Canker on Stone Fruit Trees Success Story

Shortly after planting a dozen cherry trees and beginning our orchard/food forest, deer came in and made a feast of them.

All seemed well enough until the next spring.

Several of the cherry trees were oozing sap out of their trunks where the deer had ripped off leaves and branches.

(It doesn't help that we mulch a lot with wood chips, and we believe it likely that we mulched with some chips from other infected stone fruit trees)

The first year the sap showed itself, we were not educated or experienced enough to diagnose the cause, and act with an effective treatment.

The following year the disease had spread and worsened, and we identified the situation and began experimenting with different timing and treatments.

The remedy was to cut away all infected areas, surgically and with alcohol or a sterilizer handy for each cut. Cut away until cambium layer is healthy and green with no more red or brown.

Many of the trees were infected on their main trunk, and thinking about cutting these trees was very discouraging...

After consulting with Michael Dolan, friend, mentor, and owner Owner of Burnt Ridge Nursery & Orchard, the first surgery was done when we expected a week without rain.

The trunk had to be stripped 1/2 way around I diameter in 3 places. A 4 inch stretch a 2 inch stretch and an inch chunk. The tree was only a year in the ground and 3 years old at most.

I was sure it was a lost cause.

The tree did not even wilt a leaf! Not at all!

In one year the entire trunk healed over in all 3 places! It was clearly very happy to have gotten the treatment.

Another of the trees was heavily infected at the base where the root stock met the graft.

Again, 1/2 the diameter had to be removed for several inches, starting just above soil level.

Again, things didn't look good, but this tree too healed!

3 other trees were so severely infected by the time we were confident enough to act that they had to be cut all the way down.

They are growing back from the rootstock, so we will be grafting them back!

It has been a lot of amazing lessons!

Also, need oil was used and sprayed all over suspected infected areas, and periodically on surgery sites for several weeks after.

Surgery was done in early Spring. Trees healed by the end of Summer!

We will know a lot more in spring.

Takeaways;

If you're planting an orchard in the forest, put up a fence or plan to somehow protect your trees!

Don't be afraid to do surgery on canker infection.

Do it asap. Have alcohol ready. Sterilize razor after every cut and dispose of anything that touches infected area.

We are getting ready to plant dozens more fruit and nut trees this year!

If you want to stay updated or see what else is happening,

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What a triumph! I had no idea you could have success eliminating canker like this. Thank you for sharing!

Did you apply anything to cover the exposed area, or just let it heal over naturally?

You mentioned using an oil for treatment after the fact- was it neem oil?

Did you remove the woodchips, or did they heal up with the same woodchips around?