Common Name

Fireblight

Scientific Name

Erwinia amylovora

Status

Notifiable Disease

Physical Description

Slime contains bacteria. Spread by insects, water, moves through blossoms. Spreads in summer flowers.

Distribution

Worldwide esp. N America. First disease to be scientificallyinvestigated. Introduced from N.America in Kent 1957, spread over Europe. S/E England.

Life Cycle

Spore enters blossom, and mycelium affectes whole tree. Spores then produced.

Damage Caused

Dead blossom, dark brown leaves if scorched. Dark green brown lesions. Fruits small and deformed. White slime may be seen. Red brown discoloration under bark. Tree killed in 6 months.

Control Methods

Notifiable Disease. Must be reported to the Ministry of Agriculture. Uproot and burn all affected plants. Do not plant hawthorns, or summer flowering Pears, Apples in S/E.

Plants Affected

Rosaceous trees, Pears, Apples, Cotoneaster, Pyracantha, Sorbus, Chaenomeles. Hawthorn in orchards.