Three years ago I planted two pear trees. They came from a crappy local store called Alco. I should have but did not know better at the time. They've struggled since their start. In late summer their leaves turn black as through burnt and they curl up. The fruit is turning black too. Even though I have three years of growth invested in these trees I'm thinking about pulling them and starting over with better quality stock. Since this could be a fungus or something that resides in the soil I'd likely cover the soil over with plastic, bake it in the sun to kill of any microbes and then begin anew the next year with lots of compost and new trees. Arg!!!
5 comments:
Fire blight - it is bacterial. Do the pears taste good when they are not affected by the blight? If so you might want to take a stab at treating them this winter and if it does not work cut them down next year.
I do believe you are absolutely correct! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_blight
I suspected blight, but did not know of fire blight.
I am going to have to pull them.
Some researchers find that mixing in an easily-decomposed carbon stock (bran, molasses, whatever's cheap) and a lot of water as you solarize the soil can help with de-contamination, by making an acidic and anaerobic environment that most disease microbes don't like:
http://www.youtube.com/user/eOrganic#p/u/3/9TQmVQdaOVI
Damn. Fire blight. I would never have expected that.
Star, no worries, it's a common southern issue with fruit trees like pears and apples. Up north where the ground freezes solid it's of much lower concern, down south though, it gets to thrive year round and will rip through fruit trees.
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