MSU Extension Apples

The apple or pear flower is a critical site for multiplication of the fire blight pathogen Erwinia amylovora. When temperatures are conducive for growth (70s to low 80s optimal), E. amylovora populations can grow to one million cells per flower within one to two days. As these populations grow, remember they will also be very quickly disseminated among flowers by pollinators. Thus, warm and sunny days during bloom can very quickly lead to high percentages of flowers colonized with incredibly large fire blight populations.

The fire blight pathogen only grows well on flower stigmas, not on other flower parts. These bacteria do not need rain to grow on the stigma. They do, however, require free moisture, as little as 0.01 inch rain,  to move from the stigma tip down the outside of the style to the base of the flower where infection occurs through the nectaries. Blossom blight infection can really kick start a fire blight epidemic because these infected flower clusters will ooze more inoculum out and bacteria will be spreading internally through the tree.

There are three antibiotics available for fire blight management during bloom. Below is information about these antibiotics and suggestions for best use of these materials. These suggestions will differ based on the occurrence of streptomycin resistance in the fire blight pathogen in your orchard or in your region.

Streptomycin

Streptomycin is an excellent fire blight material, provides forward control for two to four days prior to rain events and will be effective for blossom blight control if applied within 12-24 hours after a rain event. Streptomycin is used at a rate of 24 ounces per acre and should be applied with a non-ionic surfactant such as Regulaid (1 pint per 100 gallons). The use of the surfactant enhances deposition of the antibiotic on flowers and increases the chances that the critical stigma targets will be hit.

Note: If streptomycin is reapplied within three to four days after a previous application, Regulaid can be omitted to avoid phytotoxicity – usually viewed as yellowing of leaf margins. Streptomycin is partially systemic and can reach fire blight bacteria that have entered flower nectaries.

Kasumin

Kasugamycin is an antibiotic related to streptomycin. There is no cross-resistance between Kasumin and streptomycin as Kasumin controls streptomycin-resistant strains of E. amylovora.

Kasumin is an excellent fire blight material, provides forward control for two to four days prior to rain events and will be effective for blossom blight control if applied within 12 hours after a rain event. Kasumin is used at a rate of 2 quarts (64 fluid ounces) per acre in 100 gallons of water per acre and should be applied with a non-ionic surfactant such as Regulaid (1 pint per 100 gallons). Read the Kasumin label carefully as there are some specifications, including:

• Do not apply Kasumin in orchards in which the soil has been fertilized with animal manure.
• Do not apply after petal fall.
• Do not use alternate row applications.

The main difference between Kasumin and streptomycin is that Kasumin is not partially systemic like streptomycin is. Thus, Kasumin will not penetrate into the nectaries and will not be able to control an infection once the fire blight pathogen reaches the nectaries.

Oxytetracycline

Oxytetracycline is a good fire blight material and should be applied within one day prior to a rain event for best results. Oxytetracycline is bacteriostatic and does not kill fire blight bacteria, it only inhibits their growth. Thus, it has to be applied prior to rains where it can prevent growth on stigmas, but it can’t eliminate existing populations. Oxytetracycline is also highly sensitive to degradation by sunlight and much of the activity is lost within one to two days after application. Oxytracycline is best used as a 200 ppm solution (1 pound per 100 gallons) and should be applied with a non-ionic surfactant such as Regulaid (1 pint per 100 gallons). Per the label, a maximum of 1.5 pounds per acre can be applied, using 150 gallons water in this case.

Two slightly different formulations of oxytetracycline are sold: Mycoshield (OxyTc-calcium complex) and FireLine (OxyTc-hydrochloride). The FireLine formulation is a bit more soluble than Mycoshield and has performed slightly better for blossom blight control in head-to-head comparisons.

Antibiotic use for blossom blight management

Fire blight predictive models such as MaryBlyt or Cougar Blight should be used as guides for timing management decisions. The output of the MaryBlyt model, for example, is the epiphytic infection potential (EIP) number, which is an estimator of the risk of blossom blight infection. The higher the number, the larger the infection risk. I would place forecasted EIP numbers into four categories of risk:

1. Low to moderate (40 < EIP < 70)
2. Moderate to high (70 < EIP < 100)
3. High (EIP > 100)
4. Epidemic potential (EIP > 200)

When the infection risk is moderate to high, high or of epidemic potential, only streptomycin or Kasumin can be expected to provide adequate blossom blight control. These two antibiotics provide the best blossom blight control and also reduce or eliminate most of the fire blight inoculum from flowers. During these types of high-risk conditions, the spray interval for streptomycin or Kasumin is usually predicated by the occurrence of rainfall. Very high EIPs (greater than 200) also necessitate additional antibiotic applications at shorter intervals. Finally, remember the overall risk increases as bloom progresses as the fire blight pathogen is building up populations on flowers over time. In addition, the more open flowers there are increases fire blight risk, provides more sites for pathogen growth and increases the number of unprotected flowers (flowers opening since the last spray).

When the EIP is high and rain events are forecasted, the application of streptomycin or Kasumin would be best about 24 hours before the rain event and then followed up about one to two days after the rain event. Subsequent spray applications will be based on current and future conditions. For example, if temperatures cool significantly and EIPs are reduced to low to moderate risk values, sprays can be held off. If EIPs remain high, a third application should be made within two to four days based on the occurrence of wet or dry conditions.

Oxytetracycline is best used when the infection risk is low to moderate (EIP less than 70). Under warmer conditions when E. amylovora is capable of very rapid growth on flower stigmas, oxytetracycline can be overwhelmed by the pathogen and fail to provide adequate control. In addition, the incidence of shoot blight infection is typically higher in oxytetracycline-treated trees compared to streptomycin- or Kasumin-treated trees because the innate activity of this antibiotic is the lowest of the three and its effect on inoculum reduction is the lowest.

In the absence of streptomycin resistance, streptomycin is the best choice for fire blight management. While the effectiveness of streptomycin and Kasumin are essentially equivalent in the inoculated blossom blight control tests that I have conducted over a seven-year period, the partial systemic nature of streptomycin gives it an advantage in that it can reach internal populations of E. amylovora that Kasumin cannot. Streptomycin is also significantly cheaper than Kasumin. Long-term evidence from around the Midwest and eastern United States suggests that if streptomycin use is limited to a maximum of three to four applications per season, and only used during the bloom period, then the chances of streptomycin resistance development are very low.

The main risk factor for streptomycin resistance development is an increased number of applications per season above four and regular use during the summer for shoot blight control. This use pattern increases the chances of mutation of the fire blight pathogen to streptomycin resistance or acquisition of a streptomycin-resistance gene from the indigenous microflora in orchards.

A resistance management strategy for streptomycin can be used; the best strategy would be to alternate applications of streptomycin and Kasumin. Michigan State University Extension advises that a tank-mix strategy of using streptomycin and oxytetracycline is not a resistance management strategy. Since the oxytetracycline is not killing bacterial cells, it would not kill any streptomycin-resistant cells that might arise; it would only temporarily prevent their growth.

In streptomycin-resistance situations, Kasumin is the antibiotic of choice and is best used in advance of moderate to high risk conditions. This is because where we have detected streptomycin resistance in orchards in Michigan, the incidence of resistant bacterial pathogen strains is usually very high to 100%. Thus, streptomycin should not be used in these situations because it will have no effect on the pathogen. If the disease risk is low to moderate, oxytetracycline is also an effective substitute for streptomycin in orchards where streptomycin resistance occurs.

Summary of antibiotic use for fire blight management

The target of antibiotic sprays for fire blight control is the stigma surface, style and base of the flower. Adding a non-ionic surfactant such as Regulaid to antibiotic sprays increases the chances of deposition on target surfaces. The best timing for all antibiotics is to arrive prior to the arrival of fire blight bacteria because these arriving populations are typically small and can be readily controlled if the antibiotic is already present. However, streptomycin and Kasumin can be used effectively after E. amylovora cells have arrived and started growing on stigmas.

When EIPs predict potential high risk to epidemic conditions, only streptomycin or Kasumin will be effective for blossom blight control. Under these conditions, the two most important considerations are very tight spray intervals and excellent spray coverage.