Abstract
The adoption of mechanical thinning and pruning in commercial apple orchards has been limited largely by the risk of development and spread of fire blight. This devastating disease, caused by the bacterial pathogen Erwinia amylovora, may be transmitted by mechanical injury such as pruning, especially under warm, moist conditions conducive to bacterial growth, infection, and disease development. However, risk may be mitigated by avoiding highest-risk times and applying a bactericide, such as streptomycin, after mechanical thinning or pruning. In ‘Gala’ and ‘Idared’ orchards, we evaluated the risk of fire blight development and spread after mechanical thinning early in bloom (20% bloom), when seasonal temperatures are cooler and there are few open flowers available for infection. In both orchards, we also evaluated the spread and development of fire blight by mechanical pruning in July and in August, before and after terminal bud set, when shoot growth is slowed and the tree is less susceptible to infection. We also assessed the potential efficacy of a streptomycin or Bacillus subtilis biopesticide application after mechanical thinning and pruning to mitigate the spread of fire blight. In the ‘Gala’ orchard, disease never developed beyond the inoculated tree after thinning or pruning, which was unexpected for this highly susceptible cultivar. In the ‘Idared’ orchard, incidence of blossom or shoot blight from the point source, represented as relative area under the disease progress curve, was rarely different for trees that underwent mechanical thinning or mechanical pruning compared with untreated trees, and it was often reduced or eliminated when the antibiotic streptomycin or the B. subtilis biopesticide was applied within 24 h of mechanical thinning or pruning. For both thinning and pruning, incidence of fire blight dropped off quickly beyond the inoculated tree in the ‘Idared’ orchard and generally was not observed in trees beyond 10 to 15 m from the inoculated point source or predicted beyond 10 m by exponential and power law models fit to the disease progress curves. The results of this work demonstrate the low risk for fire blight development and spread by mechanical thinning and pruning when practiced under low-risk conditions—early in bloom for mechanical thinning and after terminal bud set (in August) for mechanical pruning—especially when paired with a subsequent bactericide application. This study demonstrates the safe use of mechanical thinning and pruning in commercial apple production, corroborated by anecdotal evidence from apple growers in western New York State.
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Claims 7
Claim · model-written summary
In the Gala orchard, fire blight never developed beyond the inoculated tree after mechanical thinning or pruning.
- Taxon
- apple
Malus domesticat0 - Material
- Galae1
- Treatment
- thinning or pruninge1
- Interactor
- Erwinia amylovora
Erwinia amylovorae0pathogen - Outcome
- diseasee1
- Direction
- never developede1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Apple Orchards”
e0“caused by the bacterial pathogen Erwinia amylovora”
e1“In the ‘Gala’ orchard, disease never developed beyond the inoculated tree after thinning or pruning, which was unexpected for this highly susceptible cultivar”
Claim · model-written summary
In the Idared orchard, fire blight incidence was rarely different after mechanical thinning or pruning compared with untreated trees.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- mechanical thinning or mechanical pruninge2
- Outcome
- incidence of blossom or shoot blighte2
- Direction
- rarely differente2
- Comparator
- untreated treese2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Apple Orchards”
e2“incidence of blossom or shoot blight from the point source, represented as relative area under the disease progress curve, was rarely different for trees that underwent mechanical thinning or mechanical pruning compared with untreated trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Fire blight incidence was often reduced or eliminated when streptomycin or a B. subtilis biopesticide was applied within 24 h of mechanical thinning or pruning.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- streptomycin or the B. subtilis biopesticidee3
- Outcome
- incidence of blossom or shoot blighte2
- Direction
- reduced or eliminatede3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Apple Orchards”
e2“incidence of blossom or shoot blight from the point source, represented as relative area under the disease progress curve, was rarely different for trees that underwent mechanical thinning or mechanical pruning compared with untreated trees”
e3“it was often reduced or eliminated when the antibiotic streptomycin or the B. subtilis biopesticide was applied within 24 h of mechanical thinning or pruning”
Claim · model-written summary
Fire blight incidence dropped off quickly beyond the inoculated tree and was generally not observed beyond 10 to 15 m from the inoculated point source.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticat0
- Outcome
- incidence of fire blighte4
- Direction
- dropped off quicklye4
- Value
- 10 to 15 me4
- Qualifier
- beyond the inoculated treee4
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Apple Orchards”
e4“For both thinning and pruning, incidence of fire blight dropped off quickly beyond the inoculated tree in the ‘Idared’ orchard and generally was not observed in trees beyond 10 to 15 m from the inoculated point source”
Claim · model-written summary
Exponential and power law models fit to the disease progress curves predicted no fire blight beyond 10 m from the inoculated point source.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticat0
- Outcome
- predicted beyond 10 me5
- Value
- 10 me5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Apple Orchards”
e5“or predicted beyond 10 m by exponential and power law models fit to the disease progress curves”
Claim · model-written summary
Mechanical thinning early in bloom and pruning after terminal bud set show low risk for fire blight development and spread, especially with a subsequent bactericide.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- mechanical thinning and pruninge6
- Outcome
- low risk for fire blight development and spreade6
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Apple Orchards”
e6“demonstrate the low risk for fire blight development and spread by mechanical thinning and pruning when practiced under low-risk conditions—early in bloom for mechanical thinning and after terminal bud set (in August) for mechanical pruning—especially when paired with a subsequent bactericide application”
Claim · model-written summary
Mechanical thinning and pruning can be used safely in commercial apple production.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticae7
- Treatment
- mechanical thinning and pruninge7
- Outcome
- safe usee7
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Apple Orchards”
e7“This study demonstrates the safe use of mechanical thinning and pruning in commercial apple production”
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