Source: FRSESH PLAZA, 6/8/21

Fire blight is a bacterial pathogen that spreads easily during blooming season. It has the potential to kill not just individual apple trees, but entire orchards. It is of course not a new problem for apple growers, but it has been looming larger as the climate crisis brings longer, warmer and rainier springs that expand the window for it to infect trees. The disease poses a particular threat to cider apple growers. Terry Bradshaw, a research assistant professor at the University of Vermont, said they are at risk because the European varieties they rely on are biennial, making them especially vulnerable to fire blight.

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