Gummosis or gum disease - a dangerous disease of trees, often appearing on cherries. This disease is recognized by the appearance of tar on the trunk, branches, leaves, and even the fruits of the plant. If gummosis is not treated on time, then it can lead to the death of the culture. In this article you will learn how to deal with cherry resin and prevent its occurrence.
Description
Gummosis is a common disease of fruit stone fruits. It affects peaches, plums, apricots, cherries, nectarines. But most often, the disease occurs on cherries. Gummosis is manifested by gumming, during which resin is formed on the damaged areas - an adhesive, hardened mass.
Gum comes in a wide variety of shades: from light brown to amber and dark brown. The surface of resinous hardenings is glossy and well visible in the sun. Cherry resin is odorless and has a sweetish aftertaste.
Why is gum formed? If the wood inside the plant is damaged, then pathogenic foci are formed in it, in which the infected parenchyma is transformed into resin, which more and more corrodes the bark of the culture. Gummosis is a cry for help from a tree, because the appearance of gum on the branches indicates their death. And if the resin stands out on the trunk, then this signals the death of the whole tree. Therefore, the fight against the disease should be immediate.
Reasons for the appearance
Several factors can cause gum therapy. The most common ones are:
- insect bark damage;
- fungal and viral diseases;
- adverse growing conditions;
- excessive fertilizing of seedlings;
- frost damage to the culture;
- sunburn bark.
And also branch breakage, untimely and excessive pruning leads to the disease.
Treatment
If you notice tar on a cherry tree, then immediately engage in the fight against the disease. To do this, clean the place where the gum formed with garden shears. Remove any damaged tissue until healthy wood appears. After that, disinfect the wound with 1% solution of copper sulfate. If the damage is too great, then apply a garden dressing. Otherwise, the treatment will cause even greater harm.
If you prefer traditional methods of treatment, then use sorrel leaves. They should rub the damaged area 2-3 times with an interval between procedures of 5-10 minutes. And also for disinfecting wounds, you can use a garden var, which is prepared from the following components:
- 25 g of fresh bacon;
- 25 g of beeswax;
- 100 g of rosin.
To make a garden vare, melt lard and add the rest of the ingredients to it. Boil the mixture for 20 minutes, then remove from the stove and let cool. Then be sure to mash the var with your hands so that there are no lumps left. Apply this mass to the wound in a dense layer. If excess var remains, store them in parchment paper. Then it will not dry out.
Prevention
To prevent cherry tar, follow these guidelines:
- Choose only frost-resistant varieties that are immune to fungal diseases for planting.
- Get only healthy seedlings without signs of damage to the trunk or roots.
- For planting, select areas with light, loose soil with good aeration. Do not plant cherries in lowlands or near groundwater.
- Fertilize trees regularly, but do not use nitrogen-based fertilizers. From this substance, the growth of green mass increases, but the fruiting of the tree decreases.
- Avoid thickening the crown and carry out sanitary pruning annually. Process the saw cuts with garden varieties, clay mash or oil paint.
- In spring and autumn, whitewash the tree trunk with a special lime mortar.
And most importantly, before swelling the kidneys, treat cherries with a 1% solution of copper sulfate or Bordeaux liquid. These drugs scare away pests and protect crops from fungi.
What is useful cherry resin
Kamedetechenie harms the tree, but for humans this phenomenon is very useful. Indeed, in cherry resin contains a lot of tannins, pectins and valuable sugars. Gum is used in modern medicine to treat diseases of the respiratory system, blood vessels, the gastrointestinal tract and diabetes.
Another resin is useful for those who want to lose weight. Even a small piece of gum, falling into the stomach, mixes with liquids and forms a jelly-like substance. However, it is not absorbed by the intestines, which creates a long-lasting feeling of fullness. Therefore, using gum can significantly reduce the amount of food consumed.
In addition, this substance helps to reduce cholesterol in the blood, cleanses the body of toxins and toxins. But when treating gum, remember that abuse causes stomach cramps and nausea.
Despite the benefits of cherry resin, you should not allow its appearance. After all, this will lead to a long illness and death of the tree. Therefore, do not forget about preventive measures of gummosis, and in your garden there will be no gumming.