Hello I have recently moved in to a house that has a Cherry tree and it is well estblished but have noticed a large section of bark missing and what looks like bacterial canker on it it is not effecting the branches as its at the lower trunk not sure how long it has been there is it safe to eat the cherrys or not and would painting it help. please help
Without a photo it is impossible to tell what the problem is, but the most common bark problem that I've seen is sunburn, which typically affects the south side of the trunk or major branch. Whatever the problem is, it's unlikely to affect the fruit. Even after extensive bark damage, a large cherry tree is likely to keep on producing good fruit until it falls down due to a rotting interior. Painting won't help once the damage is done.
