The life of summer residents is darkened by the constant appearance of harmful insects on fruit trees. Every year, summer residents fight against one pest or another. Even preventive measures do not always help prevent the appearance of insects. Cherry pests also appear on trees due to their proximity to other fruit crops. If this happens, then all the trees that grow in the garden may be affected.
Causes and symptoms of tree infection
There are many reasons why harmful insects appear on cherry trees. The only way to prevent pests is to constantly inspect your trees and take action as soon as necessary.
Symptoms of cherry infection:
- Reduced yield.
- Massive fall of leaves in summer and early autumn.
- Fruit drop.
- The appearance of yellow spots and “movements” on the leaves.
Reasons for the appearance of insects on cherry trees:
- Insects multiply much faster if cherry trees grow next to cherries or because of their proximity to plum trees.
- Lack of seasonal preventative pruning of the crown.
- A large number of weeds on the site.
- The presence of a large number of ladybugs, ants, wasps and flies in the garden (these insects contribute to the appearance of aphids because they feed on the sweet juice that aphids secrete).
- Lack of autumn preparation for winter.
Most of the reasons why parasites appear on cherry trees are due to lack of garden care. Therefore, the main method of preventing the appearance of insects on cherries is sanitary pruning and preparing the garden for the onset of cold weather.
Types of harmful insects and their control
Pests of fruit trees include aphids, moths, codling moths, cherry flies and a number of other insects. There are many reasons why parasites appear on cherries. The sooner the appearance of pests on trees is detected, the easier it is to deal with them. If insects have infested the entire garden, then it is almost impossible to cope with them.
Aphid
Among the harmful insects that most often appear on fruit trees are aphids. Aphids appear on leaves and stems. Aphids appear in the first ten days of summer, when young shoots on the tops of branches begin to grow.It multiplies quickly and can infest the entire tree in a few days. Aphids feed on the sap of cherry stems and leaves. Gradually the leaves dry out and fall off.
Because of aphids, trees stop growing, fungi develop on cherries and yields decrease. Pest control consists of the following actions:
- Decrease in ant population.
- In spring and autumn, trim dry branches.
- Treat tree trunks with lime.
If aphids have already appeared, the cherries are treated with a soap solution with the addition of ash. And also mustard powder diluted in warm water.
Slimy sawfly
The appearance of the slimy sawfly resembles that of a slug. The length of the sawfly is 4-5 mm. Sawflies move along the trunk onto the leaves and gnaw out their juicy part without touching the veins.
How to get rid of sawfly:
- You can clean cherries using chemicals.
- If there are few sawflies, they are collected by hand or cleaned with a strong stream of water.
In large numbers, sawflies cause significant damage to cherries.
Elephant Weevil
The elephant weevil is from 5 to 10 mm long. The body is golden-green in color, with a metallic tint. You can get rid of the elephant weevil using chemicals. The tree needs to be sprayed several times a season. Chlorophos is suitable for spraying. The treatment is repeated after 10 days.
Instead of herbicides, decoctions based on tobacco or yarrow are used. To prepare the decoction, you need to take 500 g of herb and add 2 liters of water. Boil the decoction. Before spraying, dilute the broth with warm water.
cherry fly
The cherry fly is a small insect with yellow stripes on its wings. The fly has large green-yellow eyes. The main part of the body is black. By winter, the cherry fly is wrapped in a mustard-yellow cocoon no more than 13 cm long.
The first signs of the appearance of a parasite:
- Massive fruit drop.
- The larvae remain on the foliage.
- By the beginning of autumn, the tree is already without leaves.
In spring, the fly feeds on cherry secretions, and in summer on the juice of the fruit. The cherry fly lays larvae in the fruit. The larvae grow for 20 days, all this time feeding on the juice of the berry. When the larvae reach adulthood, they crawl out and wrap themselves in cocoons.
To prevent the appearance of flies, trees are treated with chemicals several times a season. You also need to spray the soil around the trunk. You should also regularly loosen the soil around the tree. In winter, the soil is dug up to a depth of 25 cm.
Mole
You can get rid of moths using the following means:
- Spray the cherries with Confidor Maxi. The second treatment is carried out after 2 weeks.
- Water the tree with water from a hose under strong pressure.
Also, after the leaves fall, dig up the soil under the trees to a depth of at least 20-25 cm.
Fruit bog
To determine the appearance of fruit swamp, first study its description. The length of the body is 3-4 mm. The wings of the swamp are brownish-brown and shiny. The larvae are 4-5 mm long, beige in color. Females lay eggs in cherry buds.
To process cherries use:
- "Aktaru";
- "Mospilan";
- "Vector".
Two weeks after the first spraying, the treatment of trees with chemicals is repeated. During spraying, it is important to ensure that the branches are well wetted in the solution. Injecting chemicals under the tree bark is also effective. For injections use "Arrivo", "Decis" or "Sherpa".
Hawthorn butterfly
Caterpillars of the hawthorn butterfly eat inflorescences and leaves that have not yet blossomed.Before pupation, the caterpillars can cause significant damage to the cherry tree. After flowering, the caterpillars begin to pupate.
A natural way to control caterpillars is to attract birds to the garden. You can install birdhouses or feeders on cherry trees. In early spring, butterfly nests are clearly visible and easy to remove. After removal, the nests are burned. You need to spread a cloth near the tree and shake the tree vigorously; the fallen caterpillars are collected and burned along with the cloth. Among the chemicals, Herold, Aliot or Fury are effective.
Plum moth
To combat the plum moth, chemical and biological control methods are used. If berries appear on the cherry, then it is advisable to give preference to biological ones. For this purpose, decoctions of yarrow or tobacco are used.
You can spray with the following preparations:
- "Decis";
- "Alatar";
- "Knimix";
- "Fufan."
You need to spray the cherry with chemicals twice. Cherries are treated a second time 7-10 days after the first spraying. The beginning of June is considered a favorable period for processing. The second treatment is carried out in mid-July.
Golden silkworm
The goldentail butterfly lays eggs in foliage. When the larvae hatch, they try to sap the leaves. After only the veins remain from the leaf, it is wrapped in cobwebs. By winter, lacewings wrap themselves in webs and leaves, and with the onset of warmth they wake up and feed on buds.
To combat goldtail, an aqueous solution of Karbofos is used. You can also shake off the larvae and collect them by hand. Trees are sprayed with biological products, for example, “Lepidocide” or “Bitoxibacillin”. Birdhouses are also installed on cherry trees to attract swallows, swifts and starlings.
Prevention and seasonal treatment
To protect against harmful insects, preventive measures are taken. The less time you spend caring for your cherry, the more parasites appear on it.
Spring
In early spring, after the onset of heat, sanitary pruning is carried out. Those branches that do not have buds are cut with sharp pruning shears, and the cut areas are treated with a disinfectant. For example, potassium permanganate or lime solution. They also dig up the soil in the spring.
Summer
In the summer, cherries are regularly inspected for insects. You also need to periodically loosen the soil and remove all weeds from the site. In addition, if damaged leaves and branches appear on the trees, they are cut off and burned away from the site.
Autumn
In the fall, after harvesting, the soil must be dug to a depth of 20 cm. Insects prefer to overwinter and lay larvae in the soil. Therefore, after digging up the soil, the parasites will end up on the surface of the earth, freeze and die in winter.
