Leaf curl on Apple Tree - Ask Extension
I have a three year old Haralson apple tree. The blossoms were great this year and it has quite a lot of fruit set. this past week, a number of leaves...
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Leaf curl on Apple Tree #459054
Asked June 02, 2018, 6:45 PM EDT
I have a three year old Haralson apple tree. The blossoms were great this year and it has quite a lot of fruit set. this past week, a number of leaves began to curl and dry out. It looks like it primarily began toward the ends of the branches. I have looked for aphids and have not seen any. Today I noticed that one of the smaller branches has completely wilted and the fruit has gone soft. Any suggestions you can give me are appreciated.
Thanks,
Wes
Larimer County Colorado
Expert Response
Hi Wes,
Your tree has fire blight, a bacteria that can infect all plants in the Rose Family, including apples and crabapples. Unfortunately, the damage must be pruned out, as there is no cure at this point. This bacteria moves freely in cool, wet weather, which we had this spring. Pruning must be done BELOW the point of infection, 6-10" and your pruning tools MUST BE STERILIZED between every cut.
My coworker just wrote a great blog on the subject: http://csuhort.blogspot.com/2018/06/fireblight-running-rampant.html
Also see CSU's Fact Sheet: http://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/yard-garden/fire-blight-2-907/
The best "cure" is prevention, which is obviously easier said than done. I hope your tree can be saved. We've seen a lot of trees that were given the final pruning cut :(
Your tree has fire blight, a bacteria that can infect all plants in the Rose Family, including apples and crabapples. Unfortunately, the damage must be pruned out, as there is no cure at this point. This bacteria moves freely in cool, wet weather, which we had this spring. Pruning must be done BELOW the point of infection, 6-10" and your pruning tools MUST BE STERILIZED between every cut.
My coworker just wrote a great blog on the subject: http://csuhort.blogspot.com/2018/06/fireblight-running-rampant.html
Also see CSU's Fact Sheet: http://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/yard-garden/fire-blight-2-907/
The best "cure" is prevention, which is obviously easier said than done. I hope your tree can be saved. We've seen a lot of trees that were given the final pruning cut :(
