Pear rust is a disease that shows itself openly. Anyone who looks at the pear tree will not be able to miss it. Superficially, it can be confused with other diseases. But after a detailed look it can be clearly identified. The tell-tale symptoms at a glance.
How does the pear grid look?
Pear rust occurs on pear trees to varying degrees from May to autumn. The fungal infection causesyellow-orange, ever-growingspots on the tops of leaves and wart-like spore deposits on the undersides of leaves. In the intermediate host juniper, only the branches are affected, thicken and bear large, wart-like spore deposits.
When does pear grid rust appear?
At about the same time as the pear tree's flowers bloom, it becomes apparent whether it is infected with pear rust or not. The typical leaf changes appearfrom May or June isolated and small, only to spread enormously over the summer. Since the fungus mainly attacks the leaves, the infection ends in autumn. The pathogen then switches to the intermediate host juniper. Without control on the juniper, renewed infection of the pear tree is very likely the following year.
What is the typical damage caused by pear grate?
The damage caused by the Gymnosporangium rust fungus is, from a purely visual perspective, frightening. Because the pear tree, or rather its foliage, is clearly marked by the disease:
- Tops of leaves get small yellow spots
- they can also be slightly orange
- look visually like rust stains
- they get bigger over the summer
- Spore beds (wart-like nodules) form on the underside of leaves
- when ripe they tear open and leave behind a latticework
- Infestation can vary in severity
- Heavily infected tree turns orange-red by autumn
- at the same time the development of the fruits is disturbed
- they fall off before they are fully ripe
- Fruits with pear grid remain edible
Can pear rust develop on all types of pears?
Yes, all pear varieties can suffer from pear rust, although the rust fungus prefers to attack trees that are already weakened. But for some reason the following varieties have proven to be less susceptible:
- ‘Benita’
- ‘Colorful July’
- ‘Clapp’s Darling’
- ‘Condo’
- 'Double Phillips'
- ‘Trevoux’
- ‘Gellerts’
- ‘Countess of Paris’
- ‘Good Luise’
- ‘Nashi’
What damage does the infected juniper show?
The infection can be seen from the outside in every species of juniper from around mid-April:
- firstthicken the branches
- thenwart-like growths form
- they contain spore deposits
- these are 1-2 cm tall
- first brown, later yellow
- shine when wet
Can I fight pear rust?
A weak infestation does not need to be combated as it is usually survived well. In addition, new infections will occur anyway if the intermediate juniper host is not discovered and removed. However, this can be anywhere within a radius of several hundred meters. StrengthsIt is better to treat your pear tree with pesticides such asField horsetail broth to make it more resilient.
Tip
Use or process fruits with pear grid promptly
Fruits with pear lattice are shed slightly before they are fully ripe. That's why they don't have the shelf life typical of the variety. Eat them as soon as possible or process them in another way so that they don't go to waste.
