FIREBLIGHT – a disease affecting apple and pear trees – is now so prevalent in the Island that it would be impractical to try to eradicate it, the government has conceded.
And the Island will now revoke its protected zone status, having last month dropped import restrictions designed to keep fireblight out.
A survey conducted in June revealed 66 local cases of the disease, which affects apple, pear and other related trees, leading the Infrastructure and Environment Department to conclude that it was “now established within Jersey rather than in small, isolated pockets that might have been managed manually in the past”.
In guidance issued by the department – and sent to organisations – the government said that there would be major resource implications in trying to eliminate the disease and that the Island could anyway be reinfected from the Continent or the UK the following season.
It says that most commercial fruit growers will be aware of the threat posed by the disease and would already be producing fruit using fireblight-resistant stocks and varieties.
It advises orchard owners to employ strict monitoring measures, ensuring plants and trees are checked regularly, and any symptomatic portions removed and disposed of.
Traditional Jersey cider apples are probably not resistant to fireblight, it says.
Fireblight takes its name from characteristics of the disease – it turns twigs, flowers, and leaves brown to black, as though they had been burned by fire. Flowers appear water-soaked, then droop and shrivel, turning brown or black, while fruits darken and shrivel.
