North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Road's End Farm <organic87@frontiernet.net>]

Anton,

Maybe you've already done this, but if not: I'd immediately contact both your 
local Extension office (and any state agency they refer you to) and the 
manufacturer of the Azera. I would also take samples, and try to get 
Extension to do so also. I don't know whether the material sold to you may 
have been contaminated with something.

Good luck,



-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 6A now I think
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale


On Apr 18, 2015, at 12:50 PM, Anton Callaway wrote:

> Dear fellow pear growers,
> 
> I just wanted to warn other readers on this group about Azera insecticide 
> from MGK.  It is an OMRI-approved insecticide that's basically a mixture of 
> azadirachtin (the main active ingredient in neem oil) & pyrethrins.  I 
> sprayed a mixture of Azera and Serenade at the recommended rates on my 
> orchard on Sunday and by Tuesday, several cultivars of pear with European 
> heritage (P. communis) were completely black.  The damage is not 
> fireblight.  The symptoms are quite different and it is hitting certain 
> blight-resistant cultivars while blight-susceptible cultivars right next to 
> them are unaffected.  I will compile a complete list this weekend, but I 
> wanted to send a note quickly so that others can avoid the damage that I 
> experienced.
> 
> I think the trees will survive, but I'll get no fruit from them.
> 
> I've been orcharding in the Southeastern U.S. since 1979 and have never 
> seen anything like it.  I've sprayed this same orchard with neem oil and 
> pyrethrins (separately) and neem oil & Serenade together for several years 
> in the past with no ill effects.  Other species were not affected at all.  
> I have one tree with 6 cultivars grafted in it.  One pure communis cultivar 
> has all of its leaves killed and another communis X pyrifolia cultivar has 
> slight damage while the other 4, including one pure pyrifolia ('Koyama') 
> are completely fine.
> 
> 'Potomac' and 'Blake's Pride' are severely affected.
> 
> Anton
> Zone 8; The North Carolina Piedmont
>