I have a small orchard in SW Virginia. One of my Red Delicious trees developed a black scale last summer and I thought it had died. Several weeks ago (March), I broke off a branch to examine the tree and found it green and alive inside. I sprayed 4-5 times during the summer with fruit tree spray. Is this a fungus? How do I fix this problem. Thank you.
Thanks for the info. The picture of the fire blight looks like my tree. I think the whole tree is affected. There really is no way to prune away the bad stuff. Is there any chance it will resolve on it's own or will I need to remove the tree. Should I prune a branch and send it in for "testing" to an extension agency or just remove the tree and replant next year.
I am not sure you can save it. A friend of mine had to cut a lot of branches on his tree before he stopped it. Just remember when you cut the branches to dip the cutters in bleach water between cuts.
Fire blight is more common on pears [bartlett] than apple. Since you have it in your apple tree, cut the diseased branches back about 12 inches into healthy wood; remove all affected tissue. As Pat said you need to sterilize pruning tools in household disinfectants before making each cut. Throw the diseased branches in the trash, not in a compost pile.
Make sure you disinfect your pruning tools, before you prune your other trees, or you can very easily spread Fireblight to them! Theres probably not a whole lot you can do if the whole tree is hit with fireblight. If law allows, burn your cuttings, or the tree if you plan on pulling it out.