What's Wrong With My Pear Tree? - Ask Extension
A few people on my street in Queens NYC have pear trees and they all seem to have the same problem. After the leaves emerged this year, every leaf (...
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What's Wrong With My Pear Tree? #371529
Asked October 20, 2016, 5:32 PM EDT
A few people on my street in Queens NYC have pear trees and they all seem to have the same problem. After the leaves emerged this year, every leaf (on all the trees) developed a yellow spot with a brown spot in the middle of it. And now I notice the underside of each leaf has something growing on it. See attached photos.
What's wrong with our trees?
And, is there anything we can do to fix it?
thanks
Frank Progl
Queens County New York
Expert Response
Thanks for your question. Your pear trees have pear rust (also called pear trellis ruse) and the 'bumps' are gall. This is caused by Gymnosporangium sabinae, an airborne fungus. It was widespread in Europe, and only reported on the Eastern seaboard early in this decade. Here's a link to a U Conn article about the phenomenon and its control.
Hope this is helpful. Good luck!
Hope this is helpful. Good luck!
Thanks so much for your help.....too bad about our trees...Frank
