Cherry tree problem...brown spot?

[Ted]

Please can anyone help or advise?
I have a one year old sweet cherry tree that fruited slightly on purchase but this year was covered in blossom and fruit and showed a lot of potential.
In recent weeks however, leaves have become covered in small brown spots and the fruit has struggled to develop...rotting on the stem from similar brown spots and 'pock' marks.
It has been suggested this is 'brown spot' but I haven't been able to find a treatment or remedy.
It's already too late to save this years fruit but is there any treatment out there and will it be enough to save next years? Where can I get it and what do I do with it? My plum tree is unaffected but is there any risk of contamination?

Many thanks

Ted

[Ted]

Please can anyone help or advise?
I have a one year old sweet cherry tree that fruited slightly on purchase but this year was covered in blossom and fruit and showed a lot of potential.
In recent weeks however, leaves have become covered in small brown spots and the fruit has struggled to develop...rotting on the stem from similar brown spots and 'pock' marks.
It has been suggested this is 'brown spot' but I haven't been able to find a treatment or remedy.
It's already too late to save this years fruit but is there any treatment out there and will it be enough to save next years? Where can I get it and what do I do with it? My plum tree is unaffected but is there any risk of contamination?

Many thanks

Ted

None too many replies so far...so let me ask this...anybody heard of VITAX Bordeau Mixture? Anybody used it? Will this do the trick?

[sarraceniac]

Could be either Cherry spot or maybe Cherry brown rot as it seems to be affecting the fruit badly as well as the leaves. If it is one of these then the 'good' news is that they are both fungal not bacterial or viral. As such, regular spraying (every 3 weeks or so) with Bordeaux mixture (doesn't have to be Vitax that is just a trade name) a copper sulphate and lime based fungicide should eventually sort it out as long as you catch it in time.

Just editing to say that it can pass to other fruit trees especially peach but is most common in cherry.

[Ted]

Thanks Sarraceniac, I'm grateful...a few more questions though...is my plum tree also at risk? Can I spray whilst the trees are in fruit? What other brands are out there/stockists?

[sarraceniac]

Never heard of it attacking plums Ted but I wouldn't say it can't. Give the plum tree a quick spraying for precaution if you like. You can spray whilst the trees are in fruit in emergency but don't eat the fruit without washing, Bordeaux mixture is mildly toxic so don't spray near fish ponds or pets if possible. I don't know who makes it besides Vitax. I use that type myself which I buy on eBay from a firm in Hull (please edit your details to tell us where you are - it does make it easier to advise on many things). Most GCs sell it but it is more convenient (and cheaper) for me to buy it there. My point in saying that Vitax is only a trade name was that it is not patented in any way. Many commercial growers mix their own. There is no set 'recipe' but it is usually about 30 gms copper sulphate, 70 gms calcium oxide (quick lime - careful) or hydroxide (safer) to about 1 .5 litres of water. But unless you are growing fruit on a large scale it is easier to buy it made up.