Help Identifying Pear Tree Damage

General Fruit Growing
1

Hello all…

I have an Asian pear that I’ve put some grafts on. Last week I was looking at one of the grafted bud growth to rub off a few aphids and the new branch snapped clean off in my hand.

Upon looking closer there was a brown ring around the branch at the break point. It was a clean snap perpendicular to the branch at the ring.

Just walked out again and on another new graft growth stem there are two similar rings. I didn’t touch the branch for fear of breaking it.

It appears the stem had been cut on the surface all the way around to a shallow depth.

Since this is new growth there is no death wood so I hope the remaining stem is not cut off from nutrients like would happen on older wood of you were to remove the cambium layer all the way around.

Please see the attached photo.
Has anyone seen this and know what insect it is? I saw no insect when looking.

Thanks

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IMG_20230402_1817541888×4208 557 KB

2

It might be twig girdling beetles. Where are you located?

1 Like
3

South Louisiana.

I looked them up. It seems they aren’t active in spring down here, all the photos show damage to wooded growth as opposed to new first year growth, and I didn’t see stone fruit as trees they like.

But yes the girdling is the right word to describe the damage… I couldn’t think of the word when I posted.

Perhaps there is another variety of the girdling beetle I didn’t see online that matches.

Thanks for the reply.