Is it fireblight?

Looks like it didn’t miss my orchard.
It is a first time I am dealing with it, so need some advice. I already cut two branches in last two weeks that were a bit more obvious on where to cut. Found two more today on the same very young tree. What I read says I need to cut branch that holds the infected branch. In my case this will probably mean to cut two scaffolds, and loose 50% of apples. Please advise, if I can do anything less damaging than that:
First branch, should it be cut at the trunk or just vertical shoot can be removed?:


Second one, cut on one of the colored lines or back to the trunk? :

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I’m sorry to see that. Your scaffolds are so nicely spaced and trained!

But I think you have to play safe. The red line is too close. The black line might be OK, but I’d worry that some infection was left. In fact, I’d be inclined to cut several inches below the blue line. Sometimes FB strikes stay localized, but I think your tree is telling you that it’s vulnerable.

Wait for somebody to confirm or dispute my approach though. I’d love to be wrong here!

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Galina,
Blackened twig on top of wilting leaves, looks like fire bright. What variety is this?

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Dire blight. I like that…!!

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It is Gingergold on B9 - very sad, it was my best tree so far… I wandering if it has to be cut now or can wait until after the harvest?

@fruitnut,

I hit wrong buttons often. I should have checked before hitting Reply…

Fire blight is really a dire situation :smile:

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Really depends on how fast it spreads. In a small grden like yours, you probably can monitor its condition daily.

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