Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1907-05-17
FRUIT GROWERS, LOOK
OUT FOR PEAR BLIGHT
A New Disease Found on Pear
Trees-No Trees Should
Be Imported.

tho Aprlegate three miles above
Wilderville, was in Grants Pass re.
Gently. Mr.. Robinson is engaged in
general farming and frui. growing,
but SO encouraging is the outlook for
the fruit industry that he will here
after devote his time chiefly to this
line of farm work, He has q small,
well kept orchard and he stated that
the yield promised to be fair. While
Mr.. Robinson has kept his trees
vigorous and quite free of pests yet
he has Bartlett pear tree that is
badly affected with some disease new
to him as well as to all the fruit men
who have examined it. The tree is
10 years old, of average size and fairly
vigorous in growth, yet each Spring
for the past four years just as the
blossoms were ready to open it is
struck with blight and both the
blossoms and leaves dry up as though
killed by frost. A few of the fruit
buds survive and new leaves are put
forth, the wood aud bark of the twigs
apparently not being injured. The
few pears that mature are illsbapen
and the skin very rough and the flesh
coarse and woody. Mr.. Robinson
brought limb to County Fruit In
spector Meserve. who sent it to Prof.
A. B. Cordley, entomologist at the
Oregon Agricultural College, for him
to examine and ascertain if possible
the character of the disease and the
method of graduating 1t without de.
stroying the tree.
There is another pear disease in
Rogue River Valley that battles the
fruit growers as to its nature. Its
nature is not 'even understood by the
best entomologists of the country,
nor is there so far q known method
of combating it. At the time Of the
fruit growers meeting in this city in
March. Prof. A. B. Cordley together
with DIR. withycombe, Prof. q. l.
Lewis and the other speakers at the
meeting were taken by Fruit In.
spector Meserve to visit the orchards
west Of town. The attention Of Prof.
Cordley WAS called to this new disease
and he was shown 1t on several pear
trees. He stated that 1t was quite
common in the Willamette Valley,
but 1t asppeared to do mo serious in
jury to the trees and would come and
90 regardless Of the sprays used upon
the trees. This disease is as hrinkening
and dsrkenipg Of the outer bark in
patches Of an inch square to some.
times a foot square The inner bark
remains alive and the tree grows and
bears fruit as we'll as those not
afflicted. Prof. Cordley has this di
sesse under investigation and expects
to find a method of eradicating it.
The pear blight, that most deadly
of all tree diseases. has not yet made
its appearance in Rogue River Valley.
The blight has almost ruined the pear
industry of the East and IL is now
making havoc with the pear orchards
of California and Eastern Oregon ano
Eastern Washington. 1t has not ap'
peared west OF the Cascade mount
aims, but if the importation Of pear
trees is continued it will not be Ions
until it will be in this Valley and
then there will be an end to the peal
industry here for as yet no cure fol
the disc Sc has been found.
The pear blight is fungus tn,
spores of which Immediately pene
trate the bark, after being carried Il
the tree by the wind, birds and othel
means, and enter the circulation o.
the trees. Once in the sap the spore
slowly yet surely spread through tn,
wood, the limbs being the first at
tackled. No spray or other treatmen
has been found that will kill the di
sease for 1t is so deeply imbcHAoa 81
the wood that it can not be reached
The only method Of successfully com
batting the disease is TO cut down tn,
tree and burn ii and keep doing thi
until tie disease is extermi ated o
the orchard is exterminated and it i
the latter that is the end of the un
equal contest between the blight ant
the fruit grower. II is impossible b
detect the blight until the wood o
the tree begins to die. Pear tree
may leave a nursery in arparsntl.
perfect condition and then within tw
or three months develop the blight
Thus it is that inspection Of the trees a
the time they are received from the nur
sery is Of little value and the only ssf
thing for an orchardist to do is 10 no
! buy trees that come from section in
} tested with the blight The safe pla
. for Rogue River fruit growers is to nc
buy trees from California or the Eas
aud get trees that are grown here
tho local nureeriag have haan uu