Pear Rust

[hopalong]

My pear tree began to develop reddish orange spots on the upper leaf surfaces last spring and they spread rapidly.  The undersides of the leaves now have clusters of brown fungal growth on the undersides, with white spores protuding from them. Other pear tress on the allotment site have also been affected. The trees look terrible but the pears themselves are pretty good.

I gather this pear rust is, or used to be, uncommon in Britain but quite common elsewhere in Europe. Has anyone else suffered from it?

My pests book suggests that the spores develop on juniper bushes and are then borne on the wind to affect nearby pear trees. The only really effective remedy is to remove any nearby juniper bushes. But there are none anywhere near my plot as far as I can see. Does anyone have any other solutions.

[hopalong]

[thifasmom]

i know little to nothing of this, i read the RHS advice on the matter and they say the samething  you have already found, but may i suggest as a added precaution, you burn the leaf drop as i would assume the fungus might overwinter on the leaves to reinfect next year. others I'm sure will come along to suggest more or right me if I'm wrong :).

in case you haven't seen the RHS link here it is:
http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles1001/pear_rust.asp

[jennym]

You definitely need to destroy the old leaves if you want to control rust. If there are other pear trees on the site with rust, they'll keep the disease going if they aren't dealt with. Make sure you pick up all dead leaves on the ground too. When you first see small orange spots on fresh leaves next year, pick them off and take them away. Fungicides help, but don't necessarily cure - the best some folk can do is to minimise the amount of damage rust does to the tree.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Hope for better weather next year. The last two summers have been ideal for fungus infections