Pear tree had black leaves

edel1000

I have inherited 2 pear trees with my new house. The leaves are going black and I don’t know what to do. I think they appear to be 3-4 years old about 6’ tall. Lots of flower and now fruit beginning and I’ve kept it watered it’s in a raised bed against the house. Could someone give me advice and hopefully I can save them. One is much worse. I don’t know how I didn’t notice this sooner. See the pictures I’ve added. Branches seem ok just leaves. 

AnniD

It may be fireblight,  but l am not sure. @Borderline may be able to help.

Borderline

AnniD, you could be right. But, need a bit more information about the rest of the tree first.

It's about 6ft tall and in a raised bed. Need to see the way it's grown and the rest of the border/base. I notice in the photo, many of the leaves are droopy. First sign is possible water issue. It's been warm, the bed may be crowded and the whole tree may not be getting enough water to sustain its size and fruit. Leaves can look like that at the end stage before dropping, so need to know if that could be an issue. 

Check the tips of branches, are they darkening or showing any signs of any oozing of liquid. That can sometimes happen in the infected areas. 

edel1000

I water it daily as it’s beside the greenhouse and I have veg growing so when I water it I water these 2 also. The tips appear healthy enough and it is just the leaf that seems effected. It’s rained the past few days so I haven’t looked at these and it seems to have happened rapidly. There is a pot on the ground that I planted some wild flower in and it is also having black leaf tips very similar. I treated the soil with nematodes earlier in the season just a general one as I had flea beetle in the green house. The previous house owner was a keen Gardner and I imagine the soil is good. I know I’m the green house he has a side bed but it is bottomless as I imagine this also is. I am really an amateur Gardner but putting my heart into it and really appreciate the help. Thank you and let me know if I can answer anything else. There is no ooze anywhere on the bark, checked that also. 

Borderline

Thanks for the extra photos. I’m not familiar with trained fruit trees, but can see an issue of 2 trees quite close to each other and they seem to be over-lapping as they grow. I think they need more space. 

Based on what you have said, there is a possibility it could be weather damage or cold night followed by warm day temperatures. The left tree looks the worst. If the leaves remain on there it’s very likely die-back and will need pruning off immediately to limit further die-back.

Hope someone who knows more about training fruit trees can offer more advice. Keep a close eye for dried brittle stems. You will need to prune them back immediately if this happens. Remove any fallen leaves to avoid possible spread. 

edel1000

Thank you for the help. I’m off to prune back and hope I have better luck next year with pears.