Problem identifying and treating pear disease

MarioA

 

 

 

Hi there,

My pear trees are badly affected by a disease which, I think, is some sort of fungal infection but have not been able to identify as none of the online photos I found look like what I have.    All new leaves and growth this spring are badly affected, with the leaves being all pitted and deformed and much of the new growth stunted. I have already treated it with Difenoconazole twice, thinking it may be pear rust, but I am not sure it has made any difference.    It had the same problem last year but not so extensive. I removed all affected branches, cleared all the dead leaves in the winter and kept the ground below the trees as clear as possible, but it clearly was not enough.    I attach a few pictures to show the symptoms. I can take more pictures if necessary.   If anyone has any suggestions of (1) what the disease may be and (2) how best to treat it, I would be most grateful.   Regards,   Mario

BobTheGardener

It could be Pear Leaf Blister Mite.  If so, there's not much you can do but it is said to not significantly affect the health or fruiting ability of the tree.

http://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/problems/fruit-and-nuts/pear-leaf-blister-mite/410.html

The advice above is to remove affected leaves and shoots but doing that may cause more harm than good if most of the tree is affected:

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=661

 

 

MarioA

Hi Bob,

Many thanks for the suggestion. Having now looked up images and information online, I think you are spot on and it is exactly a very bad Pear Leaf Blister Mite infestation. 

As the whole tree is now affected, removing the leaves is just not an option, but I am finding a number of different suggestions online, some organic, some not, which I will try out.

Thanks again for your help.

Mario

BobTheGardener

I hope you find something which works, Mario.  If you have any success, it would be helpful to other members if you can post back your results.  There was another thread recently suspecting this disease and I wonder if the mild Winter we had means many more of the mites have survived than is normally the case.

Marinelilium

Lots of fungal spores will be about this year - she said cheerfully - so my advice is feed your plants to boost their health. *

Washing new  grape growth with  a 30% milk, or 10% yogurt, to water solution can protect from some mildews. Something in the milk cultures seems to deter the mildew from kicking off. Don't know if it works on other fruit leaves though.

*seaweed feed, chicken pellets, blood fish and bone etc will also help sandy soils that have had nutrients leeched out by rain.

I hope your patient recovers Mario, Good Luck!