Hi,
I have 3 new Pear whips planted this year close to an established quince. Initially the growth from the buds looked good however for one of the whips I noticed that the branch started going black and now is dead. The good news is that the tree is breaking new growth lower. I ended up trimming below the dead portion off as far down as I could. I am unsure how the tree could have been affected with this so early, I wonder if it could be another pathogen. It has been quite a dry summer for us overall too. Pictures below.
I then inspected the (what I think is a) quince and noticed that there is some disease on it as well which I think may be the source. The quince has never produced fruit larger than quarters. Picture of a diseased portion below
If this is fireblight should I keep the lower prunes and hope they stay or am I better off pulling them off and starting fresh next year. What does fireblight of roots look like?
To end on a Positive note The Summercrisp pear which was planted furthest from the quince is doing very well though.
I have been finding reading all the old topics in the forum very helpful!