Solutions for Cedar Quince Rust

A couple of my Asian Pears have orange hair like growth on the fruit and the coloring has come off on a few to the nearby leaves.  

I suspect it is Cedar Quince Rust since it looks much like the pictures I see on a University of Florida horticulture page.  

I only had Neem Oil so I sprayed that in hopes to do something.

Are there any recommended treatments that I can do now?  Looks like a a little under a third of the fruit is infected.

I can get a picture tomorrow if needed.

So, the best solution is to prune effected parts of the trees in the fall/spring. You will want to give the trees more air by pruning any newer branches at less than a 45 degree angle to their parent.

You may also want to look into mulching around the trees, or growing a cover crop to prevent disease spread due to splashing of dirt during the rain.

Now that it is too late for pruning, neem oil will not hurt. A copper or sulfur fungicide may be your only other current option.

If you are strictly organic, you may look into the Korean Natural Farming methods.

"JADAM sulfur" seems to do a great job of fighting/preventing fungal infections as well as pests and other diseases.

The following video explains how to make the solution yourself, if you are interested. You may want to turn on english captions if you don't speak Korean.

Good luck!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jWGS73ixxM

Dennis Bangham wrote:A couple of my Asian Pears have orange hair like growth on the fruit and the coloring has come off on a few to the nearby leaves.  

I suspect it is Cedar Quince Rust since it looks much like the pictures I see on a University of Florida horticulture page.  

I only had Neem Oil so I sprayed that in hopes to do something.

Are there any recommended treatments that I can do now?  Looks like a a little under a third of the fruit is infected.

I can get a picture tomorrow if needed.

Thanks Hamilton,  
I would have to scale this down to make it something for my use.  I only have 5 trees and only 2 are affected.  I do have rock dust and sea-90 sea salt.  I would maybe try a 1/10th of the amount of the video.  Wonder if the chemical reaction would still create enough heat on the smaller amounts.

Dennis Bangham wrote:Thanks Hamilton,  
I would have to scale this down to make it something for my use.  I only have 5 trees and only 2 are affected.  I do have rock dust and sea-90 sea salt.  I would maybe try a 1/10th of the amount of the video.  Wonder if the chemical reaction would still create enough heat on the smaller amounts.

Yes! the reaction scales down, but be aware that smaller portions leave less variable tolerance in the formulation, so you have to get those numbers nearly perfect.

Thanks Hamilton,
Do you know where I can purchase the pure sulfur and NaOH?  The sulfur I can get is only 90% since it is a soil amendment.

Dennis Bangham wrote:Thanks Hamilton,
Do you know where I can purchase the pure sulfur and NaOH?  The sulfur I can get is only 90% since it is a soil amendment.

I have successfully used the 90% Sulfur, but I used more. Also, I have noticed that the ratios supplied for imperial units are not precise. I would recommend making all the reductions and conversions yourself.

For example, if you need 500 grams of 99.9 percent sulfur, then divide 500 grams by .9 to get 555.55 grams.

Thanks.  I was wondering if the impurities would cause a problem.  I guess they could be considered the minerals.

Dennis Bangham wrote:Thanks.  I was wondering if the impurities would cause a problem.  I guess they could be considered the minerals.

Sorry, meant to add that the NaOH I purchased was from amazon. I recommend getting them in small packages because once opened, it all should be used due to its hygroscopic nature.

There tends to be a little bit of a film from the 90% solution, just skim it off.

The given solutions are great. I would add to them oxygenated compost extracts as ground inoculant and leaf spray, and maybe some beneficial fungal slurries applied to a woody mulch layer.

The idea being this: there is room for a limited population in the microbiome of any given organism. If you inoculate that organism with beneficial microorganisms, you take up all the extra room, leaving none for pathogens or undesirable fungi. And if those microbiotic communities are bolstered, they out-compete the undesirables in the surrounding environment.

So there is also an argument for making up a lot more of the oxygenated compost extract and fungal slurry, and applying it to as much of the surrounding area as you can. The same argument might hold true for the aforementioned JADAM sulfur application. If you nurture a healthy supportive environment, you need do less spot treatment.

-CK

I will end up with more JADAM than I can use this season and can readily make ACT.  With ACT, I have to use it up as soon as it is made, so I end up pouring it on the base of my trees..

Hamilton,  Should I mix the sulfar mix with water before applying to the affected trees?  Wondering if this might damage a pump prayer unless I thin it out some.

Anyone know if JADAM sulfur gets mixed before use or is it straight out of the bottle?

Dennis Bangham wrote:Hamilton,  Should I mix the sulfar mix with water before applying to the affected trees?  Wondering if this might damage a pump prayer unless I thin it out some.

The sulfur is diluted 50-1000 times before using. Absolutely dilute the heck out of it!

I usually dilute about 100 times.