The health of a fruit tree can be determined by its appearance. When the leaves begin to dry out, this is the first sign of a serious problem in the development of the plant. What to do when cherries dry out? A gardener thinks about this when looking at a cherry tree that has lost its yellowed leaves in the middle of summer. And here the main thing is to identify the reason for the drying of the tree and fruits. And pre-thought-out preventive measures will help avoid problems.
What could be the reasons
When the leaves on a cherry tree are bright green, without spots or dots, then the plant is healthy and will bear fruit abundantly. But often during the flowering period the leaves and branches begin to dry out.The reason for this is that:
- the seedling is planted at great depth, and the roots begin to rot;
- too much moisture in the soil;
- insufficiency or excess of mineral and organic substances on the site;
- the tree was exposed to severe frosts in winter.
In mid-summer, when the fruits appear, the process of drying out may begin. The berries turn red, but their flesh wrinkles and dries out. Instead of juicy cherries, there are pits covered with brown skin. Typically, the phenomenon is typical for cool and humid summers, when trees in the garden are affected by pathogenic fungi or pests.
There is a spread of pathological processes in neglected gardens, where agricultural technology for cultivating stone fruit crops is not used. On the trunk sick cherry note the presence of gum flowing from the trunk. Then the plant stops developing, dries out and dies.
Pest Control
Basic cherry pests They feed on juices, sucking them from leaves and fruits. Hence the loss of the berry harvest and the drying out of the tree. The danger comes not only from adult insects, but also from their larvae. After pupation, the insects spend the winter under the snow, in the ground, and in the spring, adult individuals emerge from them, causing damage to the future harvest and destroying cherries.
Conduct pest control:
- cherry fly;
- aphids;
- sawfly;
- cherry shoot moth;
- hawthorn
It is necessary in advance, spraying bushes and trees with insecticidal preparations in the spring, before the buds open. It is better to choose systemic agents. Among them are “Iskra”, “Kinmiks”. Sawflies look like a fly, but they cause harm at the pseudo-caterpillar stage, which leads to skeletonization of the leaves. When winter comes, the larvae in cocoons survive the frost in the top layer of soil.
After pupation in the summer, adult insects emerge and begin laying eggs. In one season, a sawfly can turn a cherry tree into a leafless tree. You can scare away the sawfly with sulfur smoke. And by digging up the tree trunk circle, you can destroy colonies of larvae in the ground.
Winter nests of hawthorn caterpillars are collected and destroyed in the fall. If left untouched, the caterpillars will damage the plants during the growing season.
You can fight aphids with folk remedies and chemicals. It is necessary to destroy colonies of ants that attract aphids to cherries.
But it is necessary to carry out such work in the fall as:
- pruning;
- treating cracks on a tree trunk and cuts on branches with garden varnish;
- cleaning leaves, fallen fruits, branches, burning them;
- digging the trunk circle;
- spraying the soil under a tree with a urea solution before the onset of winter.
If work is carried out regularly, then the cherry tree will not be attacked by pests. But many of the insects contribute to the weakening of the tree. Hence the appearance of fungal infections.
Fungal diseases
A favorable period for the activation of pathogenic fungi is summer with heavy rainfall and air temperature no higher than 15-17 degrees Celsius. The moniliosis fungus retains its viability well during periods of mild winter and affects stone fruit crops very quickly. When in July the tree begins to dry out, losing half of its foliage, this indicates the onset of a disease.
The disease manifests itself as a burn when the fungus gets inside the wood. The spores also act on the berries, forming islands of gray rot on them. The juicy pulp of the fruit leaves only dried seeds on the branches.
To save the cherry, immediately treat the crown with the “Horus” preparation, after pruning the affected part of the bush. After 2 weeks, spray with “Skor”.
Symptoms of coccomycosis are visible to the naked eye. In summer, yellowed leaves begin to fall from the tree, although the harvest is still hanging on the branches. It is necessary to fight the infection after the berries are picked. The leaves are raked into heaps and burned, and the tree trunk is spilled with a solution prepared from 400 grams of urea per bucket of water. Spring treatment with Bordeaux mixture is carried out in April, while the buds are dormant. Spraying should be repeated after the cherry tree blooms.
To prevent the disease from returning, in the fall they are treated with drugs containing copper: “Ridomil”, “Oxychom”.
The anthracnose fungus has a detrimental effect on the cherry bush. In addition to the appearance of spots on the leaves, rotting of the fruits is noted. At the first signs of the disease, you need to spray with a solution of copper sulfate, taking 50 grams per 10 liters of water. Bordeaux mixture with a concentration of 1% is also effective.
A stone fruit plant infected with clusterosporiasis loses its leaves, which turn brown and dry out. The fruits also become small, drying out to the stone. Gum leaks are visible on the shoots. Cherries are cured by spraying with Bordeaux mixture three times. The first time in the budding stage, then immediately after flowering. The last treatment is carried out after 10-15 days. And the entire infected part of the tree must be destroyed.
Spores of the false tinder fungus, appearing on the cherry, lead to complete drying out of the tree. In July, it is necessary to remove fungal growths, since at this time spores have not yet formed. And the wounds that appear after cutting the mushroom are lubricated with garden varnish.Diseases overtake a tree if the crop is not properly cared for.
General tips for drying cherries
If cherry drying is detected, immediate action must be taken. You don't want to lose the whole tree.
For this:
- Treatment against diseases is carried out in several stages in spring and autumn. Among the drugs, the result will be from the means “Skor”, “Horus”, Bordeaux mixture. A few days before the flowers appear and after harvesting, it is necessary to carry out treatment. And in the spring you need to whitewash the trunk with copper sulfate added to the lime.
- Dry shoots are trimmed. Dried branches are sawed off or cut off with pruning shears, including the healthy part by 12-15 centimeters.
- If the berries are dry, they are collected and destroyed as carriers of fungal spores.
- The seedling is transferred to another place. But first they dig it up and examine the roots. The underground part of the plant is lightly trimmed and the cutting is dipped in a solution of camphor alcohol (15 drops per half liter of water) for 4 hours.
- Shoots covered with resin and gum are cut out.
When the cherry dries out due to the fact that the root collar begins to rot, it is necessary to remove the layer of mulch, adjusting the moisture content of the crop.
Preventive measures
It is easier to prevent cherries from drying out than to return them to normal condition later.
Preventive measures include:
- treating damaged parts of the cherry tree with garden varnish;
- cleaning and burning dry, diseased shoots, berries, leaves;
- digging up soil in cherry plantings in autumn and spring;
- whitewashing the trunk in April and October with lime milk;
- fertilizing with potassium sulphide, dissolving 1 tablespoon in 3 liters of water;
- feeding with peat before wintering.
Regular watering of the tree will save the cherry from drying out. You should not moisten the soil too much, but you need to keep it moist at a depth of 5-10 centimeters.The plant is fed as needed, but the soil in the root circle must be constantly loosened, especially after rains. Before winter, dig up the area to destroy pest larvae and fungal spores overwintering in the soil.
Spraying with Bordeaux mixture or copper sulfate prevents the occurrence of diseases. It is better to carry out treatment before flowering and after harvesting. To prevent gum formation, it is necessary to dig grooves in the garden and water the cherries without stagnant water. Cherries will not dry out if you follow the rules of agricultural technology, carry out disease prevention, and protect from pests.
