# Pears in peril!



## PrepN4Good (Dec 23, 2011)

My pear tree is about 4 years old; every year we get about a dozen pears (well, the squirrels do). 

This year I noticed that one or two twigs on the larger branches had leaves that had turned dark brown, curled, & dried up. I cut those off & threw them away. Now whatever it is has spread to several more areas. I don't see any pests at all.

Anyone know what this could be, and/or how to stop it?


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## Momturtle (Nov 2, 2009)

Sounds like fire blight. Pears and Apple trees are very susceptible to it. Prune off branchs which it happens, burn/destroy/mail to congress any diseased wood you cut off. It is bacterial and spraying with a bacteria killer at blossom time can supposedly nip it. Google it, there is a lot of information out there.


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## GaryS (Nov 15, 2011)

Fire blight hit my young pear tree this spring, and I'll probably lose it. Don't know if it was fire blight, or something similar, but symptoms were the same and it killed my weeping peach in a matter of a few days. 

This year was my first experience with it and apparently there is little that can be done to fight it outside of spraying at blossom time.


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## PrepN4Good (Dec 23, 2011)

After looking at some pictures online, I think that's exactly what it is.  If I follow the instruction ("prune 8 inches below the damage") I'll have no tree left!!

I'm sad...this was the first fruit tree we planted & has been a good little tree.


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

This looks like what happened to my tomato plants--cause, as the pictures show, the plant is still bearing fruit.
My tomatoes were beautiful until the 3rd week & the leaves began drying, spotting, turning brown and wilted.
I still had a great crop of tomatoes...BUT, I had to destroy the plants, move the raised bed and new soil.
Two neighbors had the same virus, we got our plants from the same nursery near our homes.
One isn't planting a garden, the other has his tomato plants in the same spot. I am curious to see what his tomato crop does, because all info said the virus spreads to all other tomato plants, lives in the soil, and spreads to cauliflower, cabbages, and broccoli.
I have new soil, but did fill holes/sinkholes in the yard with the used, damaged soil and used also in my flower pots.
So far, my tomatoes, cucumbers, green pepper, and squash are beautiful in the new moved raised bed with new soil. Interesting to see what the neighbor's soil does since he sprayed his plants last year, but they still died early!! :-(

This is what our tomato plants looked like. Leaves curl first, then get spots of yellow and brown, then plant withers and dies, piece by piece and not at the same time.
http://negreenhouseupdate.info/sites/negreenhouseupdate.info/files/images/TSWVTomatoplant.jpg

http://aces.nmsu.edu/ces/plantclinic/documents/tswvtompl.jpg

http://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/intropp/lessons/viruses/Article Images/TomatoSpottedWilt02.jpg

http://l.yimg.com/ck/image/A2356/2356226/300_2356226.jpg

Now, you see why it is the 'spotted wilt' virus.

http://www.tswv.org/vegcrops/images/TSWV_wilted_tomato.jpg

Regarding to subject--my neighbor that had this on her tomato plants had the same spots and curled leaves on the fruit trees!!!


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

My Moon Glow is 10 years old or so, it has limbs touching the ground from 10-15 feet high with fruit on it.
I should have thinned the fruit, now I have some limb damage.
I have been given fruit away to keep it from spoiling, we both work.
A five gallon bucket full of fruit makes about 8 quarter of fruit in light syrup.
Yeah, I use buckets, the basket will not stand up to the softball size fruit.
Sorry I wanted to post that I have never had a problem with Fire Blight on my Moon Glow pear tree.


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