In a message dated 7/9/99 7:08:38 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

From:  Mustafa Civan <[log in to unmask]>
>   We have a problem here in Bursa in Turkey, where our bees
>  are.Some people don't allow to stay our bees in their villages area,
>  because of "fire blight" disease, which is seen on apple, pear,
>  quince trees.

    That's a good prescription for putting themselves out of the apple
business. You need ten to twenty bee visits to get a quality apple, because
each visit carries more pollen to the flower. If 8-10 seeds are fertilized,
you have the best possible apple. If 1-2 seeds are fertilized you most likely
will lose the apple in the June drop. If 3-4 seeds are fertilized you get a
small, poor tasting (starchy), often lopsided apple. For quality apple/pear
production you must maximize bee visits.  See the web pages below for more
complete information on pollination management.

>I searched this disease and have found that bees carry
>  the bacteria (Erwinia amylovora), which causes to this disease.Bees
>  aren't only carrier for this, birds, other insekts and wind carry
>  also this bacteria, but a lot of people believe here in that the
>  biggest problem is honey bee for their trees.   What should we
>  do? Because problem will be bigger, some people will exaggirate the
>  effects of honey bees and we can't control the situation

    This bacteria is always around and ready to infect susceptible trees. The
worst spread I've seen is always following hail storms. Most US fruit growers
immediately spray an antibiotic, if there is any hail. Honeybees can spread
it, but so do hundreds of other flying insects. Since honeybees are essential
for pollination, we have to deal with it in other ways.

   Overuse of nitrogen fertilizer is a good setup for fireblight damage. It
stimulates too much tree growth, and tender new tips are the main infection
sites. Don't put all the nitrogen on in the spring, only a small portion. The
rest can wait until you know you have a good fruit load, so the tree won't
put that nitrogen into woody growth.

    Dormant pruning (late winter/spring) is also a setup, because it
stimulates a lot of sucker (water sprout) growth, which is highly
susceptible.  More and more, the orchardists are pruning in late summer, when
it doesn't stimulate woody growth.

    Remove highly susceptible varieties and plant fireblight resistant
varieties. Keep good insect control, especially for pest insects that fly
from tree to tree. Insecticides must, however be used only in prebloom and
postbloom. Never poison during bloom, as this kills bees. Orchardists here
can get a heavy fine for pesticide misuse, if they spray during bloom.

   You can use the information from the pollination web pages to help people
understand pollination. For example pick out the poorest apples, and show
people that they don't have enough pollinated seeds, by slicing the apples
crossways to show the seed pockets. With a little practice, you can quickly
identify poorly pollinated apples on sight.

[log in to unmask]     Dave Green  Hemingway, SC  USA
The Pollination Scene:  http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
The Pollination Home Page:    http://www.pollinator.com

Jan's Sweetness and Light Shop    (Varietal Honeys and Beeswax Candles)
http://users.aol.com/SweetnessL/sweetlit.htm