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Article: Fire blight control, nature's way. (biocontrol of fire blights)
- Article from:
- Agricultural Research
- Article date:
- January 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 U.S. Government Printing Office. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Naturally occurring organisms may offer effective alternatives to standard treatments.
Apples and pears are big business for both large and small fruit growers in the Pacific Northwest. Washington, Oregon, and California produce more than 6 million tons of the two fruits annually, worth more than $2 billion.
Research by ARS and university scientists is helping the growers manage one of the industry's major disease challenges, fire blight. In addition to the standard chemical controls, growers are beginning to have access to another tool: biological control.
The bacterium Erwinia amylovora causes the blight. Wind, rain, and insects carry the bacteria to ...