Pear tree pest/disease - Ask Extension
Hello, We planted this pear tree in the spring. It appears generally healthy but has some orange circular spots on the leaves. At first I just remove...
Knowledgebase
Pear tree pest/disease #878862
Asked July 26, 2024, 10:46 AM EDT
Hello,
We planted this pear tree in the spring. It appears generally healthy but has some orange circular spots on the leaves. At first I just removed the affected leaves, but they are continuing to appear. Photos attached. Any advice as to what this is and how to treat is would be appreciated. Thank you.
Washington County Oregon
Expert Response
Hi Cheryl and thanks for your question and great pictures of your pear tree with pear trellis rust. Yes, those orange spots are a new disease that is EVERYWHERE this year! Both my and my neighbor's trees have it in Clackamas County and my son's tree in Multnomah County is also infected. It seems to have been spread by rain this year, as it needs an alternate host, usually juniper, but it is literally all over the tree and not just on a few leaves like usual.
The recommendation now, as there are no effective home sprays, is to pick off the leaves and let them drop to compost on the ground. The rust actually dies in a couple of days when removed from the tree. Of course the other recommendation is t remove all juniper trees within a 1,000 foot radius, but that is not very practical and I'm not even sure it matters these days, since it seems to be water-borne.
Here's an article if you want all the details and realize that if you have a company come spray it will not get rid of the disease, only help control it. Eventually the problem will kill the tree so we are fighting hard with our 60 year old tree to keep it alive.
https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/host-disease/pear-pyrus-spp-trellis-rust-european-pear-rust
Good luck on your end and fingers crossed they will find a control soon,
The recommendation now, as there are no effective home sprays, is to pick off the leaves and let them drop to compost on the ground. The rust actually dies in a couple of days when removed from the tree. Of course the other recommendation is t remove all juniper trees within a 1,000 foot radius, but that is not very practical and I'm not even sure it matters these days, since it seems to be water-borne.
Here's an article if you want all the details and realize that if you have a company come spray it will not get rid of the disease, only help control it. Eventually the problem will kill the tree so we are fighting hard with our 60 year old tree to keep it alive.
https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/host-disease/pear-pyrus-spp-trellis-rust-european-pear-rust
Good luck on your end and fingers crossed they will find a control soon,
