US (MI): Cherry frost damage could last for years

The damage to crops such as cherry due to freezing weather earlier this year is well attested, however, there are signs that it could be further reaching than was originally thought.

It looks as though the cold weather injured sweet cherry tree so much that bacterial canker is becoming very widespread. The main part of the problem is that it can continue to cause damage for years to come.

The frosts caused small injuries in the trees that have allowed the bacteria to get in - usually a tree needs to be wounded to be susceptible.

"I believe this year is significantly worse than anything I’ve seen," says Jim Nugent a researcher and grower of cherries. "It was just tremendous pressure. Tremendous."

Many of the lower branches of his trees have dead buds and are covered in sticky goo and the leaves are browned.

What was so unusual this year was that the trees were stuck for weeks in their bloom phase, which offered the canker lots of time to kill the parts of the tree that produce the buds for next year.

Nugent now expects to see his trees weaken - and even, in some cases, die - over the next few years.

Antibiotics show some promise in treating the problem, but currently they are only permitted for use in cases of fireblight.

Source: ipr.interlochen.org