The tree was once again covered with blooms, and while there were hardly any insects on them when I looked, I guess there were enough to do the job. The little tree looked like it was going to set a bunch of apples again.
But one afternoon as I made my usual round through the yard and garden, I noticed some wilted leaves and withered up fruits. It didn't look good at all, but I told myself that probably it was just damage from all of the strong winds we had been having.
But after a few more days, it was apparant that something was badly wrong with the little tree.
More and more leaves are drooping down, wilting, then turning brown. On a few of the limbs, it has affected almost every leaf.
And even some of the leaves that are still green have turned brown at the base - they will eventually wilt and turn brown.
Sadly, I don't think there's anything I can do to save the tree.
I'm pretty sure the little Gala has been attacked by fire blight.
Fire blight is a bacterial infection caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora. There is no cure for it...all a person can do is try to manage the infection or cut the tree down and burn it.
Gala apples are listed by Cornell University as: Highly susceptible; Moderately susceptible; Very susceptible; Susceptible depending on which source you read. (Fire blight Susceptibility of Common Apple Varieties)
So I'll keep an eye on it this summer - maybe I'm wrong in my diagnosis. I told my dad the other day that I'm wrong 99 times out of 100, and the only time I'm right is when I say I'm wrong 99 times out of 100. I hope this is one of the 99 times I'm wrong.
But if I'm not, I'll have to make a hard decision: do I keep the tree and try to control the infection, or do I just take it out.
As sad as it would be, in my heart I know that taking the tree out is probably the best option.
I just hope the infection doesn't spread to the Enterprise apple tree (it has set some apples this spring!). Enterprise is supposed to have some resistance to fire blight, so I guess we'll find out how much it actually does have.
I'm already making plans to buy a new bare root tree this winter - a Liberty apple tree. Liberty is supposed to be one of the most disease resistant trees on the market.
And I need all the help I can get.