How to get rid of cherry moniliosis quickly and permanently

Evidence

Throughout the entire growing season of various varieties of cherries, many gardeners are puzzled by the problem of the appearance of pests characteristic of them on trees and methods for effectively combating them. Most often, misfortunes such as shoot moth, cherry aphid, perforated leaf spot, weevil, anthracnose, as well as moniliosis and coccomycosis are capable of spoiling the appearance of different varieties of cherries. Moreover, the last two are dangerous for the growth and development of cherries of any variety with fungal diseases. If once gardeners assumed that frosts were the causes of poor growth or even death of trees, now it is already clear that the name of the modern scourge of cherries is different – coccomycosis and moniliosis. It is because of these fungal diseases that many varieties of trees bear fruit not for 15, but for half as many years.What are the main signs of cherry moniliosis? This dangerous disease can appear not only on the fruits and shoots of cherry trees, but also on other stone fruit crops, as well as pome trees. But if for other crops the disease with moniliosis can only mean a loss of yield, then any of the varieties of cherries can die altogether. This misfortune has the second name gray rot, because gray dents can be easily found on the surface of the fruit. The first signs of a fungal disease are often found with the onset of spring precisely at the time when the flowering of the crop begins.

Since at this moment the spores of the pathogen of the virus, which are spread by the wind, reach the pistils of flowers, through which they germinate in the stalks, after which they spread to young leaves and shoots. The appearance of a tree affected by moniliosis is as if it had been on fire – charred branches, dried flowers and leaves. The fruits of any variety of cherries suffering from moniliosis are covered with an ugly coating of rot, which is unevenly distributed on them. Most strongly, both moniliosis and coccomycosis can appear on fruits after a warm winter or cool weather in May – June. And in the event that the spring ended with long rains, we can expect epidemics of moniliosis and coccomycosis.

What is dangerous

How can such extremely dangerous diseases as moniliosis and coccomycosis (the presence of unwanted spots on the surface of the leaves) harm the normal life of various varieties of cherries? In the presence of a fungal infection, not only the tips of the shoots dry out, but also the buds, and the fruits become underdeveloped and small. Gum flow of the trunk is observed, bark detachment occurs, after which the trees not only cease to bear fruit, but also eventually die.With coccomycosis, diseased trees already at the beginning of the last month of summer lose their beautiful green crown, and dried fruits hang on them until next spring. When moniliosis infects one of the fruit trees on the site, then after a short period of time it spreads to cherries throughout the district. For this misfortune, even a very high hedge is not an obstacle, since spores are easily carried by the wind, as well as streams of rainwater. Although at first glance it may seem that there is no point in fighting this trouble, it is necessary to limit its negative impact.

Varieties susceptible to disease

The sad fact is that there are not so many varieties of cherries that are resistant to fungal infection.

Some sources claim that cherries and some types of cherry-cherry hybrids do not give in to this disease. But this is not true, since cherries, like cherry crops, suffer from adversity quite often. Such varieties as Tamaris, Novella, Brunetka, Octava, Shokoladnitsa, Gurtievka, Volochaevka, Rastorguevskaya, Memory of Vavilova, Bulatnikovskaya have increased immunity to this disease. All other types of fruit trees are equally likely to be infected with a fungal infection. Specialists continue to work on breeding tree species resistant to moniliosis and coccomycosis, which cannot but please all beginners and experienced gardeners.

Control measures and prevention

Many owners of fruit crops are concerned about an important question – how to treat dangerous infections that arise? What control measures should be taken when the very first signs of misfortune are detected? You should immediately rid the plant of all affected shoots, branches, flowers, because they are a dangerous source of spread of the pathogen to the crops in the immediate vicinity. It is also necessary to clean all the branches from the fruit. If this is not done carefully, then next spring the fungus from a diseased culture will move to others without any problems. All branches, foliage and fruits must be burned without fail. An important point in the fight against the spread of fungal infections is also prevention. It includes the spring whitewashing of trunks and skeletal branches, as well as their treatment with fungicide solutions. Before flowering, it is recommended to spray the garden with Bordeaux liquid; copper or iron sulfate, or nitrafen are also well suited for these purposes. It is also necessary to process the crops again after the end of flowering, but it must be checked whether the preparations used cause leaf burn.

Video “Moniliosis cherry” 

The recording shows trees affected by moniliosis and talks about the main signs of this disease.