Stony Pit
Graft-transmissible virus (causal virus not definitively identified)
4 host plants
Last updated
This profile synthesizes data from multiple published sources. Expert field review is in progress.
You'll see severe fruit pitting, dimpling, and deformation on pears (especially 'Bosc'), with excessive stone-cell development below pits. A graft-transmissible virus causes this under specific climatic conditions. The disease is sporadic in occurrence. Use only certified virus-tested trees and remove infected trees completely. Prevention through disease-free propagation is the only control.
Remove and replace with a tree that has been tested and found free of all known viruses. Establish new plantings only with certified virus-tested trees.
Quick Reference
Management
Specific climatic conditions appear to trigger expression; sporadic appearance suggests temperature/moisture/stress modulate symptoms; trees symptomatic one year may be symptom-free the next
Cultural Controls
- The use of certified virus-tested (and found to be free of all known viruses) planting material is the preferred strategy for protection from this disease. Thermotherapy (24 to 32 days at 38°C) and/or apical meristem culture have been used to eliminate various viruses. References Posnette, A.F. and Cropley, R. 1956. Apple mosaic viruses. Host reaction and strain interference. Journal of Horticultu