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Grafting and fireblight April 05, 2020 06:06PM | Registered: 10 years ago Posts: 225 |
I have a question...
Can fireblight propagate by grafting?
Assuming there is no fireblight in an orchard, and I topgraft a scion that is apparently healthy but may come from an orchard where fireblight is present, is there any risk to introduce the blight and infect the tree - and eventually the whole orchard?
Thanks,
Claude
Jolicoeur Orchard
Zone 4 in Quebec
Author, The New Cider Maker's Handbook
Can fireblight propagate by grafting?
Assuming there is no fireblight in an orchard, and I topgraft a scion that is apparently healthy but may come from an orchard where fireblight is present, is there any risk to introduce the blight and infect the tree - and eventually the whole orchard?
Thanks,
Claude
Jolicoeur Orchard
Zone 4 in Quebec
Author, The New Cider Maker's Handbook
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Re: Grafting and fireblight April 07, 2020 06:26PM | Registered: 10 years ago Posts: 225 |
Surprised no one chimed in on this.
I was asked the question but couldn't give a definitive answer.
My intuition is there is no problem. For a simple reason - I have grafted in my orchard some scion wood from a great number of sources and this practically every yeart for the least 30 years at least. Obviously some of it must have come from an orchard where there was some blight present.
And I have never had any fire blight in my orchard.
So one of the following... either:
- I have bee hugely lucky to have escaped it.
- Fire blight cannot survive in my orchard for whatever reason.
- Fire blight doesn't transmit through grafting wood.
Please let's hear your opinion!
Claude
Jolicoeur Orchard
Zone 4 in Quebec
Author, The New Cider Maker's Handbook
I was asked the question but couldn't give a definitive answer.
My intuition is there is no problem. For a simple reason - I have grafted in my orchard some scion wood from a great number of sources and this practically every yeart for the least 30 years at least. Obviously some of it must have come from an orchard where there was some blight present.
And I have never had any fire blight in my orchard.
So one of the following... either:
- I have bee hugely lucky to have escaped it.
- Fire blight cannot survive in my orchard for whatever reason.
- Fire blight doesn't transmit through grafting wood.
Please let's hear your opinion!
Claude
Jolicoeur Orchard
Zone 4 in Quebec
Author, The New Cider Maker's Handbook
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Re: Grafting and fireblight April 14, 2020 03:33AM | Registered: 10 years ago Posts: 34 |
I was in Normandy a couple years ago and everyone there said fireblight doesn't affect them.|
Re: Grafting and fireblight April 14, 2020 06:15AM | Registered: 10 years ago Posts: 225 |
Maybe there is simply no fireblight inoculum in the region where my orchard is - which is fairly remote.
Something similar (maybe?) happened with pear scab. Apple scab there has always been, but the orchard has been free of pear scab for over 20 years. But then, Flemish Beauty (which is known to be sensitive) started having some one year, not much but some nevertheless. It took 2 more years but after that all pears from Flemish Beauty and Southworth trees have been entirely black and worthless. I have topgrafted them. The other varieties are OK.
Could something similar happen with fireblight? I don't know...
Jolicoeur Orchard
Zone 4 in Quebec
Author, The New Cider Maker's Handbook
Something similar (maybe?) happened with pear scab. Apple scab there has always been, but the orchard has been free of pear scab for over 20 years. But then, Flemish Beauty (which is known to be sensitive) started having some one year, not much but some nevertheless. It took 2 more years but after that all pears from Flemish Beauty and Southworth trees have been entirely black and worthless. I have topgrafted them. The other varieties are OK.
Could something similar happen with fireblight? I don't know...
Jolicoeur Orchard
Zone 4 in Quebec
Author, The New Cider Maker's Handbook
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