Fire Blight
Erwinia amylovora
bacterial disease.
Devastating bacterial disease that can kill trees rapidly. Most severe in warm wet springs.
Biology and conditions
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Symptoms
- Wilted shoots with characteristic shepherd's crook
- Blackened blossoms and twigs
- Cankers on branches with bacterial ooze
Controls
- Plant resistant varieties (Liberty, Enterprise for apple; Magness, Moonglow for pear)
- Streptomycin during bloom (commercial only)
- Prompt pruning of strikes back to healthy wood
- Disinfect tools between cuts
Resistant varieties
- Liberty
- Enterprise
- Magness
- Moonglow
- Kieffer