Cherry - Features Of Cultivation. Planting, Reproduction, Diseases And Pests. Photo

2023 Author: Ava Durham | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 07:13

Cherries contain a lot of nutrients. The coloring pigment anthocyanin has good digestibility, as it is distributed throughout the pulp of the fruit. There are a lot of cherries and coumarin in the fruits - a substance that reduces blood clotting. This feature of cherries makes it possible to use it for the prevention of a number of complications of atherosclerosis of the arteries, and a successful combination of vitamins C, B1, B6, iron, magnesium, cobalt, pigments in cherries - for the prevention and treatment of anemia. Considering the fact that this berry is also delicious, it simply must grow in every garden! However, it is so. About agrotechnics of growing cherries - this article.

Content:

• When and how to plant cherries?
• Cherry care in the garden
• Cherry propagation
• Diseases and pests of cherries
• Types of cherries

When and how to plant cherries?

Cherries can be planted in spring and autumn. It is only important that the planting is carried out at the optimum time: in the fall - no later than the beginning of October, in the spring - in April, before bud break. Saplings bought late in the fall are best dug in until spring.

Technique for digging cherry seedlings until spring

The digging technique is simple. In a shady place in the garden, where the snow lasts longer in spring, an oblong hole 30-35 cm deep is dug. One side of the hole is made inclined at an angle of 45 ° C. Cherry seedlings are laid obliquely and the roots are covered with soil, grabbing and 1/3 of the trunk. The prykopka is watered abundantly, which ensures good adhesion of soil particles to the roots and sufficient moisture.

After that, it is advisable to overlay the dug cherry seedling with pine spruce branches, directing the needles outward so that rodents cannot get to the seedlings in winter. The buried seedlings, covered with the first snow that fell, are additionally covered with snow with a layer of 30-50 cm before the onset of severe frosts. In this form, the seedlings overwinter. They are dug up just before planting.

Selection of cherry seedlings

When selecting cherry planting material, it should be borne in mind that this culture is less winter-hardy than currants or raspberries, and for planting in central Russia, highly winter-resistant varieties should be selected. Secondly, when buying cherry seedlings, you must be completely sure that they are grafted or own-rooted varietal seedlings. The fact is that in grafted trees, the varietal planting material is only the crown above the graft site, and all root shoots from them will be wild, since they grow from the root, that is, below the graft site.

This should also be taken into account when amateur gardeners exchange seedlings. Suckers can be taken as planting material only if there is confidence that the cherry from which the offspring is taken is self-rooted.

Cherry planting technology

Shrub forms of cherries are planted at a distance of 2-2.5 m in a row spacing, and in a row - after 2 m. Trendy forms are planted less often - at distances of 3.5 x 2.5-3 m. For planting cherries, planting holes are dug 40- 45 cm and a diameter of 50-60 cm. In any case, the size of the pit should be such that the root system of the seedling could be freely placed in a straightened form.

The soil removed from the pit is mixed in half with humus and with the addition of 30-40 g of superphosphate, 20-25 g of potassium chloride and up to 1 kg of ash. If the soils are heavy clay, then add 1-1.5 buckets of sand.

Before planting cherries, inspect the roots of the seedling. If there are damaged roots, they are carefully cut to a healthy part. If the roots are slightly dried, then it is advisable to hold the root system of the seedling in water for 3-4 hours.

Before planting the cherries, a stake is hammered into the middle of the pit to bind the stem of the seedling to it. Then, a little of the prepared mixture is poured onto the bottom of the planting pit in the form of a cone of such a height that when the seedling is lowered into the pit, the root collar is 2 to 3 cm above ground level. After that, the roots are covered with soil, slightly compacting it with your hands. At the same time, they pay attention to the fact that the stem of the seedling is always in an upright position and is on the north side of the peg.

After planting around the cherry seedling at a distance of 25-30 cm from the stem, a roller is made of the earth in order to form a hole for watering. The seedling is watered at the rate of 2-3 buckets of water heated in the sun. When the moisture is completely absorbed and the soil in the planting pit settles with the seedling, the root collar will be just at ground level.

If it turned out to be slightly higher and the cherry roots are slightly bare, then soil is poured, and if it is lower, then the trunk is freed from the ground so that there is only 2-3 cm of soil above the last root.

After the end of planting the cherry, the stem of the figure eight is loosely tied to the peg. The planting hole around the seedling is mulched with humus, sawdust or compost crumbs in a layer of 2-3 cm. Mulch protects against excessive evaporation of moisture and cracking of the soil surface.

Cherry care in the garden

The main measures for caring for cherries are considered common to all fruits: loosening the soil, fertilizing, watering, pruning and protecting plantings from diseases and pests. Since cherries bloom quite early in spring, you should also take measures to protect them from frost. In central Russia, there are late spring frosts almost every year, which have a very detrimental effect on cherry flowers.

Cherry protection from spring frost

So that the cherry does not bloom too early in the spring and the flowers do not fall under frost, it is necessary to cover the ground under the crown with a thick layer of snow, and the snow, in turn, to cover with light mulch: chopped straw, sawdust. Then the ground under the crown remains frozen longer, moisture and nutrition to the roots also begin to flow later, flowering is delayed for 4-7 days, and then frost can be avoided.

Another affordable way to protect a blooming garden from frost is smoke. To do this, in the evening, in several places in the garden, heaps of straw, dry manure are prepared, which are kindled early in the morning, before the start of frost. The heaps should not burn with a flame, but give a large amount of smoke.

Attracting bees

In cold and rainy springs, cherry blossoms are poorly pollinated by bees. To attract them, it is enough to dissolve 1 tablespoon of honey in 1 liter of boiled water and spray the flowers with this solution. The smell of honey will attract bees and pollination will be complete.

Loosening the soil

Starting in spring, during the entire growing season, the soil under the bushes and cherry trees should be loose and free from weeds. For this purpose, 2-3 shallow loosening is carried out during the summer.

In the fall, after fertilization, a deeper (to a depth of 15-25 cm) digging is carried out. If humus and mineral fertilizers were introduced into the planting pit during planting, then in the first 2-3 years before the beginning of fruiting, fertilizers can not be applied.

Top dressing

During the fruiting period, the cherry consumes a significant amount of nutrients and needs to be introduced. It is desirable to give them in a fractional way. In the fall, for digging under a bush or tree, phosphorus fertilizers are applied at a rate of 150-200 g and potash fertilizers at a rate of 60-80 g in solid form.

Once every 2-3 years, before the autumn digging, organic fertilizers are used in the form of rotted manure or compost. Nitrogen fertilizers (ammonium nitrate or urea) are applied in early spring under a bush at a rate of 50-70 g.

During the growing season, 2 dressings are carried out. The first is timed to the time of cherry blossoming, the second is given after 12-15 days. These dressings are best done with a mullein diluted in water with the addition of ash.

To prepare the infusion, take 1 bucket of mullein for 5-6 buckets of water, add 1-1.5 kg of ash and leave for 3-6 days. Half a bucket of infusion is poured under each bush and the cherry is immediately poured at the rate of 2-3 buckets of water. Top dressing can also be carried out with a solution of mineral fertilizers, for this, 15 g of urea and potassium chloride and 25 g of superphosphate are dissolved in 10 liters of water.

Watering cherries

Cherry is a drought-resistant crop, but it responds to irrigation with an increase in yield and enlargement of fruits. The first time the cherries are watered immediately after flowering at the same time as feeding. The second watering is given at the beginning of the increase in the size of the berries. Each time it is watered at the rate of 3-6 buckets under the bush.

More specifically, the watering rate for cherries will depend on rainfall, soil moisture, and the age and size of the bush. The last podzimny watering is given in early October after the leaves fall.

Cherry propagation

Propagation by cuttings

In self-rooted cherries grown by green cuttings, root shoots are also varietal planting material. Therefore, such plantings can be easily restored in case of freezing of the main bush, leaving as a seedling a root offspring that appeared in a suitable place. Such offspring can be shared with neighbors, since the offspring of own-rooted cherries are also varietal.

For planting cherry cuttings, take a seedling box measuring 25 × 50 cm with a depth of 10-12 cm. Fill it with a mixture of coarse sand and peat in a 1: 1 ratio. In the absence of peat, you can take sandy or chernozem soil, mixing the latter with coarse sand in a 1: 1 ratio.

After filling the box with the mixture, it is spilled with a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection purposes, and then poured abundantly with water. The soil mixture should be moist, but the water at the bottom of the box should not stagnate so that the cuttings do not rot.

Green cherry cuttings for rooting are harvested in the 2nd half of June, during the increased growth of shoots. They are cut in the morning from the bushes of the varieties that they wish to grow. Well-developed, up-growing, not drooping, green shoots, located on the southern and south-western side of the bush, are better suited for cuttings and give a high percentage of rooting. The age of the bush is also of great importance: cuttings from young, 3-5-year-old bushes root better than from 10-15-year-old ones.

Cut shoots are sprayed with water. At the shoot, the upper part with underdeveloped leaves is first removed: it takes root poorly. Then, cuttings 10-12 cm long with 4-8 leaves are cut from the remaining shoot with a sharp knife. The upper cut is made straight and directly above the kidney, and the lower one is 1 cm below the kidney.

Remove 1 or 2 lower leaves that interfere with planting, and the cherry stalk is planted vertically in a box, deepening its lower end 2-3 cm into the soil. The soil around the cutting is somewhat compacted. The cuttings are planted at a distance of 5 × 8 cm.

Arcs of wire are placed on the box at a height of 15-20 cm and covered with plastic wrap. High air humidity is created under the film, which contributes to the rooting of cherry cuttings. Good lighting is a prerequisite for successful rooting, but at the same time, cuttings must be protected from direct sunlight.

After the formation of the roots, the film is first opened for a short time, then increasing its duration more and more, thereby hardening the cuttings. For the winter, rooted cherry cuttings are left in pits, in the spring they are planted for growing or planted in a permanent place.

Reproduction of cherries through grafting

Cherry seedlings can also be grown by grafting. To do this, in the fall, winter-hardy cherry seeds are sown on the garden bed. In the spring, seedlings appear, they are thinned out at a distance of 20x20 cm.

So they grow until autumn, during their growth in the summer they loosen the soil, remove weeds, feed the plants simultaneously with the fruit-bearing bushes with the same nutrient solutions.

In the spring of next year, when the buds begin to swell, they are grafted with cuttings of cultivated varieties. If you use a felt cherry as a seedling, onto which a cutting is grafted, then you can grow seedlings that will not give root growth, since the felt cherry does not form it.

Diseases and pests of cherries

Cherry leaf curl

Cherry bushes infested with fungus bloom earlier than healthy ones in spring and usually do not bear fruit. The leaves are small, the plate thickens and acquires waviness, the edges are bent to the bottom. On the underside of chlorotic leaves, a whitish or pinkish bloom appears - sporulation of the fungus. The leaves give off a strong coumarin smell (bison) and gradually dry out.

On the fruits - spots and ulcers, the affected branches die. In Western Siberia, this fungus infects steppe cherry seedlings, in Altai - seedlings and the Novo-Altayskaya variety. The disease was not noted on other varieties.

Control measures. In early spring and during the growing season, the affected branches should be cut and burned as lesions appear. After cutting the wound, disinfect with a 1% solution of copper sulfate.

"Witch's brooms" (overgrowth of branches)

Fungus disease. It is found on seedlings of steppe cherry in the South Urals, in the steppe part of Altai Territory and Omsk Region. Branches appear on diseased bushes, on which densely located, thin, underdeveloped branches (broom) are formed. The leaves on them are sticky, shiny, later they thicken and turn red, the edges are bent downward. There are no fruits on such branches.

Control measures are the same as for cherry leaf curl.

Hole spot (Clasterosporium)

The fungus infects buds, flowers, shoots, fruits, and especially the leaves of cherry, plum and apricot. Sand cherry is rarely affected. The diseased kidneys die off, and the flowers crumble. Reddish-brown rounded spots with a lighter central part are formed on the leaves. The necrotic areas subsequently fall out and holes form on the leaves.

Reddish spots also appear on the cherry shoots, turning into cracks and ulcers, from which gum is released. Affected fruits and leaves fall prematurely, shoots stop growing. The fungus hibernates in the form of mycelium on affected branches, fallen leaves and in cracks in the bark. In the spring, spores mature and are carried by wind and insects, and when they get on plants, they are infected.

Control measures. Careful pruning and burning of affected branches and leaves is necessary. Good results are obtained by spraying immediately after flowering with one of the following preparations: Bordeaux liquid (15), copper chloroxide 90% d.p. * (0.4%), Topsin-M 70% d.p. (0.1%), the treatment is repeated after two weeks.

Cherry scab

On the underside of the leaves and fruits at the end of May, a black bloom of fungal sporulation appears. The affected leaves curl up into a tube, their edges turn brown, the tissue dries out and crumbles. Diseased fruits before ripening become flabby, semi-dry.

Control measures. It is necessary to collect and destroy diseased dried fruits, on which the fungus overwinters, spraying when the first signs of disease appear with copper chloride or Kuprozan in 0.4% concentration, Toksin-M in 0.1% concentration.

Coccomycosis

This dangerous fungal disease of cherry and sweet cherry was gradually moving from the European part of the country to the Volga region, to the Southern and Middle Urals, and in the early 1980s was registered in the Altai Territory. Almost all varieties of steppe and ordinary cherries are affected by coccomycosis. Resistant: felt cherry, bird cherry and Maaka, as well as cherry-bird cherry hybrids. Breeding resistant varieties to coccomycosis is the primary task of breeders.

Symptoms of the disease appear in June-July on the leaves of plants, both in the nursery and on fruit-bearing bushes. Initially, small purple-violet spots appear on the upper side of the leaves. Then they gradually merge. On the underside of the leaves, pink-white sporulation pads of the fungus become noticeable. On the leaf petioles, shoots and fruits, brown depressed spots with a white bloom of spores are formed.

Severely affected leaves fall off, the fruits become deformed, become watery, ripening is delayed. The development of the disease is facilitated by prolonged rainy weather in combination with a relatively high air temperature (about + 20… + 25 ° C). In severely affected plants, leaves fall off early, winter hardiness decreases, and in some cases the plantations die.

Control measures. New plantings of cherries must be established with healthy planting material. It is imperative to destroy the fallen leaves on which the fungus overwinters, since they are a source of spring infection. When the first signs of the disease appear, at least three treatments with pesticides are carried out.

The first spraying is during the separation of green buds, the second after flowering and the third after harvest. The most effective drug is Skor - 25% ae. at a concentration of 0.02%. Less Effective: Topsin-M - 70% d.p. (0.1%), copper chloroxide - 90% d.p. (0.4%), Bordeaux liquid (0.1%).

Gum therapy (gommosis) of stone fruits

The disease manifests itself in the fact that from various wounds of the bark on the trunks and large branches, a light gum that solidifies in air is released. Plants with damaged bark by frost, sunburn, suffering from perforated spotting, which is always accompanied by the release of gum, are more often affected. Slugs form on the trunks and branches. If you do not take measures, the affected branches dry out, and over time, the whole plant.

Control measures. Prevention of frost damage and sunburn is carried out by timely whitewashing of plants with lime. The edges of the wounds on the trunk and branches are thoroughly cleaned with a sharp knife, then the wound is treated with a solution of oxalic acid (100 mg per 1 liter of water) or the wounds are smeared with gruel from crushed sorrel leaves. All cracks and wounds are covered with garden varnish.

Root Cancer

The causative agents of the disease are bacteria that cause the formation of growths on the roots of cherries, plums and other fruit crops. The growths are small at first, soft, with a smooth surface. Then they harden, growing up to 10 cm in diameter. The bacteria live in the soil and infect the roots of seedlings and young plants in the garden. They penetrate into the roots through wounds from damage by tillage tools and pests. The disease spreads along with infected seedlings and soil.

The notion that root cancer is harmless is incorrect. Observations have shown that when sorting in a nursery, infected seedlings are usually culled, or, at best, belong to the second variety. They have weak thin roots, without root lobes, and do not take root well in the garden. Young root shoots in the garden do not form their own roots. Diseased plants grow especially poorly on poor sandy loam soils. Thus, a set of measures is needed in the fight against root cancer.

Control measures. For sowing and planting in nurseries, you should choose areas not infected with root cancer pathogens, and susceptible plants (apple, cherry, raspberry, etc.) should not return to infected areas earlier than two years later. Sow the soil that emerged from these crops for 2-3 years with perennial grasses.

When digging up planting material, reject seedlings with large tumors on the bark collar or main root. Look carefully and cut off all small nodules, and disinfect the roots in a 1% solution of copper sulfate. In this case, the instrument used should be treated in a solution of Chloramine (0.5%) or Formalin (100 ml of a 40% preparation per 5 liters of water).

Plum moth

Damages fruits of all types of cherries and plums. The Central Asian form of the pest, brought with fruits from Central Asia, lives in the gardens of Western Siberia. Lead-colored plum moth butterfly. Pupa 6-7mm long, yellowish-brown in color. Caterpillar damages. It reaches 11 mm in length. Young - white, adult - pink, brown head.

Caterpillars overwinter mainly in cracks in the bark, under fallen leaves at the base of the trunks, less often in the soil. Pupation begins in the second half of May, and butterflies hatch in June and lasts until mid-July. At the same time, butterflies lay eggs on the leaves and fruits of the cherry. After 5-7 days, caterpillars are born from the eggs, which feed on the kernels of the bones, and later on the pulp. After 15-20 days, having finished feeding, the caterpillars go to wintering places. Some of them pupate and give the second generation by the end of July.

The fruits of the steppe cherry with caterpillars inside almost do not differ from healthy ones. The skin is intact, but a dark spot is noticeable through it. Caterpillars of the second generation do not have time to feed and are harvested together with the harvest. Together with the fruits, the plum moth is actively spreading to new areas.

Control measures. It is important to timely identify new foci in order to eliminate them. The fight is with caterpillars when they begin to take root in the fruit. Re-spray after 10-15 days if new lesions and live caterpillars are found on the fruits.

The most effective preparations for fighting the plum moth are Ambush, Rovikurt, Anometrin in a concentration of 0.1%, Tsimbush, Shepra, Tsitkor - 0.02%. All leaves and fruits must be carefully and abundantly processed. Spray with one of the above drugs.

Cherry dogonos

Weevil beetle, 5-9mm long, bronze-green, with a raspberry tint. Larva up to 8 mm long, legless, with a brown head. The cherry weevil probably got to Siberia together with fruits and seedlings from the European part of Russia. In recent years, it has caused serious damage to the plantations of steppe and sandy cherry, as well as common bird cherry and Virginia.

The larvae hibernate in the soil at a depth of 15 cm; in years with warm autumn, pupae and beetles also hibernate. In the second half of May, beetles emerge from pupae. They feed on buds, and later on leaves, buds, ovaries. Females begin to lay eggs in mid-June. Each female can damage up to 200 fruits by laying one egg at a time in the prepared hole in the bone shell.

After 8-10 days, the larva emerges from the egg, penetrates into the young, still fragile bone and eats out the core. Damaged fruit usually peels off. At the end of July, the larvae finish development, gnaw a hole in the bones and, being released from them, fall to the ground. They hibernate in earthen cradles.

Control measures. Spraying against beetles after cherry blossoms and again after 10-12 days if a pest is detected on infected areas. Ambush, Rovikurt, Actellik are used in a concentration of 0.1%, karbofos - 0.2%.

Bird cherry dogonose

The beetle is 4-4.5 mm long, grayish-brown in color. The larva is white, slightly curved. Pupa yellowish white. In Eastern and Western Siberia it damages bird cherry and steppe cherry, less - toment and sand. Beetles overwinter in the soil at a depth of no more than 5 cm or on its surface under fallen leaves. Beetles leave wintering grounds in the second half of May. They appear on bird cherry 5-10 days earlier than on cherry. They gnaw leaves and young shoots, inflorescences and, later, ovaries. Then they gnaw through the flesh and the still tender bone and feed on the kernel.

Damaged fruits fall off or ripen ugly. Crop losses can reach 50-60%. In the first half of June, the female eats the green pulp of the fruit, then still a soft bone and lays eggs on the kernel. Only an inconspicuous injection site remains on the surface of the fetus. The hatched larva eats up the kernel of the bone completely and pupates. Beetles get out of the seeds in the second half of July and early August and go to winter. But not all beetles manage to get out of the seeds before harvesting, up to 80% of the pest is collected with it.

Damaged fruits are difficult to distinguish from undamaged ones. During transportation, in warehouses, in apartments, most of the beetles manage to hollow out the exit hole in the bone and safely get out of captivity before the compote is cooked from the fruit. This is one of the ways of dispersal of bird cherry weevil.

Control measures. With the massive appearance of beetles, cherries are treated before flowering with a rapidly decomposing actellik, a 0.1% solution. Re-treatment may be required after flowering ends if beetles are found on the bushes. Spray with one of the following drugs: Rovikurt, Anometrin, Ambush - 0.1% aqueous solution. One spraying after flowering is often sufficient.

Cherry slimy sawfly

Adult sawflies are shiny black in color with transparent wings. The larva is up to 11 mm long, greenish-yellow, covered with black mucus, its body resembles a bold comma in shape. In June, adult females lay their eggs in the soft tissue of the leaf. The larvae released from them damage the leaves of all types of cherries, but especially ordinary, sandy and some varieties of steppe cherry with softer leaves. Only the veins and the lower epidermis remain from the leaves.

In the years of mass reproduction and with a delay in the implementation of control measures, the slimy sawfly can destroy up to 70% of cherry leaves, which leads to a decrease in winter hardiness and productivity of plants. False caterpillars (larvae) hibernate in the soil at a depth of 10-15 cm in earthen cradles, pupate in the third decade of May.

Control measures. In Siberia, the release of trichogramma, a natural enemy of sawflies, is successfully used against the pest. A double release of Trichogramma during egg-laying of the pest (in June and early July) allows, as a rule, to do without the use of pesticides. Of the chemicals, Aktelik, Belofos, Vukht, Pyrithion (0.1%) are highly effective against false caterpillars.

Cherry public sawfly

The adult sawfly is black, with a white pattern on the body, the larva is dark green, with a dark stripe along the back and a black head. Damages all types of cherries. The larvae overwinter in the soil at a depth of 10 cm, pupate in early May. Adult sawflies fly out in mid-May. Females lay eggs, from which larvae are born at the end of May.

Larvae live in groups in common cobweb nests and feed on leaves, scraping the flesh from the underside. Usually several leaves are glued together with a web. By the end of June, the larvae go into the soil, hibernate in cocoons.

Control measures. Spraying with Karbofos 10% EC * (0.9%), Aktelik 50% EC. (0.1%), immediately after flowering - with the massive appearance of larvae.

Pale-footed cherry sawfly

An adult black sawfly. The larva is gray-green, about 1 cm long. Damages cherries, plums and other crops. The larvae hibernate in the soil. They pupate in early spring, and adult insects emerge from the pupae during the period of leaf blooming.

Females lay eggs on the underside of the leaf along the midvein in a chain of 4-10 eggs. The larvae emerging from them feed on the pulp of the leaves, and then gnaw through holes on them. In June, the larvae pupate and in July a new generation of the sawfly emerges from the pupae, the larvae of which feed in the fall and leave for the winter.

Control measures. Sprayed with one of the listed drugs to combat the public sawfly when the first generation larvae appear. Processing must be carried out carefully so that the pest does not give a second generation, which cannot be fought against, since the period of fruit ripening begins.

Subcortical leafworm

The leafworm butterfly has dark brown front and brown hind wings. Caterpillar is yellowish, 9-13 mm long, head is brownish-brown. It affects steppe and common cherries. In June, butterflies lay eggs on stems and branches in cracked bark. Caterpillars emerge from the eggs and bite under the bark and make moves there. In late spring, they pupate, and in the middle of summer, butterflies fly out of the pupae.

Control measures. Spraying boles with Karbofos 10% K. E. (0.9%), Aktelikom 50% KE (0.1%) during butterfly summer. It is also necessary to treat the wounds on the trunks.

Cherry aphid

The body of females is pear-shaped, 1.6-2.4 mm long, shiny black above and brown below. Eggs are black, oblong. The larvae are dark green. Cherry aphids overwinter in the egg stage on young shoots near the buds. They suck the juices first on the green cone, then move to the underside of the leaves.

During cherry blossoms, the larvae turn into adult females, which give birth to several dozen live larvae. Aphid colonies are growing rapidly. During the summer, aphids give several generations, giving birth to live larvae. As a result, the lower surface of the leaves and the tops of young growing shoots are almost entirely covered with aphids.

Plants affected by aphids are usually visited by small ants in large numbers. It is believed that ants contribute to the reproduction of aphids. No, ants only feed on the secretions of aphids. At the same time, the more aphid cherry bushes are affected, the more ants are in the garden.

Aphids cause great harm to plants in nurseries and young gardens. The leaves curl, turn black and dry out. Shoots bend and stop growing. severely damaged seedlings and young bushes do not tolerate wintering well, freeze slightly. At the end of July, winged females appear, which migrate to root shoots and neighboring bushes with more delicate leaves. Here aphids reproduce until autumn. In autumn, females lay eggs, which remain for the winter.

Control measures. It is necessary to use all means of aphid control since spring in order to prevent its reproduction. With a massive appearance of pests, the bushes are sprayed with Karbofos 50% K. E. (0.2%), 10% K. E. (0.9%), Aktelikom 50% K. E. (0.1%) or Rovikurt, Ambush 25% K. E. (0.1%).

In the nursery, at the slightest sign of aphid, spraying should be repeated. Only a few cherry bushes usually grow in a backyard; aphids can be destroyed by dipping the affected branches and shoots in a solution of carbaphos or another drug.

Hawthorn

The butterfly is large with white wings, up to 6 cm in span. The caterpillar is large, reaching 4.5 cm in length. The head and legs are black, the sides and bottom are gray, there are two golden yellow and three black stripes on the back. Hawthorn is common in the gardens of Siberia and harms plums and sand cherries, less common and steppe.

Caterpillars of the second or third instars hibernate on bushes in dried leaves braided with cobwebs. Each caterpillar is in a nest in a separate cocoon of cobwebs. They emerge from nests in late April-early May at an average daily temperature of at least 7 ° C. With a cold snap, the caterpillars again go into the nests until a new warming. Therefore, the fight against hawthorn can be difficult.

In some years, caterpillars of the 4th and 5th instars destroy all buds and blossoming leaves. Caterpillars pupate in late May or June. The butterflies emerge in June or early July and feed on the nectar of flowering plants. Eggs are laid in colonies of 70 to 142, usually on the underside of the leaves.

In different years, the birth of caterpillars begins in the third decade of June and ends by mid-July. These times may vary depending on weather conditions. The hawthorn has many enemies: lacewings, egg-eaters, birds, which destroy up to 80-90% of caterpillars. However, there are enough remaining ones to cause significant damage to the gardens.

Control measures. Sprayed in late April-early May at the time the caterpillars emerge from their winter nests and in summer - at the end of their hatching from eggs. The most effective drugs: Rovikurt, Ambush, Korsar, Actellik in a concentration of 0.1%. Biological product entobacterin (0.5%) gives unstable results. In amateur gardens, nests are easy to collect in early spring, so the chemical method is not used.

Types of cherries

Prunus cerasus - Common cherry. A tree that shoots from the roots; leaves completely naked, leaf petioles without glands.

Prunus fruticosa - Steppe cherry. Low shrub; all parts are smaller than those of the previous species; occurs wildly in southern and central Russia.

Prunus avium - Sweet cherry, or Bird cherry. A tree without root shoots; the leaves are slightly fluffy below; leaf petioles at the base of the plate are provided with two glands.

Prunus serrulata - Sakura, or Fine-toothed cherry. Decorative tree, a symbol of Japanese culture.

Healthy, tasty, beautiful cherry in bloom will delight you not only with the harvest, but also with its beautiful appearance. What kind of cherries grow in your garden? Share your cultivation experience in the comments to the article or on our Forum.