Bacterial fire blight affects many plants from the Rosaceae family, especially dangerous for pear, quince, apple, and rowan. Among ornamental plants, cotoneaster (Cotoneaster spp.) is particularly sensitive to this disease.
The disease starts with wilting flowers and young shoots. Under favorable weather conditions, the infection rapidly spreads along the tree trunk. Lesions appear on the bark of branches and trunks, leading to branch dieback and, ultimately, the death of the entire plant.
Erwinia amylovora is transmitted through plant material, where the infection can hide. From diseased trees, the infection can spread to healthy ones through air currents, birds, insects, wind, rain, irrigation, and pruning tools.
Using healthy certified planting material plays a crucial role in protecting fruit crops from bacterial fire blight.
Regular inspections of nurseries, commercial orchards, and decorative plantings are carried out to detect bacterial fire blight outbreaks, followed by laboratory studies of collected samples.
Preventive measures include selecting resistant varieties for planting, observing sanitary rules during tree pruning, and controlling pests.
Information about detected cases is sent to the Southern Interregional Administration of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance for further actions.
