Chokeberry

Q. We have some chokecherry bushes on our farm we planted about 5 years ago. They show leaves and just last year they had berries. They were small and had a black speck on them. We did not eat them. Can you tell me what is wrong with them?

A. Sounds like a fungal disease. The most effective protection against X-disease is to isolate peach trees from all chokecherry bushes. The chokecherry species that harbors X-disease is Prunus virginiana a plant that is more like a shrub than like a tree. It rarely reaches more than 15' in height. Plants infected with X-disease develop a red-yellow fall coloration during early July way before leaves should change color. Consult your local agriculture inspection department but it may be most wise to eradicate these bushes and replant with a resistant species.