Fireblight - worst year ever !

[Worm]

I have been planting and messing around with apple and pear trees for over twenty years . I am far from anything even resembling an expert but with a little work here and there , have had a little luck .
However , not this year . Many of my trees are eaten up with fire blight , even including many of my " so called fire blight resistant trees ".
My pear trees faired much better than my apple trees for some reason .
I am now cutting out as much of the blight as I can . Some trees are so far gone that I am just cutting them down .
Ive always have a little bit of fire blight each year but have never seen it this bad .
Just wondering if any of you guys are seeing the same ?
Sorry for the rant !

 

[tlh2865]

It hit me hard this year too, also in Central VA. Trees that I had never had any trouble with pulled up and replaced this fall. Not sure what the issue was

 

[Native Hunter]

Didn't see it here much this year.

 

[buckdeer1]

Never heard of apples getting FB,I have had pears get them

 

[DrDirtNap]

Was really, really bad for me two years ago....not too bad this year but I have some every year. most years its worse for me on my apple trees...even those with good fireblight tolerance/resistance.

 

[Worm]

I guess that I was due - Ive been cutting out the blight and feel like I am getting things under control . I was pretty stressed about it at first , but feel better about it now . It was a really strange year around here- weather wise ( and everything else ) .
Merry Christmas !

 

[buckdeer1]

Can't you spray copper or something to help it?I thought thats what I saw somewhere.Does it shepherd hook?and turn black?

 

[coolbrze0]

We saw some FB on Pear trees in NOVA this year. I'm always looking to plant more fruit trees - what kinds of apple & pear trees would you recommend that do well here in VA?

 

[Worm]

Can't you spray copper or something to help it?I thought thats what I saw somewhere.Does it shepherd hook?and turn black?

I understand that there are some sprays that can help out but arent 100 percent sure thing . . Ive never sprayed my trees at all . Im too lazy , but maybe I should think about it.
After a few years of just throwing any apple tree in the ground , I slowly started figuring a few things out and went with disease resistance trees .
Many of them have gotten some fire blight strikes over the years but nothing too serious . I just cut out the area and all is good .This year was much worse . I have planted a few Enterprise apple trees .They are not producing yet , but I understand that they hold up well to most disease. Ive had pretty good luck with my Yates ,Arkansas Black , and Dolgo crab .

 

[Native Hunter]

Three years ago, my neighbor across the road from me where I live had an apple tree to be consumed with FB. It was the worst case I have ever seen on anything, and it was so bad that I expected his tree to die. He didn't do anything to it, and didn't cut out any of the affected limbs. I have watching that tree since that time and continue to watch it. The limbs with FB (and there were many) have died and rotted off the tree, but new growth has come back. This was a tree that had been in the ground about 10 years. The variety is unknown for sure, but the thinks it might be a Milam. He dug it up as a root sprout from an old home place, and the year it got FB was the first year that it had flowered.

I found it interesting that his apple tree is less than 30 yards from two big Ayers Pears of mine. Neither of them showed any signs of FB, and the highly disease resistant apple varieties in my yard less than 100 yards away showed no signs as well.

I am interested to see what happens to this tree when it flowers again, which will likely be next spring. I see this as an opportunity for a learning experience.

 

[Worm]

Three years ago, my neighbor across the road from me where I live had an apple tree to be consumed with FB. It was the worst case I have ever seen on anything, and it was so bad that I expected his tree to die. He didn't do anything to it, and didn't cut out any of the affected limbs. I have watching that tree since that time and continue to watch it. The limbs with FB (and there were many) have died and rotted off the tree, but new growth has come back. This was a tree that had been in the ground about 10 years. The variety is unknown for sure, but the thinks it might be a Milam. He dug it up as a root sprout from an old home place, and the year it got FB was the first year that it had flowered.

I found it interesting that his apple tree is less than 30 yards from two big Ayers Pears of mine. Neither of them showed any signs of FB, and the highly disease resistant apple varieties in my yard less than 100 yards away showed no signs as well.

I am interested to see what happens to this tree when it flowers again, which will likely be next spring. I see this as an opportunity for a learning experience.

 

[Worm]

Native
I was hoping that you would chime in .
I have 2 Ayres Pears and several Kieffers in the same area . The Ayres dont have any FB at all , and the Kieffers just have a little bit . These pear trees are around 15 years old and good producers .
Early on in my fruit tree planting career (it feels like a career sometimes ), I bought and planted many of them from Lowes ,etc. I dont even know what type of apple most of them are ,and surprised that they have lasted this long .
Over the last few years , I have been buying m111 but planting the graft below the soil . I know where these trees are planted . These seem to be doing great , although most are not producing so too early to tell on FB etc.
I have a feeling that I havent been doing a thorough job of getting all of the blight out each year. I need to pay more attention .

 

[Worm]

Native
I was hoping that you would chime in .
I am also wondering how the trees will do going forward .I guess time will tell .
I have 2 Ayres Pears and several Kieffers in the same area . The Ayres dont have any FB at all , and the Kieffers just have a little bit . These pear trees are around 15 years old and good producers .
Early on in my fruit tree planting career (it feels like a career sometimes ), I bought and planted many of them from Lowes ,etc. I dont even know what type of apple most of them are ,and surprised that they have lasted this long .
Over the last few years , I have been buying m111 but planting the graft below the soil . I know where these trees are planted . These seem to be doing great , although most are not producing so too early to tell on FB etc.
I have a feeling that I havent been doing a thorough job of getting all of the blight out each year. I need to pay more attention .

 

[Native Hunter]

Native
I was hoping that you would chime in .
I have 2 Ayres Pears and several Kieffers in the same area . The Ayres dont have any FB at all , and the Kieffers just have a little bit . These pear trees are around 15 years old and good producers .
Early on in my fruit tree planting career (it feels like a career sometimes ), I bought and planted many of them from Lowes ,etc. I dont even know what type of apple most of them are ,and surprised that they have lasted this long .
Over the last few years , I have been buying m111 but planting the graft below the soil . I know where these trees are planted . These seem to be doing great , although most are not producing so too early to tell on FB etc.
I have a feeling that I havent been doing a thorough job of getting all of the blight out each year. I need to pay more attention .

I can safely say that I have never seen any FB on Ayers. Kieffer has shown mild infections in some years but not enough to affect cropping. MM111 has been a great apple rootstock for me and I think that sticking with proven DR varieties is the way to go. I don’t spray for any diseases but have bumper crops of fruit consistently. I see no need to plant trees that require spraying. I have always been able to find great varieties that satisfy my taste buds and meet my needs without having to buy life support machines for trees. Good luck Worm and keep us posted.