Fire blight strikes found in southeast Michigan apple orchard

Questions about this information? Contact us. May 28, 2015

Updated from an original article written by Bob Tritten.

Southeast Michigan apple growers should keep an eye on susceptible varieties and young plantings for signs of fire blight infections.

I saw my first strikes of fire blight in apples at one farm yesterday, May 27, while on grower visits. This farm did not use Streptomycin during bloom time.

I encourage apple growers to keep a close eye on susceptible varieties and young plantings for signs of fire blight infections. The article “Scouting for blossom blight symptoms of fire blight in apples” by Michigan State University Extension may be helpful. If you see active strikes, they need to be removed as soon as possible.

Go to the MSU Pest and Beneficials Search fire blight page for some nice photos and additional information on this disease.

Want to stay up to date on the latest fruit issues this season?

Go to the MSU Extension Fruit and Nuts News website for more fruit-related articles. The MSU Enviro-weather website is a great resource for weather, crop and pest information. If you are looking for MSU Extension publications and bulletins, visit the online MSU Extension Bookstore.

If you need to see me at your farm for a farm visit, don’t hesitate to contact me via email at tritten@msu.edu, call my office at 810-244-8555 or call or text my cell at 810-516-3800.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).