Cankers on Pear/ Peach?

[alycat1990]

Hello everyone,

I started growing a few fruit trees last year as I am starting to get into gardening. We planted a pear tree that is a 5 grafted pear tree. I am not sure all the varieties of pear on it except anjou, bartlet and maybe bosc... the tree was a gift from my dad, and when he got it to my house some of the tags on the limbs fell off on the ride.

The tree looks very healthy, the flowers are budding and it grew quite a bit last year and I was able to train some of the branches. It is still rather small and I think I will pick the developing fruit off when pollinated so the branches have a chance to get stronger on each variety ( as the grafting is each branch). There is a mark that does worry me, it has been on the tree since I planted it. It doesn't ooze, and I don't think it has increased in size. There is a apple tree planted next to it and the apple is healthy. I have a reaalllly old pear tree about 12 feet away downhill that needs to come down...

This mark I hope is not a canker... here are some photos, please tell me your thoughts.

ALSO I have this peach tree. Its a Frost peach tree. this is its 3rd year. The second year I had significant dieback after a harsh winter, and during the season it developed peach leaf curl. During dormancy I sprayed it with copper sulfate x2. This is supposed to slow the growth of the bacteria. So far the peach tree is budding lovely! All new growth looks healthy... however this spot also looks bad on the tree... could also be a canker? Thoughts anyone?

My hopes is this is not so and my trees are as healthy as they appear to be now... I'm just starting this hobby, and am hoping to grow my own organic crops.... I do know lots of fruiting trees don't have the prettiest bark, and are not the most uniform perfect looking trees. I hope these are just blemishes...
anyways experienced opinions are great I am doing my best to inspect frequently and identify problems before they start.

Peach tree:


5 Grafted Pear Tree:

[JONA]

Hi alycat,
First your pear.
That's not a canker. It's a wound scar from some trauma long ago. A torn off shoot etc. It has healed beautifully and should not be any problem.

The peach wound though could be a canker. Get some grafting wax or canker paint. With a sharp knife trim off the canker, making sure you cut the edges back to expose clean wood. Paint the wound immediately.
It's not too clear when I try to get a close up of the area,...but caution being the better part of valour....better safe than sorry. ( sorry..I like metaphors).
As I guess you know..peach leaf curl occurs when the leaves get wet in the early part of the season. Copper sulphate ( Bordeaux mixture) is the organic treatment as you say.
Be careful with that old pear tree nearby. Most old garden pears are significant carriers of Scab.the spores are carried and spread on the wind on rainy days and this desease can do a lot of damage to young trees and their fruit. Especially if you do not want to spray regularly.
Good luck.

[alycat1990]

Hi alycat,
First your pear.
That's not a canker. It's a wound scar from some trauma long ago. A torn off shoot etc. It has healed beautifully and should not be any problem.

The peach wound though could be a canker. Get some grafting wax or canker paint. With a sharp knife trim off the canker, making sure you cut the edges back to expose clean wood. Paint the wound immediately.
It's not too clear when I try to get a close up of the area,...but caution being the better part of valour....better safe than sorry. ( sorry..I like metaphors).
As I guess you know..peach leaf curl occurs when the leaves get wet in the early part of the season. Copper sulphate ( Bordeaux mixture) is the organic treatment as you say.
Be careful with that old pear tree nearby. Most old garden pears are significant carriers of Scab.the spores are carried and spread on the wind on rainy days and this desease can do a lot of damage to young trees and their fruit. Especially if you do not want to spray regularly.
Good luck.

Thank you! for your advice! I had a feeling the pear was okay, but I wasnt sure. The Peach on the other hand, is worrying be slightly...I will do as you say and try and cut it out, I might even take the limb off this winter for caution. its been rainy here so I will have to wait till it gets a bit dryer (don't want to spread anything) Also, the old pear tree does have some scabby pears... I tried saving the tree, but I think its past that point and needs to come down this year

[alycat1990]

Instead of the pear, I'm replacing it with a nice autumn blaze maple. I live near a busy road and want the coverage anyway... the old pear tree is only about 12 ft tall... It saddens me to cut down a tree. I really did try to save it... when I bought my house 5 years ago that part of the property was overgrown with long grass. This "random" tree didnt flower for 2 years! When it finally did we realized it was a bartlett pear tree, and did our best to save it! It does have some scabbing, and multiple ground shoots. the tree was also infested with carpenter ants ( I Killed those). I don't even see a grafting on the root stock, so for all I know it could have been wild from the start.

[JONA]

Instead of the pear, I'm replacing it with a nice autumn blaze maple. I live near a busy road and want the coverage anyway... the old pear tree is only about 12 ft tall... It saddens me to cut down a tree. I really did try to save it... when I bought my house 5 years ago that part of the property was overgrown with long grass. This "random" tree didnt flower for 2 years! When it finally did we realized it was a bartlett pear tree, and did our best to save it! It does have some scabbing, and multiple ground shoots. the tree was also infested with carpenter ants ( I Killed those). I don't even see a grafting on the root stock, so for all I know it could have been wild from the start.

Just before you take the saw to the old tree....take a photo and let us see it.
You never know..there may be a way to salvage it. Pears can live to very old ages.
As regards the peach....if on trimming that canker you find it's very bad..and you can afford to lose that branch, then that's the best solution. Canker can become systemic in a trees system, but when it does it seems to move only upwards. So if it's possible to remove completely that's the best answer. On main structure branches that's not always possible though.
J.