Cherry Blossoms in Alishan, Taiwan, China Infected with Witches' Broom Disease
"If proper measures are not taken soon, the Alishan cherry blossoms may disappear within a few years." Liu Dongqi, assistant professor in the Department of Horticulture at Chung Hsing University, said that the Alishan Yoshino cherries are infected with witches' broom disease. Although it cannot be cured completely, there is still hope. As long as efforts are made to strengthen the cherry trees' root systems, the Yoshino cherries can once again bloom into a beautiful sea of flowers.
According to Taiwan media reports, Alishan cherry blossoms attract large crowds of cherry-viewing visitors every year, and the Somei Yoshino cherry has even been crowned the "King of Cherry Blossoms," with its gorgeous blossoms captivating many tourists.
In the year, the Yoshino cherries contracted witches' broom disease and gradually withered and died
But in recent years, the Yoshino cherries in Alishan have been withering and dying. The Forestry Bureau once invited experts to carry out prevention and control, spending over a million yuan each year on rescue efforts, but the situation did not improve. The Forestry Bureau is preparing to plant an additional 1,000 Yoshino cherries as a remedy.
Liu Dongqi, assistant professor in the Department of Horticulture at Chung Hsing University, obtained a Japanese "tree doctor" license and visited Alishan to view the cherry blossoms multiple times. He noticed that the floral conditions were getting worse and worse. Further research revealed that the Alishan Yoshino cherries, like those in Japan, are infected with witches' broom disease. Because Yoshino cherries are a single species propagated by cuttings, the disease is passed down from one generation to the next.
The Forestry Bureau brought experts up the mountain to treat the disease, planing away the infected trunk areas of the Yoshino cherries, burning them with fire, and wrapping them with wood chips and other materials. Liu Dongqi said this method only treats the symptoms, not the root cause. The pathogen remains inside the cherry trees, and this approach has long been abandoned abroad.
He said that witches' broom disease is not an incurable disease. At present, the root systems of most Alishan Yoshino cherries have been damaged, including crushed stone under the grass-planting bricks blocking root respiration, and tourists getting too close while viewing the cherry blossoms and trampling the soil, causing it to harden. As long as efforts are made to strengthen the cherry trees' root systems, the Yoshino cherries can bloom again.
His method is to insert two bamboo tubes about one meter deep into the ground in the direction of root growth of the diseased cherry trees. The bamboo tubes are hollow, filled with organic fertilizer, and covered with fine mesh. Water flows down naturally, allowing the roots to reabsorb nutrients and water, and the whole plant will come back to life.
Xie Shangda, deputy director of the Chiayi Forest District Office of the Forestry Bureau, said that Liu Dongqi's method will first be tested in one location, and if the results are good, it will be carried out across the entire area.