MSU Extension Integrated Pest Management

Pear vein yellows

Disease

Pear vein yellows

Apple Stem Pitting Virus (ASPV)

Distribution: Common to all fruit-growing regions in eastern North America; it is the most common virus disease of pear.

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Faint, yellow vein banding, particularly of the secondary veins on current year’s growth, is the most common symptom. Red mottling or the development of necrotic spots of various intensities may also accompany vein-banding symptoms (A); the specific symptoms are dependent upon the particular strain of the virus.

• Crops Affected: pears

  Management

  The disease is almost exclusively managed in the nursery through the use of disease-free propagating material. In the orchard, trees displaying symptoms one year may not show symptoms in subsequent years.