Plant protection is important for fruit trees so that they are not attacked by pests. Cherry trees are often affected by sucking insect pests. Caterpillars and flies also appear. They affect the development of leaves, flowers and fruits.
Aphids also love cherries
cherry aphids
The insects suck plant juices from the leaves. Young plants that show growth retardation after a severe infestation are particularly at risk. Leaf nests, which appear in the area of the shoot tips, are typical of sweet cherries. Tart cherries suffer from arching leaves and stunted shoots. The sticky excretions of the pests encourage the colonization of sooty mold. If flowers are affected, the fruit will not ripen normally.
When is an infestation harmful?
Aphid eggs overwinter on trees. Larvae hatch when the buds open and suck the leaf buds. Between May and June, the dark brown colored lice leave the cherry trees and settle on herbaceous plants. The winged generations return in autumn to once again lay their eggs between the pieces of bark.
How to determine the severity of the infestation:
- Count aphid colonies on the tips of the shoots from the second bloom
- Control makes sense if more than 100 shoots are affected
- Damage threshold is two to five colonies per shoot
countermeasures
Hosing down with a hard jet of water will flush the pests off the leaves. A watery soapy solution works to prevent further spread. Water the trees regularly with strengthening nettle plant manure to help them develop harder leaves.
Little frostbite
The caterpillars hatch before bud burst in May from overwintering eggs found in bark cracks. They feed on emerging leaf and flower buds until June and on leaves or fruit in the later growing season. Initially, pitting occurs on the foliage until the branches appear completely bare. Damaged fruits resemble a hollow hemisphere. The larvae retreat into the soil in summer to pupate there. The new moth generation hatches from October.
This helps
Glue rings prevent the flightless females from laying eggs because they stick to the sticky surface. Belt the cherry trees well in advance of the species' flight times. However, these measures pose a danger to birds, which peck the moths from the trunks. During feeding, the caterpillar glue sticks their beaks together. Effective against the caterpillars are preparations with the bacterium Bacillus thurigiensis, which are used in spring at temperatures above 15 degrees.
cherry fruit fly
The pest causes soft and brownish spots on the fruit. The pulp rots in the core area due to the maggot living in it. Infestation is clearly visible at the top of the crown, while the lower cherries are hardly affected. Harvest dead and damaged specimens and cover the ground with a fine-mesh net in May-June. This will prevent the maggots from retreating into the soil to pupate.