Fire blight

Fire blight is a bacterial plant disease which attacks apple, pear and quince trees. The bacteria, carried by bees, enter blossoms, killing the tissue, and on susceptible species may move down the stem producing an extensive canker, where they overwinter. Certain apple and pear varieties have been driven out of intensive cultivation because of their susceptibility to this disease.

Fire blight first developed as a devastating disease a century ago in the apple and pear orchards of the USA.