Take a look at the pictures pls. First one is Harrow Sweet pear graft. Can somebody tell me what’s going on with leaves? Rust?
Second picture is of Harrow Sweet pear that I planted on April 1st. It was in a bad mood for the longest time. Didn’t show any growth at all. Around mid June it started showing growth but the leaves don’t look normal to me. It has clusters of tiny leaves that look like Pom poms. What’s going on here ? What should I do to make it push some real leaves?
The second tree with small leaves looks like Roundup damage. Any chance of that?
No. Haven’t used round up in that area. It has nothing to do with transplanting and refusing to break dormancy?
I don’t know. Maybe another herbicide?
On that first pic look up fabraea leaf spot pictures, see if it matches. I get that in my orchard here in montgomery cty. It is not something you want to get started because it suppresses fruit bud formation.
I’m going to make a guess. I recently had a late bloom cluster on my Harrow Sweet that looked similar to yours. The buds were very small (hard to see) and I just plucked them out. Harrow sweet sets a lot of buds.
Sometimes pears do that funky leaf thing. I think I once heard it called witches broom. Usually its only spotty like the way Bill had it, I have had it a few times over the years myself. Maybe someone else will know more about it. I heard it is good to remove it since it can spread, but since your whole tree is that way you don’t want to do that. It could also be herbicide.
I don’t know about the top one, I am wondering if the graft may not be happy, unhappy leaves get all kinds of spotting on them. It looks like a pear graft on an apple - ?
The first picture looks like insect damage. Pear psylla or Pear rust mite is my guess.
I agree with Andy that the first pic, the top leaves looked like fabraea spot with a few lo wer ( darker green) looked like a few pear rust.
Never have had the look on the second pic on my HS. I am inclined to agree with @fruitnut that it was a tree’s response to some chemical injury.
Yes it is grafted on to a Fuji with winter banana in the middle.
I guess for this season I’m out of luck? Hopefully the pear with funky leaves will come back next year with normal leaves.
For the sick looking pear I’ll look up the possibilities you all mentioned and treat for next year.
The second picture looks like a “witches broom” which is caused by a virus or phytoplasma. I had a similar condition on my lilac and it started on one branch and over 2-3 years it spread to the whole bush. I had similar growth on apple scion and I promptly removed it. You can watch it but it is highly unlikely that it’ll recover.
Maria that is the condition I was trying to remember… On the plus side a few of my pear “brooms” did recover on their own. The concern I have about Susu’s tree is it has no good leaves and may not make enough energy to get through the winter.
Re: the first picture, I had an apple that died this spring and as it was dying it looked like your pear. That is why I am thinking it could be a graft issue.
Totally bad news guys 
So much for growing my own pears… I do want to hold on to them though. These are my only pears. Hopefully this won’t spread to everything else.
I don’t want to go against what others have said here but I agree with some of the comments about other diseases. Though there is other possibilities that presents the same symptoms pear psylla and fabraea leaf spot, rust, and scab should not be ruled out. Take a look at these links
http://jenny.tfrec.wsu.edu/opm/displaySpecies.php?pn=120
http://extension.psu.edu/plants/tree-fruit/insects-mites/factsheets/pear-psylla
http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/r603301111.html
https://ask.extension.org/questions/135012
https://pnwhandbooks.org/node/3210/print
http://jenny.tfrec.wsu.edu/opm/displaySpecies.php?pn=310
I can definitely see rust in the first picture as shown here its a text book example in the Philadelphia area http://www.savatree.com/timely-tips/2014/fall/your-neck-of-the-woods.html. Rust can cause witches broom Field Manual of Diseases on Trees and Shrubs - R. Kenneth Horst - Google Books
If I had to make a guess as the culprit I would say though a virus could cause the issue my feeling is its not a virus and it is pear rust that caused all of the symptoms shown in both pictures. I say that 100% based off your area and the 2 pictures. Pear rust is difficult to control but preferable to a virus http://www.seattletimes.com/life/qa-what-can-be-done-to-stop-pear-rust/. You might see this link Rust Mite Control: Information For Treatment And Pruning Rust Mite Damage and this one http://organicgrowersschool.org/2009/ask-ruth-rust-on-apple-tree/
Thank you. I will read through those articles.
I deal with psyla, scab, fab and blister mites on a regular basis at several sites. Symptoms don’t match photos. I would run with Scott on this one.
Alan,
I definitely see rust on those pears like I said I’m 100% sure. Not going against what others said just saying rust is there and can have those symptoms. They have a lot of rust problems in that area so if the trees are removed and others put in a different spot the rust will be back. Harrow sweet is highly resistant to rust so that is a serious rust problem there.
Yeah, there is a bit of rust- didn’t mean to contradict that, but in my experience, not enough to bare consequence. It is not what is depriving the graft shoot of chlorophyll.
Yes Alan you definitely are right and I don’t know the other part of what’s wrong there. Rust presents some strange symptoms at times though like you feel there could be more going on there.
