the affected areas.
Gnomonia leaf tan
With Gnomonia leaf blight, only the leaves are affected. These suffer only in summer due to warm temperatures through brownish spots that are clearly visible. In itself, the disease only affects the vitality of the tree, which cannot cope with the fact that the leaves no longer fall down in autumn. These must be removed at all costs, otherwise the infestation will continue until the tree is severely weakened. More work is not required for the Gnomonia leaf tan.
fools disease
You only have to worry about fool's disease if you have a bird cherry (bot. Prunus padus). Apart from the bird cherry, other Prunus species apart from the plum (bot. Prunus domestica) are rarely or never attacked. The disease, also known as pocket disease, is manifested by the following symptoms:
- Fruits: warty, wrinkled, resemble in shape a large pod, malformation
- Leaves: misshapen, twist
- Shoots: malformation
With all parts of the plant you must take care to cut regularly and carry out this cutting action effectively and accurately. You should definitely remove affected areas of the cherry so that the tree can recover a little. If the plant parts are not removed, this in turn can lead to infection.
Fool's disease of the bird cherry
pests
In addition to the actual diseases, the typical pests of cherry trees should also be listed here. Like many other fruit trees, the cherry is a feast for numerous insects that attack the sweet fruits and tree juices, which can also have a negative effect on the health of the plants in addition to diseases. Below is a list with an overview of the 3 pests to watch out for.
cherry fruit fly
An infestation by the cherry fruit fly (Rhagoletis cerasi) can only be seen on the fruit, because the insects lay their eggs directly in them. The maggots then hatch from these and feast on the cherries. You can recognize the infestation by the fruit, which turns brown, softens and is no longer edible. To protect your cherry tree and crop from these pests, apply the following points:
- remove affected cherries
- Hang yellow boards
From autumn you won't have to deal with these anymore. However, since they mainly affect sweet cherries, they are a thorn in the side of ambitious hobby fruit growers.
Prunus avium, wild cherry, sweet cherry
Black cherry louse
This pest is also known as the black cherry aphid (Mycus pruniavium/Mycus cerasi) and poses a major problem for the cherry tree. Like other aphids, this insect infests the leaves, more precisely the shoot tips of the cherry trees and nests there. The leaves curl up due to the parasitic life of the aphids, can turn brown and even entire parts of the shoots and branches die off over the summer months. The foliage also sticks together due to the honeydew. It affects the following cherries:
- ornamental cherries
- sweet cherries
- sour cherries
Home remedies do not really help against the robust animals and for this reason only a spray from the trade is recommended. You should treat the cherry with the agent before the leaves start to curl more in order to effectively contain the infestation, especially if you want to harvest the fruit of your cherry.
frost moth
Winter moths (Operophtera) are a genus of butterflies that lay eggs on your cherry tree in autumn. Caterpillars hatch from these in spring and then feed on leaves and buds, which robs the plant of a lot of energy. In addition, the loss of buds in sweet and sour cherries means that the blossoms fail, which prevents the tree from producing fruit. As a result, a large part of the harvest fails. The infestation by the winter moth can be recognized by the signs of feeding on the leaves, buds and flowers. The following measures help against the butterflies:
- glue rings
- natural predators
Operhophtera brumata, lesser winter moth
Frost moth predators include numerous species that feed on the caterpillars and adults. These include:
- be crazy
- Beetle
- caterpillar flies
- birds
These beneficial insects are effective against butterflies and ensure that your cherries are protected over the long term. The more beneficial insects settle in your garden, the better off the cherry, as they allow the natural balance that is needed in the garden for healthy fruit trees.
tip: Introduce various species of birds and insects to your garden, as they feed on the pests mentioned above. You can set up a bird house or an insect hotel so that the beneficial insects feel at home in the garden.
As you can see, diseases and pest infestations are easy to distinguish. Here it must be noted that an infestation of pests can weaken the cherry tree so much that it falls ill with one of the diseases.