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problems with pear tree
john boy3
Posts: 11
in Fruit & veg
Hi all, Ive been in my new house now for two summers and our old Pear tree is having problems,I had it pruned last year after a bumper crop. During the winter storms it took a real battering even lifting it from the soil its an old tree
this years fruits are looking like this
all the fruit is like this also the leaves,fruit higher up appears to be in better shape,Im a novice gardener so im a bit lost.should the tree be taken out the base is very rotten.would appreciate any help john.
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Bumping up
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
and another bump...someone is bound to come along soon who can answer this
Goodmorning john boy3,
Your Pear tree is suffering from Brown Spot Disease. Scientific name: Stemphylium vesicarium.
Root damage is indeed possible, but the wound in the first picture looks like it's an old one which the tree has already healed itself. If you open that wound again, you'll also cut through the barriers inside which may lead to another infection or it may start rotting away. My advice would be to leave that wound intact.
I think you should take your picture to a fruit nursery and ask their advice, maybe even ask if they have the time to come and have a look at it. Old trees are very valuable for birds and other wildlife and most of the time they make a excellent feature in a garden.
Hi all, sorry about the late reply life got in the way.Ive had another look at the base of the tree and theresa large hole goes right through full of wood lice,I think I may need to get someone in to have a look. many thanks for the help and advice much appreciated.
Hi Buddyboy,
Sorry that it took me so long to reply to you, but we have been on vacation for a couple of weeks. We only returned last weekend and there were some matters that needed handling first.
Now, about Stemphylium vescarium, I have found this document for you: https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/phiw/riskRegister/viewPestRisks.cfm?cslref=23258
I couldn't find anything written by the RHS, but if you google on Stemphylium vescarium, there are other documents to be found, although not necessarily about the situation in the UK. But maybe you could ask about it at the government department that published the document?
Okay, now let's go into the matter of the "dead" bark and cutting through barriers. In the Netherlands it indeed used to be common practice to take a piece of bark away (not always dead bark) and judge the tree's situation. But over the years, experts have come to the conclusion that this practice more often than not damages the tree more than the wound does.
After intensive experiments at Wageningen University (among others), it became quite clear that, given the time, trees are very capable of healing themselves by overgrowing wounds, which is explained by the C.O.D.I.T.-principle. There's a lot of documentation to be found about that principle, but this one explains it in simple words: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compartmentalization_of_decay_in_trees
We do cut off small branches as some diseases can be identified by discolorations within the tree.
I think you might be able to learn more if you contact a European Tree Worker. More and more people are learning what magnificent creatures trees actually are, what they mean to our environment and how to take care of them, but we're still a long way from understanding Mother Nature.
Kind regards, Flowerchild
(BTW, sorry for the long post)