Fire Blight Treatment in the Bay Area
Fire Blight (Erwinia amylovora) on pear trees resembles dead twigs and black leaves in the canopy, and sometimes loss of branches and even tree mortality. More on this pest here at UC Davis Pest Notes
Typically fire blight is pruned out of trees after the damage has become visible. Pruning tools must be sterilized between cuts resulting in high labor costs.
We can manage this bacterial disease through a well timed canopy spray, or preventative trunk injection, or a bark-penetrating spray application.
Benefits of managing fire blight include:
- Improved pear tree aesthetics
- Reduced infection of nearby pear trees
- Preservation of landscape assets
- Reduced tree maintenance costs
For foliar spray applications, timing the the spread of fire blight is very important. It is often spread through flowers and the window of opportunity for fire blight control is short.
