Not sure if we are talking about the same thing or not.... Phosphite is different from Phosphate.... Generally, Phosphate doesn't do anything for fungus/disease... Phosphite is different stuff altogether.... and has been shown to help... This stuff seems to have to be absorbed into the plant - and that's where Topical/foliar apps seem to work better.... faster absorption.... From what I have read and seen first hand.. This stuff doesn't really do much once you have an active infection.... but it works quite well at helping to "Harden off" tissue so it's harder to infect.... That's where I liken it to other "Biological" solutions... It's gotta already be there... and then you will likely see less infection or no infection.... I can attest that it doesn't work like a Fungicide when sprayed on stuff that's already heavily infected/colonized..... You might possibly see a faster recovery from infection.... but I think it's dicey to think of this stuff as a solution to replace a product like Agri-myicin.... Thanks

Thomis: Did you spray Agrimycin or other fireblight preventive at blossom time? Or did the trees show any signs of fireblight last season that might have carried over into the current season? That is a devastating fireblight infection on such young trees, and if this is going to happen again next season or the season after that, it might be time to make a fundamental reassessment of how you care for these trees. If you prune off all those strikes, your little trees will lose their shape and substance. I would be looking for a way to prevent this problem before considering replanting. I mix Agrimycin in all the early sprays I do on apples, and have not seen this disease for more than 5 years. While I can't say for sure that the Agrimycin is responsible for my good fortune, and I might not have fireblight anyway, I tend to believe the antibiotic sprays have been the deciding factor. I am still using Agrimycin from a large packet I purchased about 6 years ago. I keep it in a cool dark place, but either this stuff has a long shelf life, or I have been very lucky. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

rayrose, the worst thing about growing in the south is the extra heat that goes with the humidity. FB is much more likely to be lethal there. Up here in southeastern NY out of thousands of trees I manage, only 2 Bosc pears have been disfigured by FB (on 2 seperate sites) and both are loaded with pears this year and getting their shape back (knock on healthy wood). I manage so many trees in so many sites that I'm not as thorough as a home grower is likely to be because I'm not sure I need to be. I don't cut way back- just an inch or 2 below the strike- as long as the cut tissue looks healthy, and I never sterilize between cuts anymore because consequences have never clearly followed this ommission. I try to do only the essential to keep the bills smaller. I've had orchards with hundreds of strikes on small one year shoots where a lot of the strikes created cankers on older wood. Sometimes an owner doesn't want to pay the high fees I charge to do the time-consuming work of locating and cutting out such cankers. In such orchards I usually don't get FB the next year even though I was far from thorough. Some people say removing strikes has very little to do with control of the disease although that certainly isn't the orthodox view of the academics. I have never used antibiotics, and up here it's never been needed. Commercial orchards that grow susceptable varieties on dwarfing rootstocks in my area can be literally wiped out by FB, however- Another reason for home orchards to be grown on more vigorous rootstocks.

All trees being affected by CAR? What is the organic approach to treating/preventing CAR? (Surround?)