Hi all, I've been admiring the developing ecosystem in our cherry tree over the past 5 years. The first year, we had ants and aphids. The next year, ladybugs came along and started to control the aphid infestation. The third year, caterpillars (and later butterflies) appeared, and then the birds began to visit. The neighbourhood cats chase the birds and squirrels before they can get at the cherries and the tree is a bustle with life! Until this year... There is something attacking our tree. It is turning our leaves yellow, and then the leaves fall off. We had a bountiful harvest but the tree looks in terrible shape. We've tried spraying it with a soapy solution in hopes of killing whatever infection it has. I've attached images of the leaves, trunk and top. Can anyone help me identify the troublemaker and also give suggestions on how to get rid of it? Your help is greatly appreciated!
The diseased leaves looks like they are affected by Coryneum Blight, but I'm not sure if you get that in eastern NA. If that's what it is, spraying with fixed copper should help. It appears that the trunk has had some bark damage that is healing over. I don't know what would affect only such a narrow vertical area, unless someone or something peeled off a strip of bark.
