Knowledgebase
1 year old apple tree having some trouble #591333
Asked August 22, 2019, 5:35 PM EDT
I have a 1 year old apple tree that's a SnappyMac Dwaf tree. Early in the season I began seeing a reddish, brown discoloration and a deterioration at the edge of many of the leaves (as seen in the attached photos). This has lead to the deterioration of many of the leaves. Additionally, I have seen the signs of what I believe is fire blight, dry brittle, burnt looking leaves (also in attached picture) on two branches. Are these related? Can you help me identify what may be going on and if there is anything I can do to resolve the problem? Thank you for your help!
Denver County Colorado
Expert Response
Thank
you for submitting your question. From what I can tell from the photos, I see
fire blight as well as some possible hail damage to the leaves. As far as the
hail damage goes, it is just aesthetic on the leaves. For the fire blight, trimming
now can be a problem, because you can spread the bacterium with pruning tools.
If you prune only the affected/dead area and not cut into any healthy and live
tissue, you can remove some of the problem. The better time is to wait until
the dormant season, where you can prune without concern for spreading the
disease.
Very important: If you prune now, you must sterilize your tools with 70%
rubbing alcohol between EVERY cut.
From CSU Extension’s fact sheet on Fire Blight: “There is no cure for this disease, so prevention is the best solution for the management of fire blight. Fire blight management methods include: planting resistant varieties, implementing cultural practices that favor growth of the plant rather than the pathogen, pruning to remove infected plant parts, and chemical sprays. Using resistant varieties is the most effective prevention method. Spraying chemicals is not recommended for homeowners because of chemical availability, potential phytoxicity and the critical timing of sprays.”
Here is the link to our fact sheet: https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/yard-garden/fire-blight-2-907/