Learn how to recognize, prevent and combat pear rust, as well as other tips on home remedies and sprays.
How to recognize a pear rust infestation
If your pear tree has leaves with orange-red spots from around May/June, then for better or worse it is pear rust. With a small infestation, only a few of these orange spots can be seen, but almost all leaves of a pear tree can also be infected. In the later course of the disease, nodular warts usually form on the underside of the leaf, which are really not nice to look at. However, pear grating alone will not kill a pear tree. However, the fungal disease can be a significant stress factor and thereby negatively affect the growth and harvest of the pear. The more orange leaf spots there are, the greater the stress for the plant, since leaf spots mean that green leaf areas are lost for photosynthesis, which provides energy.
The harmful fungus: background information
The pathogen is a rust fungus (Pucciniales), which needs two different host plants to survive. The pear is only infected by pear rust (Gymnosporangium sabinae) in spring and summer, for overwintering the fungus needs a juniper plant as a host. Initially, an infestation can hardly be seen on junipers such as the Chinese juniper and the sallow tree. Only much later do orange-colored gum or gelatinous growths (juniper blister rust) appear on the branches, especially when it rains. From there, the spores can travel at least 500 m in the air to infect pears again. Incidentally, the disease in juniper plants is often much less severe than in pears.
Prevent pear grating
Unfortunately, there is no really effective way to prevent pear rust. For safe protection, the secondary host would have to be juniper in thewithin a kilometer radius. However, this cannot be realized with the adjoining neighboring properties. Unless you have a correspondingly large concern, then of course that is another matter. As a rule, you have to live with the fact that the spores of the pear rust can attack your pear or juniper plants at any time. Some gardeners therefore suggest cutting off the infested juniper branches and composting them to prevent the spread of the disease via the spores. Apart from the fact that the composting of the pear grate on the in-house compost does not pose any danger, we see no advantages in this step. The harmful fungus grows deep in the juniper wood and even he althy-looking branches can already be infected. For this reason, the juniper blister rust cannot be cured either, even the chemical mace is ineffective at this point. Apart from that, many juniper species are not very tolerant of pruning. So when it comes to prevention on juniper, things are looking bad, and on pear? Unfortunately, resources are limited here too. Really resistant pear varieties are not yet on the market. However, it is reported that pure Nashi varieties (Pyrus pyrifolia) are relatively resistant to pear rust. Regular spraying with plant broth containing siliceous acid also helps with smaller pear trees. The silicic acid strengthens the cell walls of the leaves, making it harder for fungal spores to grow into the leaf. Field horsetail and stinging donkey broths are particularly suitable because they contain a lot of silica. However, the plant-strengthening measure really only promises success with regular use (about one spraying per week).
Tackling pear rust
Before even thinking about fighting, you should first get an idea of the severity of the infestation. If the leaves are only partially covered with leaf spots and the pear also makes a vital impression, then control is often superfluous. As mentioned at the beginning, the pear grating alone is not able to kill a pear. Even if the really unsightly leaf spots make you think that the tree doesn't have much longer to live. In addition, combating pear rust is anything but easy. Unfortunately, home remedies and natural preparations are in no way suitable for controlling the infestation. Even chemical preparations only help to a limited extent. Because these tooMeans only help as long as the fungal spore has not yet grown into the leaf. If orange leaf spots can already be seen, it is already too late to fight. Good protection is guaranteed if several prophylactic sprayings are carried out immediately after the pear buds have sprout. Whether this is really necessary is ultimately up to you.
Many only know the pear from the supermarket. You can also plant the fruit trees in your own garden. Here you will find our best tips and instructions for planting pear trees.