Felt cherry diseases - description with photographs and methods of treating moniliosis, why cherries dry out after flowering, video

Felt cherries are grown today in different climatic zones of the country and are loved by gardeners for their unpretentious disposition, rapid entry into fruiting season and large yields of sweet, elegant berries.
But no matter how unpretentious this crop may be, gardeners need to be able to recognize diseases of the felt cherry; a description with photographs and methods of treating ailments will help to quickly and effectively cope with the problem. Residents of the Old and New Worlds became acquainted with the felt or Chinese mountain cherry at the end of the 19th century. The history of the spread of an interesting fruit crop in Russia began later. The first seedlings of amazing cherries from the southern regions of the Soviet Far East to the central part of the country were delivered in the pre-war years. At the same time, the first cultivated varieties appeared. But the real popularizer of felt cherries was I.V. Michurin. He created varieties adapted to the conditions of most regions of the former USSR.

Modern varieties that can withstand frosts down to –40 °C are distinguished by the highest winter hardiness, successfully survive long dry periods, are productive and large-fruited.

For several decades, felt cherry was considered almost the most persistent and unpretentious plant among all stone fruit crops. The shrubs were not affected by diseases dangerous to related species. For example, felt cherries are not affected by coccomycosis, which has become a threat to ordinary cherries. And even most of the pests that traditionally threatened cherries, plums, apricots and peaches avoided the Chinese guest.

And yet, felt cherry diseases and the fight against them are a pressing issue for many gardeners throughout Russia. Unfortunately, the bushes turned out to be vulnerable to certain diseases of fungal origin, affecting both ordinary cherries, plums, and southern types of stone fruits: peaches and apricots.

Felt cherry pocket disease

The disease, caused by a fungus from the Taphrina family, appears on felt cherries as an unusual appearance of the ovary. The fruits formed after flowering do not have seeds and resemble elongated soft sacs more than the usual berries. In such “pockets” the spores of the harmful fungus mature, and the defective berries that are not removed dry out and become a breeding ground for infection that spreads all the way to the next vein.

Felt cherry disease can deprive a gardener of a fifth of his entire harvest in one season.

If measures to destroy the fungus and infected parts of the plant are not taken, in subsequent years the disease can lead to the death of plants. When other related crops are grown next to felt cherries, the danger of this infection increases many times over.

For example, on plums, felt cherry disease has similar manifestations, and on peaches it causes leaf curl.

To prevent this felt cherry disease and combat it in fruit bushes, it is important:

plant in sunny, well-ventilated, dry places where spores of harmful fungi have less chance of developing, persisting and infecting plants;
Pruning regularly, avoiding excessive crown density and immediately removing branches with signs of disease.

All diseased parts of the plant are burned, and the same is done with fallen ovaries and leaves.

As a preventive measure, felt cherries are treated twice in March, with an interval of 5 days, with a 1% solution of copper sulfate or 3% Bordeaux mixture.

Modern systemic fungicides are no less effective for treating the disease on felt cherries. They are used strictly according to the attached instructions. After the growing season is over, in the fall the bushes are pruned, removing all dry, damaged or weak branches, and then the cherries are again treated with copper sulfate.

When should preventive treatment be started, optimal timing

When is it necessary to spray cherries against pests in the spring? Experts advise to be very careful about this procedure. In this case, it is important not to be late and perform the first early spring treatment, which is called eradication.

It is required to begin spring processing in March. At this time it is necessary:

trim trees
destroy lichens,
treat the plantings with a solution of iron sulfate.

The trees should be whitewashed. This will help prevent the plant from getting sunburn. Spraying against scale insects and roseate leaf rollers is of no small importance.

To prevent fungal pathologies, it is recommended to treat cherries with Bordeaux mixture. This manipulation must be carried out before the buds open.

Note! You can't rush too much. If the snow has not yet melted and the weather remains unstable, spraying cannot be carried out - it will not give the desired results.

The next treatment is carried out in April. At this stage, it is important to spray the plantings from scale insects, weevils, and copperheads. Plants also require protection from a number of leaf-eating parasites.

Felt cherry moniliosis

Felt cherry suffers most from monilial burn or moniliosis. This is the name of a putrefactive infection caused by fungi, first affecting ripe berries, and then, from dried mummified fruits, spreading to shoots, flowers and leaves.

A gardener should be seriously wary if:

felt cherry dries after flowering;
the flowers fade, acquiring a copper-brown hue;
The leaves, the ovaries and young fruit shoots that have already formed, dry out.

As a result of damage by moniliosis, felt cherry can lose most of its crown in a short time, and sometimes the plantings die entirely.

Infection occurs during mass flowering. Spores of the harmful fungus grow through the pistil into the peduncle and further into the shoot tissue. Signs of the disease on felt cherries become noticeable already at the end of spring or in the first days of summer. Drying branches look as if they have been on fire. The death of branches occurs quickly and en masse, creating the misleading impression that the bush has fallen into the zone of spring frost. Unfortunately, it is not!

If you do not remove and destroy the affected shoots in time, and do not begin treatment for felt cherry disease, it is impossible to avoid re-propagation of the fungus. At this stage, the spores penetrate into the fruits, causing them to mummify. The berries become a container for a huge number of pathogens, which in another 2–3 years will be ready for further dispersal.

Moniliosis is also dangerous because it affects almost all types of stone fruit crops, including the most common cherry. When a felt cherry tree dries up, it is obvious that similar symptoms will soon appear on other fruit trees. Therefore, control measures and treatment of the disease must affect all crops at risk.

Gardeners living in areas where heavy rainfall is common in spring and summer should be especially careful. Most often, plantings in the Non-Black Earth Region and in the North-Western region suffer from felt cherry moniliosis. Here, gardeners who expect to get a good harvest and protect the health of their plants must annually treat their plantings with fungicides. However, under unfavorable circumstances, the disease fully manifests itself even in the steppe zone, in the south of the Black Earth Region and in the Volga region. Here, chemical treatment of shrubs takes place as necessary.

general characteristics

Felt (Chinese) cherry appeared in the country more than a century ago. The homeland of the plant is China. Having spread throughout the Far East, the culture became popular in other regions of Russia (it shows excellent results when grown in the middle zone).

It is called felted by association with felt, because all parts of the tree, with the exception of the trunk, are slightly pubescent. Cherries are classified as trees, but at the same time they are also classified as shrubs, since they usually reach a height of no more than 3 m. Fruiting begins in 3–4 years. Although the life of a tree is short (approximately 10 years), it has many advantages:

high and stable yield;
serves as a decoration for the garden;
frost-resistant, can withstand temperatures down to - 40 ° C;
early berry picking dates, ripen 7–10 days earlier compared to regular cherries;
low height creates convenience during harvesting;
the berry does not fall off during ripeness;
the fruits taste good.

Note! Berries are very healthy and contain more iron than apples. The content of ascorbic acid in Chinese cherries is 2 times higher than in ordinary cherries.

Such fruits are poorly transported, which is why they cannot be seen on supermarket shelves. To complete the description, you should find out which varieties have received recognition from berry lovers and why.

Felt cherry varieties

They are characterized by great diversity and are classified according to ripening periods (early, mid-term, late). According to the strength of growth, shrubs are divided into low-growing, medium-growing and vigorous-growing. Plants can be self-fertile or self-sterile. Considering this indicator, it is better to plant 3 or more seedlings on the site (preferably different varieties), which in the future will become pollinators.

Varieties vary in fruit color: from white to shades of red and black. The most popular of those cultivated in the Moscow region are:

Summer - has the characteristics of two varieties of cherries - felt and sand. It blooms and ripens later than the others: the harvest of large cylindrical fruits (more than 3 g) dates back to the end of July and amounts to up to 8 kg per bush.
Natalie is a frost-resistant medium-growing variety (1.8 m), optimal for cultivation in the northern territories. The harvest of large scarlet berries is carried out in July, its quantity reaches 1 bucket per tree.
The Yubileiny harvest is 9 kg of cherries, mid-season.
Ogonyok is characterized by light, large fruits weighing 4 g, ripening in July. The cherry pulp is juicy, thick, sweet in taste with a hint of sourness.
Okeanskaya Virovskaya is classified as mid-season and tall (up to 3 m). Fragrant fruits, like those of the Natalie variety, ripen in mid-summer.
Delight has a low crown of only one and a half meters. In terms of ripening period and harvest, it is similar to Summer.
Pink fruitful, starting from the second half of July, produces a large number of heavy, sweet berries. Shows tolerance to low temperatures in winter.
The Eastern Smuglyanka bush is low, the branches bear rich burgundy fruits on stalks, their total weight ranges from 2.7 to 2.9 g. Productivity is up to 7 kg per tree.
Children's cherry ripens early and is not afraid of frost. The advantage is the rich taste of the berries and resistance to diseases of fungal origin. The disadvantages include low yield (about 5 kg) and poor tolerance to dry periods.
Mid-season Amurka, on the contrary, does not tolerate excess moisture and will not bear fruit in the absence of pollinators. If they are nearby, then if you follow agricultural techniques, it is possible to collect 14 kg of burgundy berries with a dessert taste.

Important! Self-fertility is not inherent in most felt cherries. A gardener who plans to plant cherries on his plot must take care of the availability of pollinating varieties in advance

General approaches to the treatment of felt cherry diseases

At the same time, we must not forget that prevention is more important than the fight against felt cherry disease, when it is already in full swing. Help to secure your garden:

early spring pruning of weakened, crown-thickening or completely dry branches;
regular rejuvenation of felt cherry plantings with cutting out old shoots and gradually replacing them with new strong branches;
removal and burning of fallen leaves, fruits remaining on the branches and cut parts of the plant;
spring treatment of all stone fruits on the site with a 3% solution of Bordeaux mixture;
removing weeds and loosening the soil under the crowns;
when buds form, treat plants twice with foundationazole or another fungicide active against the causative agent of moniliosis.

When cutting branches, all damaged wood must be removed, and since the mycelium of moniliosis penetrates deeper, it is better to cut shoots 7–10 cm below the dried area.

Sick, dried or damaged branches should not be left on the plant. They weaken the fruit bush, making it a target not only for pathogens, but also for felt cherry pests.

Among the insects that parasitize the crop are several varieties of aphids, scale insects, cherry weevils and gall mites. At the first sign of the appearance of these pests, it is necessary to take measures to destroy them.

After sanitary pruning and chemical treatment to restore strength, it is useful to feed the shrubs so that the plants quickly compensate for the lost part of the crown and please the gardener with a good harvest next year.

Felt crop pests and methods of controlling parasites

In dry and hot weather, felt cherries are attacked by insects that harm the bush and infect the berries. Traps, spraying with folk remedies and insecticides save beetles and caterpillars. Insects can be collected by hand and burned outside the garden.

Plum moth

This is an inconspicuous butterfly with grayish-brown wings. Insects appear in mid-summer. Butterflies lay greenish eggs on cherry leaves. They hatch into off-white or pinkish caterpillars 15 millimeters long. They feed on the pulp of cherries, making passages in the fruit and leaving excrement. Biological products Fitoverm and Iskra Bio help protect against codling moths. In case of severe infection, the bush is sprayed with chemicals (Karbofos, Inta-Vir, Lepidocid).

Plum mite

A light yellow tiny insect that lives on the underside of leaves and spins webs. Ticks feed on plant sap. Their vital activity is indicated by small whitish spots on the leaves. Spraying with the following preparations saves you from ticks: Fitoverm, Fufanon, Iskra M, Ditox.

Aphid

A tiny greenish or dark-colored insect. Aphids settle in numerous colonies on the tops of shoots and on the underside of leaves. The insect feeds on the sap of the plant. Spraying with soap-ash solutions and infusions of garlic, tobacco, and tomato tops helps against aphids. The drugs Komandor, Actellik, and Iskra are used as insecticides.

leaf roller

This is a butterfly with brown wings and an ornament on them, laying eggs on the leaves of a felt cherry tree. Of particular danger are greenish caterpillars that feed on leaves, buds, and fruits. This insect got its name from its ability to twist leaves into tubes, entwining them with cobwebs. Spraying with insecticides (Fitoverm, Dimilin, Ditox, Calypso, Fastak) saves you from the leaf roller.

Grape mite

A tiny yellowish insect that looks like a worm. Ticks are difficult to notice with the naked eye. The insect feeds on the sap of the plant. The activity of the mite is indicated by dark tubercles on the leaves. Photosynthesis in the affected areas is disrupted. The leaves dry out and fall off.

You can protect yourself from ticks by spraying with colloidal sulfur, the drug Dnok. Effective insecticides: Fufanon, Actellik, Thunder, Karbofos.

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Reasons for appearance

Fungal spores germinate in the flower, develop in it and grow, infecting neighboring tissues. The felt cherry dries out very quickly from this infection. Within 1–2 seasons the bush dries out completely.

Several reasons contribute to the spread of diseases:

purchasing and planting diseased seedlings;
heavy and prolonged precipitation during the season; when overmoistened, flowers and fruits are affected by moniliosis;
the infection is transmitted from other stone fruit crops in the garden.

If a disease is detected on any stone fruit crop, all trees and bushes of this group in the garden must be treated with special means.