Several people have now suggested fireblight, which is certainly a
distinctpossibility.
It did not initially occour to me as, while we often here get severe
attacks on pears here, our local strain on apples is so mild it rarely
kills more than the odd spur here and there and is generally an uncommon
problem.
One treatment which I can suggest, which is really not dependent on what
problem is involved, is to cut off all the dead ends several inches
into the apparently sound wood. This would deal effectively with any
actual pathogens such as the Fireblight bacteria or the mildew fungus
but would do no harm if the trouble is due to root inadeqacy or some
other non-pathogenic cause.
You would be wise to trash or burn all wood you take off (definitely
don't dump in the compost heap). and in case it IS fireblight surface
sterilze your tools and gloves/hands with a bactericide before you do
any further work in the garden with them.
--
Tony & Moira Ryan,
Wainuiomata, North Island, NZ. Pictures of our garden at:-
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cherie1/Garden/TonyandMoira/index.htm
