It has since been found in all pear and apple-producing areas in the United States, as well as in New Zealand and Europe.Įrwinia amylovora has the ability to infect many ornamental plants of the rose family, but is particularly important on pear and apple. BIOLOGYįire blight is a serious bacterial disease of pears and apples that was first observed in the late 1700’s in the Northeastern United States. Vigilant scouting for the disease combined with careful pruning techniques are recommended to manage fire blight in pear and apple trees. Agricultural antibiotics, typically used by commercial growers to control the pathogen, are available to homeowners, but in certain areas of Utah, the bacteria can be resistant to streptomycin. Carefully pruning to remove infected wood in combination with the use of agricultural antibiotics are the most effective means to manage fire blight. Pear and apple are most susceptible at flowering, but actively growing shoots can be infected as well.įire blight can be managed by cultural and chemical means. The bacterium that causes fire blight, Erwinia amylovora, can be spread by insects, contaminated pruning or grafting tools, infected grafts, and any manner that carries the bacterial pathogen from an infected plant to one that is not, including wind and rain-splash. Economically, it is most serious on pears and apples. Fire blight is a bacterial disease of rosaceous plants.
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