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Organic Gardening Farm Life Fruit & Orchards

Is this fire blight?

last year

Hi, I live on the CA coast 1 hour south of San Francisco. I have a 40 tree fruit orchard. It's mostly plums, apples and pears. This year has been challenging with all sorts of diseases. My little Wickson apple now seems to be attacked by fire blight for the first time ever. Do I have this right? If so, should I cut the whole branch off? I don't use any non-organic approved sprays, although as far as I know, this wouldn't help with fire blight anyway. Or is it something else?

Featured Answer

cousinfloyd

last year

Have you inspected the base of the branch for any signs of wound, insect damage... ?

Comments (7)

vgkg Z-7 Va
last year
last modified: last year
Nice looking apple tree. But that does not appear to be FB as FB (here) will turn the leaves from green to black without a intermediate color (as is the yellowish/orange in your pic). My apple trees rarely get FB and it's very light damage when it occurs on the apples, but FB will devastate my pears if not caught in time with heavy pruning to control it. Wish I could be of more help but maybe it's a disease or other problem local to your area?
HU-942134554 thanked vgkg Z-7 Va
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
last year
Firebllght is also highly governed by a suitable climate and temperature and typically shows up much earlier in the season....springtime, just as the trees leaf out. If it was FB, it would have shown up months ago, not now.

Wickson is technically a crabapple and is moderately resistant to almost all common apple/crabapple diseases with the exception of rust.
HU-942134554 thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
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I agree with the thought that it's water stress. Definitely not fireblight which "scorches" entire branch tips and all the leaves thereon.
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Hi folks. Can anyone tell me if this tree has fireblight? It has some of the symptoms like blackened stem and leaves. But it doesn't show others that I read, like the leaves staying on the stem and curling into 'shepherd's crook'. The leaves have actually fallen off. And so far I haven't seen any oozing or any clear cankers. I am considering to just chop it down for fear of it spreading to other plants. Thank you very much.
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Recently planted trees need regular irrigation for the the first 2 years. That leaf damage is combo water shortage and sunburn. See "watering newly planted trees & shrubs" https://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/trees-shrubs/watering-new-trees-shrubs/ Not fireblight because, it it was, the entire tip would look scorched and assume the typical shepherd's crook position. See "trees can get burned with fireblight" https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2013/Q2/purdue-expert-trees-can-get-burned-again-by-fire-blight.html
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As vgkg has indicated, the entry points for fireblight are the flowers in the Spring, and the new growth later in the season. You might consider using Agri-Mycin (streptomycin for orchard use) on the flowers as these are the hardest to deal with once infected. I've nearly lost my 20th century Asian pear twice, but it came back both times after cutting it back to the main trunk. In 2 decades of growing Asian pears, I've had fireblight problems with several of my more than a dozen varieties, and haven't yet lost any, but it requires close monitoring and aggressive pruning out the affected branches at the earliest sign of disease. Some of my trees have never been affected even though they are varieties not known to be resistant and I really can't explain why but I'm not complaining. I've only had one European pear affected and that was a Comice which was damaged extensively just one time.
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HU-942134554
Original Author
last year
That's what I thought. However, any ideas what this might be? Only one branch slowly dying and the rest of the tree perfectly healthy? Couldn't be a gopher, could it?
HU-942134554
Original Author
last year
Yes, I have. I noticed a dark area there, almost as if it had been "oiled" or something. The area extends a bit up and down the trunk. What might that mean?
cousinfloyd
last year
Not sure, but it wouldn't be typical of fireblight.
vgkg Z-7 Va
last year
"Oiled"? Could be sap oozing from a borer hole or other damage to the trunk.

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