The shotgun disease and the spray stain disease
The most common disease in sweet cherries is Shotgun Sickness. This disease, which is caused by fungal pathogens, can begin to manifest itself as early as May. Red-brown spots appear on the leaves. Eventually the stains will become holes and the leaves will look like shot riddled with holes. Then they dry up and fall off.
also read
- Planting a sweet cherry: how's it going right?
- The sweet cherry as a half-stem
- The sweet cherry as a high stem - advantages and disadvantages
Similar to shotgun disease is spray stain disease. Here it is the smaller spots that make the foliage unsightly. They are reddish to purple in color. You can see the yellowish-white spores of the fungus on the underside of the leaf. This disease can also spread to the fruits of the sweet cherry.
Monilia - another bad mushroom
Monilia is known and is also popular with sweet cherries. Here the flowers, leaves, shoots and / or fruits are attacked. The flowers turn brown in spring and fall off. The new shoots dry out and the leaves are thrown off. A radical one helps here
Cut back .Other diseases in sweet cherries
Diseases like Fruit tree cancer, Bacterial burn and rubber foot. The fruit tree cancer (a fungus pathogen) attacks the wood and the bark. Thickenings then form. Bacterial burn, which can manifest itself in depressions on the branches, can lead to the dreaded rubber foot (tissue dissolves and the cherry gradually dies).
How can one prevent diseases?
Mainly, stress and lack of nutrients are considered to be the cause of diseases in sweet cherries. Give the sweet cherry the opportunity to develop a natural self-protection. That means: Do not choose any heavily overbred varieties, no artificial fertilizers or chemical fungicides, etc.
The following measures act preventively against diseases:
- Thinning out the crown regularly
- Sweet cherry in a location that is conducive to it plants
- fertilize with compost or effective microorganisms
- Leave leaves behind in autumn (humus formation)
- Apply wound sealant to larger cuts
Tips & Tricks
Some sorts such as 'Dönissen's Yellow Cartilage', 'Maibigarreau' and 'Tilgener's Red Heart Cherry' are particularly robust against diseases.
KKF
