fire blight

• fire-blight, fireblight

fire blight (countable and uncountable, plural fire blights)

1. (phytopathology) A bacterial plant disease, caused by Erwinia amylovora, that affects apples, pears and some other members of the Rosaceae family.
   • 1949, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Information Bulletin‎, page xv:

     Pear growers also often reported scab and fire blights as the most damaging diseases.

   • 2003, Viola Hanke, Klaus Geider, Klaus Richter, “Transgenic Apple Plants Expressing EPS-depolymerase: Evaluation of resistance to the phytopathogenic bacterium Erwinia amylovora”, in Indra K. Vasil, editor, Plant Biotechnology 2002 and Beyond: Proceedings of the 10th IAPTC&B Congress, page 153:

     This paper reports on the transformation of apple aimed on an improvement of resistance to fire blight. Fire blight is a serious disease, caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora, affecting apple, pear and other members of the Rosaceous family.

   • 2008, A. T. G. Elzebroek, Guide to Cultivated Plants‎, page 82:

     A very serious bacterial disease in North America and Europe is fire blight, which can be most destructive to pears. In the past, fire blight led to big losses in the USA, destroying established pear orchards in one season.