DISEASES OF THE CHERRY 273 



the fruit rot and the light varieties show bruises and finger 

 marks when placed on the market. Among the sour cherries 

 the Montmorency, the English Morello and the Early Rich- 

 mond have been the best money makers. The Windsor, 

 Royal Ann, Black Tartarian, Governor Wood and Nepolean 

 are among the best of the sweet cherries. 



DISEASES OF THE CHERRY. 



The cherry has several diseases and insects that are serious. 

 Most all of the troubles can be controlled by a correct 

 diagnosis of the injury and the proper treatment. Few people 

 realize that all of the so-called rots on the fruits and vegetables 

 are diseases, and in many cases these can be prevented by 

 timely treatment. The rot of the cherry, peach, plum, 

 apple and pear is caused by the presence of a parasitic 

 fungus which destroys the tissue of the fruit. 



Brown Rot. — The brown rot is a disease that attacks all of 

 the stone fruits, namely, the cherry, peach, plum and apricot. 

 It is widespread and very destructive to the fruit. The 

 brown rot first appears as a small dark brown spot. This 

 spot increases in size until the whole frait is infected. While 

 it primarily affects the fruit, it is also known to attack the 

 flowers and the branches, following years of unusual out- 

 breaks of the disease. The decayed fruit either falls to the 

 ground or hangs on the tcee, and it is a continual source of 

 infection. This disease net only causes great damage in the 

 orchard, but it also affects the fruit in shipment and on the 

 market. 



In order to effectively control the brown rot, preventive 

 measures must begin in the late winter or early spring. All 

 of the mummied fruits on the tree should be destroyed and 

 a general cleaning up given around, the tree. The spraying 

 of the trees with a 6-6-50 Bordeaux mixture when they are 

 dormant will aid in killing many spores on the branches. 

 After the trees come out in leaf a weaker solution of Bordeaux 

 mixture sometimes helps to keep the disease in check. 



Black Knot. — The black knot is a very striking as well as 

 a most common disease of the cherry and the plum. This 

 18 



