Fire Blight

Garden Problems

Fire blight, caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora, is a common and frequently destructive disease of pome fruit trees such as pears, apples and related plants.

Identify the problem
Fire blight is a bacterial infection which usual appears on trunks, branches and twigs as cankers that ooze in spring. The ends of shoots will brown off, blacken and die. Dead and blackened fruit and leaves will hang on the tree throughout out the season.
How to solve the problem
- Remove dead and dying limbs in summer or winter.
- Clear away all leaf litter which may harbour the bacterium.
- Infection of the trunk or major limbs can be controlled by removing the outer and inner bark of the infected areas. Remove area of infected tissue and 20 cm around.
- Regularly apply PLANThealth Copper Fungicide spray to open blossoms as a preventative measure.
- In dormancy carry out a winter spray programme.