Hi there, I have a Methley plum that I had to cut down two years ago because of massive infestation with blackknot. However, I left about 1 foot at the base of the trunk. This year it has so much growth it looks like a 2-3 year old tree. It was the best of my three backyard plum trees. HOWEVER, I noticed yesterday while fertilizing my other two plums and 3 peach trees, that there is a recurrent black knot involving the trunk just below the new growth. It is the size of a flattened baseball. It is somewhat cracked and sticky. I read your response to a womans post regarding same issue. For fear of releasing the spores with my cutting, could I first burn with a lighter the knots surface in an attempt to kill the spores, or would this damage the underlying viable tissue.
I really love this tree, the plums were phenomenal and the production was truly astonishing. Any additional advice would sincerely be appreciated.

Thank you,
Vince Dimerc, M.D.