Marianne's Response

Black spots

Just moved into a house with tons of plants, and I have one that concerns me that shows signs of disease. There are black spots on the leaves and fruit. I think this is a pear tree, but I need help identifying it, and I need help with diagnosis/treatment info. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Posted by Tim Vanderburg on June 10, 2019

Marianne's Response

Congrats on a new house with an orchard. The black spots on the leaves of your fruit trees are most likely apple scab (yes even on the pear) or an insect such as the tarnished plant bug. It is best to try and control these tree diseases in winter or early spring when the trees are dormant rather than to spray them now. Good air circulation and sunshine helps so perhaps you can do some summer pruning and clean up around the base of the trees. For proper ID of the problem you can bring the infected leaves in a zip lock bag to a local nursery or Master Gardener clinic. Once you know for sure what the infection is in your area you can proceed with a dormant spray or other type of pest management. The good news is that scab disease although common does not usually kill the tree and although unsightly you can still harvest the fruit. Don't throw in the trowel too soon but if you are really concerned and give it a good try to identify and treat the problem you do have the option of just removing the infected trees and buying fruit from a local farmer's market. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti