Grower priorities and rapid fire blight detectionOut of 125 growers at the Western NY tour, only 3 growershad previously sent samples to confirm fire blight symptomsat the remote diagnostic labs. None of the 33 growers atHighland, New York, had ever used lab diagnostic assays toidentify fire blight in their orchards. Both groups of growersresponded that they had a high confidence in the accuracy ofvisual detection of fire blight, and they intended to use appropriatetreatments after visual symptoms appear that look likefire blight. The length of time between seeing potential fireblight in the orchard and waiting for test results was alsomentioned as a barrier to pursue a lab test. Most growersindicated that they preferred to act aggressively after detectingfire blight-like symptoms, rather than risk losses from fireblight.