How to protect cherry trees from pests: life-saving tips

Cherry is one of the favorite trees of Ukrainian gardeners. It is hardy, unpretentious, and its tasty and healthy berries are well stored. However, cherries are regularly affected by pests.

In particular, insects like to eat cherry fruits. If you don't take care of protecting them in time, they can destroy almost the entire crop. That's why OBOZ.UA asked about the methods that will protect the tree and the berries on it.

What pests affect cherries

There are actually a lot of insects that eat cherry berries and damage trees. To determine the correct method of control, you need to know which pest attacked your tree.

Veined whitefly

This butterfly resembles its common relative, the cabbage whitefly. The insect caterpillar eats the buds and leaves on the cherry tree.

Cherry aphids

An insect dangerous for the garden raises its young on the branches of cherries and cherries. Young individuals feed on the sap from the tree shoots and stick to the leaves with their excrement and dead skin. As a result, the cherry tree can stop growing and even die.

Weevil

These insects overwinter in the ground near the roots of the cherry tree. In the spring, when it gets warm, the pest beetle climbs into the crown and begins to eat buds, leaves, and flowers. This can greatly affect the yield of cherries. When the berries are ripe, the weevil attacks them as well. It eats the pulp and lays its larvae in it. The spoiled berry dries and falls to the ground, where the next generation of the pest develops.

Cherry fly

A beautiful insect with large golden eyes, striped wings, and a yellow spot on its body lays eggs in ripe cherries. In a few days, a larva hatches from them, which actively feeds on their flesh. The fly is especially dangerous for late varieties.

Cherry slime sawfly

Slugs of this species are relatively small - they grow up to 6 mm on average. The sawfly larvae eat cherry leaves, after which they dry up and the tree's normal photosynthesis is disrupted.

Mine fly

Because of their habit of laying eggs in leaf blades, as if to mine them, these flies are nicknamed miners. The insect larvae eat characteristic furrows in the leaves.

How to control pests on cherries

For some pests, it is enough to simply shake them off the tree and onto the film. This is the case with weevils. They are removed from young trees in the same way. This should be done before the ovaries form. Weevils are removed from adult cherries with the help of special traps sold in garden stores.

To prevent the appearance of cherry aphids, you need to remove weeds near the tree, and treat the trunk with special preparations. As for folk remedies, infusion of ash, decoctions of onions, garlic, or mustard powder can be effective. If there are a lot of insects, you need to treat the tree with chemical insecticides. But it is advisable to be in time before the ovaries appear, otherwise the entire crop may be spoiled. To prevent the appearance of aphids, it is also important to fight ants on the site - they are the ones who "breed" this pest.

To remove butterflies, slugs, and flies from trees, you will have to resort to agrochemicals. But do not forget to strictly follow the recommendations on dosage and treatment methods.

Preventing pests on cherries

In order to protect trees from any pests, they need to be treated with special substances in time. So in the spring, you need to spray the trees with copper or iron sulfate or Bordeaux mixture. It is also used to treat the ground around the tree, where insect larvae could winter.

Subscribe to the OBOZ.UA channels in Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest events.