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["Brungardt, Sam" <Sam.Brungardt@state.mn.us>]

Title: Chlorotic pear trees in Kansas: need advice

I'd like some information/observations/advice on a situation that has developed with 3 pear trees at my mother's home in Hays, Kan. (located about midway between Kansas City and Denver).  I planted the 3 trees about 20 years ago.  They are Harvest Queen, Magness and Shinko, all on OHxF333.   The Shinko and Harvest Queen have been very productive; the Magness tree hardly produces any fruit, probably the result of poor pollination/fertilization, even though there are quite a few pear trees in nearby yards.

About four or so years ago we started to notice that the growth on the Shinko was chlorotic.  About two years ago, the same symptoms appeared on the other two cultivars.  I'm sure this is the result of a high native soil pH (probably 7.0 or 7.5) and irrigating with water that is high in dissolved salts.  I've tried spraying the trees with Sequestrene (chelated iron), but cannot seem to correct the problem in the growing season they are sprayed, much less permanently.

Does anyone have suggestions how I might correct the situation.  Dousing the soil with aluminum sulfate? -- Sam Brungardt, St. Paul, Minn.