Local blight history of the orchard: The presence or absence of blight in the orchard or nearby will affect the risk potential for infection. Utah orchards can access the fire blight model on the USU Climate Center TRAPs website. Cougarblight uses daily temperatures to provide a risk rating for potential infections. Whether a grower uses copper or not will depend on weather, cost, amount of infection in the orchard, and personal experience.Īntibiotics are applied in spring during bloom, only when the predictive model, Cougarblight, recommends. Its effect is dependent on how and when it is applied, and the weather after application. It must be applied as a high-volume spray so that all exposed surfaces in the orchard are thoroughly wetted, including orchard support structures. It can be applied from dormant to delayed dormant timing (between tight bud to green tip stages). Debris does not need to be burned or chipped.Ī copper spray works by providing a surface barrier that prevents bacteria from colonizing. Tools do not need to be sterilized between cuts because the bacteria are not active at this time. Also remove all root suckers and rootstock sprouts because if they become infected, the entire tree is at risk (Common dwarfing rootstocks such as M9 and M26 are highly susceptible to blight). Cut the twig or branch at least 8 inches below the visible margin of the infection. Limbs with bark that appears wet, off-color, or sunken indicate a canker. Infected twigs are easy to identify because the leaves will remain attached well into winter. ![]() Pruning should be done in winter and early spring when the weather is dry. The fire blight bacteria overwinter in cankers, and pruning out infested plant tissue will reduce the amount of inoculum in the orchard, thereby reducing future infections. When pruning, it is important to find the edge of the fire blight canker and prune up to 12 inches below that into healthy wood. Fire blight is easy to spot in winter because the leaves remain attached.
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