Fire Blight on Bradford Pear: Prune Out, Disinfect Tools

Fire blight (bacterial) causes black leaves and dead branch tips. Fungicides don’t work. Streptomycin sulfate (Agri-Mycin) at bloom time helps, but it’s late now. Prune out black twigs with a pole pruner—two-person job: one cuts, one disinfects blades in 1:9 alcohol:water between each cut. ‘Bradford’ is moderately resistant; ‘Aristocrat’ and ‘Capital’ are highly susceptible.