Jan 18, 2012
Michigan apple growers seeking OK to use antibiotic to fight fire blight

According to a story in Jan.16 edition of Great Lakes Echo, Michigan officials are seeking permission to use an unregistered pesticide to fight fire blight on up to 10,000 acres of apples trees. The disease has become resistant to current streptomycin treatments.

If approved, the spray-on fungus killer, kasugamycin, would be used to control fire blight, a highly contagious disease that could easily wipe out expanses of Michigan’s high-density apple orchards. Some apple varieties are resistant to the disease, but those varieties are not those most preferred by consumers, according to the report. Kalamazoo Gazette