Pear trees happen to be laden with problems, many of them carrying over from one growing season to another. If we practice sanitation and stick to a religious spray program, most of the problems can be stopped. What are the problems, you ask? We start with insects, particularly blister mites, pear psylla, European red mites, plum curculio and codling moths. Disease outbreaks include scab, leaf spot and fireblight.

Ideally, a thorough cleanup needs to be done in the fall after pear trees have lost their foliage. Rake all fallen leaves, most of which are diseased anyway. Dead branches should be pruned, cut up and disposed of. If not tackled in the fall, you must embark on a thorough cleanup in the spring before growth starts. One way or the other, sanitation is the cornerstone of successful fruit gardens.

Products you will need:

* All-Purpose fruit tree spray
* Captan 50% wettable powder
* Fireblight Control with Streptomycin Sulfate
* Superior Oil 70-second viscosity (alternate is Dormant Oil)

Spray Program

Dormant spray: This spray is made just before flower buds turn green or when buds have started to swell. Make sure air temperatures stay above 40 degrees when you spray. Apply Superior Oil to all limbs to destroy insect eggs that were deposited on branches last fall.

Cluster bud: Time this spray when blossom buds are separated in the cluster before they open. Scab and leaf spot dictate that you spray Wettable Sulfur and Captan to all branches.

Bloom spray: Fireblight disease will likely attack the blossoms, so you want to spray Streptomycin Sulfate to all flowers when 10 percent of the blossoms have opened. Check the label for the formula.

Petal-Fall: Spray when the last petals are falling from the flowers. You want to spray leaves and flowers with All-Purpose Fruit Tree Spray.

First Cover: This spray is generally made a week after petal-fall. Spray All-Purpose Fruit Tree Spray to tree leaves.

Second Cover: Target this spray 2 weeks after the first cover spray. Apply All-Purpose Fruit Tree Spray to tree leaves.

Third Cover: Spray 2 weeks after second cover. Apply All-Purpose Fruit Tree Spray to tree leaves.

Fourth Cover: This spray happens 2 weeks after third cover. Apply All-Purpose Fruit Tree Spray to tree leaves.