Apple tree blight infection spread - Ask Extension
I had an old cameo apple tree that died of blight and was removed 3 years ago. A year later I planted another tree 4 feet from the original site and ...
Knowledgebase
Apple tree blight infection spread #869639
Asked May 22, 2024, 3:14 PM EDT
I had an old cameo apple tree that died of blight and was removed 3 years ago. A year later I planted another tree 4 feet from the original site and it did well the first year, but did not survive the winter and showed no signs of blight. It just did not bloom. I want to know if the roots can infect other trees if planted nearby? I am thinking to replace it with a weeping spruce. However, I do not want it to become infected. All the other plants and trees within 10 feet are fine. What can I do?
Ingham County Michigan
Expert Response
Diseases that cause spotting on leaves such as scab can appear annually and would not kill trees. There are pathogens including verticillium wilt that cause trees to decline, losing their canopies and dying within 2 - 3 years. Another disease called fire blight causes browning in the leaves and will weaken the trees to the point where they don;t produce fruit. I'm not if you're referring to fire blight specifically.
Scab does not stay in the soil. Verticillium wilt does, and fire blight usually remains just within the tree but sometimes the bacteria spread by roots. As long as you're not putting another apple in the same spot, you should be ok. Other than verticillium wilt, most diseases are specific to one plant or related plants. That is, a disease that affects apples cannot also affect spruce.
Scab does not stay in the soil. Verticillium wilt does, and fire blight usually remains just within the tree but sometimes the bacteria spread by roots. As long as you're not putting another apple in the same spot, you should be ok. Other than verticillium wilt, most diseases are specific to one plant or related plants. That is, a disease that affects apples cannot also affect spruce.
Hi,
Thanks for your response. As I indicated on the earlier email, my apple tree was over 65 years old and did die of fire blight. However, when I replanted two new apple trees two years after and 3 years after the death of the tree, they also died. I was wondering if that was because apple blight stayed in the roots which may have touched the new tree. To be safe, I planted a weeping spruce in the same area as the old apple tree about 5 feet away. I was advised that fire blight doesn't affect spruce trees.
If I am wrong, then can anything be planted there? Do I need to move the spruce?
Thanks.
Coleen Karakitsos
On Thursday, May 23, 2024 at 08:35:27 AM EDT, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
Thank you for clarifying. Fire blight does not survive in the soil. If there was fire blight in the area, it could reinfect a newly planted tree without adequate management.
Fire blight does not affect spruce. If you do plant apples again, select a cultivar that has resistance to fire blight - see here for cultivar recommendations: https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/plpath-fru-22-0
Fire blight does not affect spruce. If you do plant apples again, select a cultivar that has resistance to fire blight - see here for cultivar recommendations: https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/plpath-fru-22-0
Hi,
Thank you. I looked at the cultivars for apple tree resistance to blight, but the cameo was not listed. Hopefully it will be ok in a new location.
Thanks again.
Coleen
On Friday, May 31, 2024 at 02:02:52 PM EDT, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
