Saskatoon serviceberry pests and diseases: how to recognise them

At a glance

How to grow saskatoon serviceberry · All pests and diseases

Pests

• Two-spotted spider miteFine pale stippling or mottling on the upper leaf surface; leaves may turn bronze.Also called: red spider mitePhoto: Gilles San Martin from Namur, Belgium, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Diseases

• Brown rot and blossom wiltBlossoms and leaves on fruiting spurs turn brown and shrivel at flowering time.Photo: Rasbak, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
• Fire blightBlossoms wilt and turn brown to black at flowering time.Photo: Sebastian Stabinger, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
• RustPale spots on the upper leaf surface, with raised powdery pustules mostly underneath; on beans they often have a yellow halo.Photo: Rasbak, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Which saskatoon serviceberry problems need quick action?

These spread or do lasting harm fast; check the plants and start treatment the day you see them.

• Brown rot and blossom wilt: A soft brown rot spreads over the fruit, with buff pustules often in concentric rings.
• Fire blight: Young shoots wilt and bend over at the tip like a shepherd's crook.

Plants with many of the same problems

• Pear (3)
• Apple (2)
• Chrysanthemum (2)
• Daylily (2)
• Green Beans (2)
• Hollyhock (2)
• Peach (2)
• Geranium (2)

Which plants each problem affects: sources

The links between these problems and the plant were checked against these pages.

1. plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/amelanchier-alnifolia/
2. ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7414.html
3. rhs.org.uk/disease/fireblight