Hello all,
I have 2 pear trees that had looked sick when I purchased them, but I figured it was no big deal and it would go away. Its been 1.5 years and I'm still dealing with what I assumed to be a fungal disease. Last year the leaves would get spots all over them and start tearing and looked like something was eating away at it also. This year the problem came back but it does seem to be much less severe. This season it almost looks like the edges are being burned. Some spots have creases and leaf curl I've been using Spectraside Immunux fungicide and unsure if it is helping. Can you help identify what I am seeing on these trees and what the best coarse of action is to get rid of it, or are the trees doomed to die? Also wanted to mention, when it rains, the trunk under the bark gets almost black, noticable on sections where the tree was pruned.
Aphids can cause leaves to curl and cause browning of the leaves. Have you inspected for aphids?
I checked for insects and I haven’t seen any. I have had aphids on my apple trees but I haven’t seen any on the pears.
I never had serious problems with fireblight in the PNW. In SW Virginia now, I nearly lost a 2-year-in asian pear last year. Pears are particularly susceptible; assuming you’re in the PNW, this may be ‘as bad as it gets.’ I believe other HOS members had described losing trees to fireblight in ‘the valley,’ but I never had.
The black on the trunk was a definite sign, and the browning to eventual ‘burned look’ on the leaves was exactly what mine did. There was no way to salvage the limbs, so they were removed, hoping the rest of the young yet vigorous tree would survive.
Researching a remedy left me feeling as though treatment and eradication is hopeless, and if it hits again this season (no sign yet), my tree will be history. It’s recommended to go light on or not fertilize, as the ‘fast new growth’ is most susceptible. I suggest some research on fireblight.
In my opinion, that damage doesn't look bad enough for me to prioritize, especially if I can't identify it.
JohN S
PDX OR
By coincidence, I found a similar situation posed in an extension forum this week. Photos look like the same problem. Was diagnosed as pear leaf blister mite. It was stated that the mites are so small that you cannot see them.
Some online info: http://oregonstate.edu/dept/nurspest/pear_leaf_blister_mite.htm
Great call Dubyadee.
I would look into what eats those mites and how you can attract an insect that would do that.
As Rachel Carson would say, the balance of nature can solve that problem.
Many years ago, modern agriculture came to the primitive Italian peasants and told them they couldn't grow their grapes on maple seedlings anymore. They needed to use modern metal and plastic. Well, they did, and they developed a scale problem on all the grapes.
Then modern scientists went back and found out why. The maples harbored tiny mites that ate the scale before it ever became a problem, and no one knew that it was even there. When they introduced the metal and plastic, there were no mites to eat the scale, so they couldn't eat it up before it became a problem. So before, they did what their grandparents told them to do, and it never caused a disaster in the vineyard. The peasants didn't have microscopes, but they could observe what worked.
So the "primitive" peasants went back to using the maple seedlings again and the modern scientists went off to "help" someone else. Problem solved.
John S
PDX OR