Cherry coccomycosis

Cherry coccomycosis is a common disease and almost every gardener in whose garden grows a cherry, apricot or sweet cherry is faced with it. At the peak of the season, having discovered this disease in the head of the gardener, a "sea" of questions and options for their solution immediately arises: which of the known methods of struggle to use or look for a new one, how did the pathogen get to your garden, is it possible to use chemicals, will they harm, from what exactly start a fight and so on and so forth. In this article, we will answer most of them, and your cherries will be healthy and produce a good harvest.

Cherry coccomycosis disease: description

Cherry coccominosis: photo of the disease

Cherry coccomycosis is a disease of cherry of fungal origin, this disease affects stone fruit trees, the consequences for the plant are loss of foliage and a strong drop in immunity. Unfortunately, for many years of research, scientists have not identified a fungus that is the causative agent of this disease.

Experienced gardeners quickly discover that the plant is affected by coccomycosis, the infection spreads at a high speed and causes damage en masse. The best weather conditions for the development of a lesion is summer with warm weather and frequent precipitation, creating a humid atmosphere. During such a period, all or almost all of the cherry planting is affected. Coccomycosis enters the active stage of propagation at an air temperature in the range from +19 to +23 degrees, the wind acts as a carrier of fungal spores on plantings in the garden, and rains create moisture.

When cherries are damaged by coccomycosis in the first season, the yield loss is not obvious or completely invisible, gardeners note only a strong leaf fall, more than usual. With abundant infestation, by the end of summer, cherries may be completely without foliage, this phenomenon can be observed throughout the territory of Central Russia.

Due to the loss of immunity due to cherry coxcominosis and disruption of the plant's vital processes, trees cannot be ready for the coming winter. Plants up to three, and sometimes five years old may simply not tolerate cold temperatures and die. Adult plants freeze out or there is a violation of the structure of the bark, and it cracks, also by the time the buds are formed, their weakening will be obvious. If you do not take measures to combat the disease in time, the plant will begin to bear fewer fruits, they will become less saturated and juicy, and during the litter period, the cherry will be more bony.

Interesting fact: Cherry variety "Felt" is not susceptible to cherry coccominosis.

As a prophylaxis for coccomycosis in mature trees, experienced gardeners plant plants with high immunity to fungal diseases on the site. Thus, the best neighbors for varieties Lyubskaya or Vladimirskaya will Chocolate girl, Robin, Same age and the like.

Cherry orchards in the northern regions and northwestern territories of our country are more controllable in terms of the defeat of coccomycosis. In these territories, each year, the plantings are treated with fungicide-containing and solutions containing copper. In the southern regions, such as the Krasnodar Territory, summers are dry and hot, due to such climatic conditions, infection occurs much less frequently and does not require treatment of plants with chemicals, but it is used as a last resort in case of severe damage.
Coccomycosis poses a threat not only to cherry orchards, but to all stone fruit crops in principle (peach, cherry plum, sweet cherry, dogwood, and the like).The fungus is incredibly frost-hardy and tolerates winter even in the most northern regions with severe frosts. Spores of coccomycosis overwinter on fallen leaves, cherry berries, soil around the perimeter of the plant, in a crack in the bark. With the arrival of spring and the rise in temperature, the wind carries the spores over the garden plot and a new cycle of the spread of the disease begins.

The first sign of cherry coxcominosis infection is a change in the color of the leaves, they acquire a yellow or red color. Over time, brown dots appear on the affected leaves, and the plate itself gradually dries out and loses its natural green color for a given period of time. On the back of the leaf, upon visual inspection, you can notice convex formations of a cream or pink hue, it is they that are the place of accumulation of spores.

The fungus reproduces at a high rate, for three summer months it is 8 generations. If you find the first signs or are sure that the plant is affected by coccomycosis, do not hesitate and start fighting the disease right away, then you can save your plants.

Cherry coxcominosis treatment

Coccominosis cherries: photo of the variety

As we wrote above, the fight against cherry coxcominosis disease should be started immediately. Found the first signs? Don't hesitate. Take action. As a preventive measure, the selection of plantings of cherry varieties in accordance with their zoning and resistance to fungal infections can be considered. Of course, you should not expect that your plantings will never be affected by coccomycosis, but this will reduce the likelihood of using chemicals in the fight against this fungus.

The treatment of cherry coxcominosis disease is carried out in several stages:

• The first treatment is carried out in the spring, after the snow has melted. It is impossible to single out a specific time period here, since it varies depending on the climatic region.
• Before flowering
• At the end of the harvest.
• In the first month of autumn, before the leaves begin to fall.

Summer residents with experience to combat coccomycosis use Bordeaux liquid or copper sulfate, completing the process by whitewashing the cherry trunk. Based on the reviews of gardeners, we can conclude that the proven folk method with a copper solution works flawlessly, but only as a preventive measure or to combat the onset of a lesion.

Unfortunately, folk methods of struggle do not give one hundred percent guarantee in the victory over the fungus, they only increase immunity, and the extermination of the fungus is guaranteed only by a chemical preparation. Folk remedies are used during the periods from flowering to fruiting. It is during these periods that fungicides can harm plants, fruits and lead to crop poisoning, but it is necessary to help the plant.

The main folk recipe is a solution of ash with soap of the following composition: ash + laundry soap + water, 1 kilogram + 30 grams + 5 liters, respectively. Treatment with this solution is performed starting from the last weeks of May, with a frequency of 7-10 days.

Chemical containing preparations are used a few days before the beginning of flowering, and the next use is after picking the berries. To combat coccomycosis, Skor, the already mentioned Bordeaux fluid, and Horus are suitable.

Whitewashing of trees is an additional aid in the fight against cherry coccominosis. Vitriol is added to the garden paint and the stem of the plant is treated with this composition, starting from the base of the entrance from the soil. The larger the area is whitewashed, the better. The paint fills the cracks in the tree bark and protects the tree not only from fungus, but also from various pests.

Do not neglect the cleaning of the area. Burn old foliage and branches to prevent coccomycosis. It is not for nothing that the Soviet cartoon said "purity is the guarantee of health", it is thanks to the order in your plot that your cherries will be healthy and bring you a juicy and rich harvest.

Cherry coccominosis disease: video