- 1). Inspect your Asian pear tree for signs of fungal diseases, winter damage or pests. Asian pear trees often exhibit signs of fungal diseases like fireblight, bacterial canker, black spot and scab. Look for discolored leaves and fruit, discolored blossoms, and brown or black streak wood.
- 2). Choose--according to the diameter of the branch or twig--a pair of bypass shears, lopping shears or pruning saw for removing fungal disease areas. Bypass shears should be used to prune areas the diameter of a pencil, branches must fit easily in the bit of lopping shears and a pruning saw can be employed on anything too large of the lopping shears. Dip your pruning tool in a mixture of 70-percent denatured alcohol and 30-percent water after each cut to avoid spreading the fungal infection.
- 3). Make a 45-degree-angle downward cut to half an inch above a healthy growing bud. Pick up all diseased fruit, limbs and leaves from underneath the tree and burn them or throw them away. By picking up the diseased portions of the tree, you prevent spreading the fungal infection.
- 4). Prune off any winter damage. To judge if a branch is dead, scrape the branch with a knife and look for whitish green to appear underneath. Branches that are brown underneath their branches are dead. Cut off to a healthy live section of the tree. Prune off any branches rubbing against each other or growing outside the designated growing area.
- 5). Cut newly planting seedlings after their first year of growing. Choose three or four healthy growing branches and prune off 50 percent of the branches' length. You should have six lower secondary branches that are 36 inches long for the next season that your tree goes dormant.
- 6). Create a central leader (horizontal growing branch) by cutting back any competing leaders.
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