By Sheila2011
My conference pear tree has orange spots on the leaves with a deeper orange/brown centre that on the underside have little peaks. This year I have a scattering of these leaves whereas last year 2/3rds of the leaves were affected. The pears themselves aren't affected. Any ideas what is causing the problem andhow I can treat it please? Sheila
14 Aug, 2011
Sounds like it might be European Pear Rust - the RHS has info on this, but basically, recommendation is to remove affected leaves and burn or dispose of (not in your compost) as soon as they are seen, and to cut out any cankers which may be present on the the branches. Spray treatments which control pear scab appear to work on this as well, so if you want to spray, you need something which contains myclobutamil - Bayer Garden Systhane Fungus Fighter, for instance. Collect up all fallen leaves as soon as they're seen, and dispose of them away from compost as well.
15 Aug, 2011