Leaf-blight (_Fabræa maculata_ (Lev.) Atk.) is a common and destructive
fungus in pear-nurseries in New York and is sometimes troublesome in
orchards. The quince suffers even more than the pear from this fungus.
In the nursery, leaves and twigs are attacked, and in the orchard the
pears themselves sometimes suffer. The disease appears in the spring
as minute, reddish-brown circular spots on the upper surface of the
leaves, but the fungus penetrates through to the lower surface as
the disease progresses. Eventually the color changes to dark brown,
and later a coal-black, raised spot appears in the center. The spots
sometimes run together. Young leaves shrivel under the attacks of
the fungus; while old ones, if badly diseased, turn yellow and drop
prematurely. Twigs and leaf-stalks are frequently girdled, and the
lesions are more elongated. The spots are similar on the fruits to
those on the leaves. The fungus spends the winter in fallen leaves. In
the spring the spores are discharged from the fruiting organs of the
fungi and are carried to the tender leaf or twig of the pear or quince.
The parasite begins growth at once and in about a month a new crop of
spores develop. This fungus grows on various other pome-fruits which
complicates remedial measures. The treatment recommended for leaf-spot
should control leaf-blight.
As are all tree-fruits in New York, the pear is attacked by crown-gall
(_Bacterium tumefaciens_ Smith & Townsend). This disease, however, is
seldom a serious menace to orchard trees this far north, but the vigor
of nursery stock is sapped when the galls girdle the tap-root or the
stem at the collar. Moreover, trees affected by crown-gall are barred
in most states by inspection laws so that nurserymen can ill afford to
produce gall-infected trees. It is a wise precaution not to plant badly
diseased trees. The galls are tumor-like structures on the roots of
the plant, or often at the juncture of root and stem. They vary from
the size of a pea to that of a large egg, forming at maturity rough,
knotty, dark-colored masses. Another form of the disease appears as a
dense tangle of hair-like roots arising from callous-like galls. This
form passes under the name "hairy root." Neither preventive nor cure
is known. Orchard or nursery should not be planted on ground known to
have been infected as the disease is highly contagious. The brambles,
especially raspberries, are common carriers of crown-gall, and none of
the brambles should be planted as inter-crops in pear-orchards.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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