"Simon" wrote in message
...

Hi

has anybody got any advice on how to deal with blackfly on a cherry
tree,last year it became absolutey infested, I tried soapy water but it
was very ineffectual. At the moment the tree is looking quite healthy
but the blackfly are there already. I'm somewhat reluctant to use
pesticides as I'm not sure if this will render the fruit inedible or
not. All advice is welcome

The usual\traditionl method is to spray the tree during the previous
winter when there's no foliage, using soemthing like tar oil winter wash.
This kills off all\most of the overwintering eggs. I may be mistaken but
I seem to remember reading this has been withrdrawn. Theres a reference
to its use on a BBC website for 2001. If it has been withdrawn I'd imagine
there should be a replacement on the market. Anyway that's the principle
the tree is sprayed over winter. This assumes that the aphids don't
overwinter anywhere else in the garden of course, and care needs
to be taken with other subjects, as its a buff coloured liquid
which won't do much for any winter colour. But it certainly
works in orchards where there's nowhere else for them to go.

The aphid infection is unlikely to actually harm the tree btw. It
simply looks unsightly. I knew a large cherry where the leaves on
every single growing tip by the looks of things were and maybe still
are curled over with aphids every summer. The aphids congregated on
the soft new shoots which they seemed to find more palatable, but this
didn't seem to have affected the growth of the tree.


michael adams

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many thanks

Simon


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Simon