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Mummy berry is the
most common blueberry disease. Shoot blight
is the first symptom after dormancy. Blossom infection does not appear
until the fruit begins to ripen. The berries begin to shrivel and turn
a pinkish color will fall to the ground, shrivel, turn dark brown and
become pumpkin-shaped. Use a Mist Sprayer to apply fungicides to the
bushes prebloom and
during bloom to provide excellent control.
Fruit Rot disease is caused by
fungi.that infect fruit at any time after bloom, but do not usually
become visible until berries begin to ripen. Infected ripe berries are
soft and leaky, or may have masses of fungal spores growing on them.
These spores can spread to adjacent ripe, healthy berries and cause
them to rot after harvest. The main problem with fruit rot diseases is
that most of them can remain dormant and disease symptoms do not show
up until after the fruit has been harvested. Postharvest decay is a
serious problem as losses can approach 100% and may result in lower
prices for the growers due to the poor quality of the fruit.
Fusicoccum Canker and
Phomopsis
Canker are fungal diseases. Infected stems develop lesions
that are found in the lower third of the
bush, especially in the crown area. They contain small black
pimple-like fungal fruiting bodies called pycnidia. The pycnidia
contain conidiospores that are spread
by splashing rain. Infection eventually results in
wilting and dieback of the
whole stem. The disease cycle starts at about bud-break in the spring
and new infections
continue to occur throughout the growing season each time it rains,
until leaves drop in autumn. Use a Mist
Sprayer throughout the season to provide
control.
Botrytis Blight is
a
sporadic fungal disease that can cause considerable crop loss. The
first symptom is a blossom cluster blight similar to the shoot blight
caused by Mummyberry disease. It causes dead leaves in the
Mulberry bush.
Powdery Mildew is a
thin
spider web-like fungus that will normally appear in mid-summer. Leaves
appear somewhat puckered and in late summer, circular reddish-brown
spots appear on the top and underside of the leaves. Conidiospores
spread the disease throughout the field. During the late summer and
autumn, small round black fruiting bodies 1/32 to1/16 inch in diameter
develop on the surface of the webby fungal growth on the leaves. These
fruiting bodies are called cleistothecia. The cleistothecia are a means
of overwintering by the causal fungus. All cultivars are susceptible to
powdery mildew. Jersey cultivar is the most susceptible.
Shoestring Disease
is a
very common viral disease in blueberries that is spread
from bush-to-bush by the blueberry aphid which causes
major bush and crop loss. Leaves on infected bushes show strap-like,
narrow, elongated reddish streaks and the fruit on infected bushes is a
reddish-purple color, instead of the normal blue color. Use a
Mist Sprayer to keep the blueberry aphid down to near zero
population by using well-timed insecticide applications with first
spray in early to mid-June when the first aphids are found on the
succulent shoot terminals growing from the crown. Apply follow-up
sprays at two or three week intervals if aphids begin to increase. Good
spray coverage is essential.
Blueberry Insect
Pests
Blueberry Maggot is
one of the main
blueberry pests. Small flies lay their eggs in the fruit and each egg
hatches into a small white larva, called a maggot, which feeds on the
inside of the fruit. Infested fruit will fall to the ground, the maggot
enters the soil, pupates and overwinters and repeats the cycle as the
adult flies leave the soil in the next year.
Cranberry Fruitworm,
a serious pest of blueberries in the eastern
United States, will develop within as many as eight berries before
completing its larval stages. Cranberry fruitworm larvae migrate
towards the stem end of the fruit, enter, and begin to feed. As they
move from berry to berry they will tie the berries together with a
silken web. The cranberry fruitworm leaves excrement within the
tunnels, often spilling out and clinging to the silk webbing.
Blueberry Gall Midge
adults are very small flies that lay their eggs in the scales of flower
buds after the buds
begin to expand. Flower buds dry up and disintegrate within about
two weeks after
infestation. High levels of flower bud abortion may occur during winter
and early spring. The severity of damage varies from year to year and
tends to be worse after mild winters and in more southern locations.
Vegetative meristems may also be infested and killed or damaged leaving
only very short shoots with a few highly distorted leaves.
Japanese Beetle adults and
larvae cause severe
plant damage and is considered a serious pest
agricultural crops, fruit, garden, landscape, and ornamental species.
Adults feed on flowers, foliage and fruit. The adult feeding damage on
foliage usually results in skeletonization
Thrips cause
fruit scars.
The adult female will 150-200 eggs
in the plant tissue. The adult and first two larval instars are the
only life stages that feed on the plant. Flower thrips will feed on
pollen, styles, ovaries, petals and fruit. Thrips feed on curls and
deforms buds and leaves.
Leafrollers are the
larvae small moths that roll leaves for shelter and often tie together
blossoms and feed on them in the early season. Leafrollers can cause
significant losses if they are feeding on the blossoms.
Chafers and Weevils
are beetles early season blueberry pest that feed on leaves and
developing buds.
Leafhoppers are
found on the stems or undersides of leaves, where they feed by piercing
the surface of the plant and sucking plant juices. They do the most
damage when they make a slit in the stem in which to lay their eggs.
Some leafhoppers threaten blueberry production by transmitting
blueberry stunt mycoplasma.
Aphids feed on sap on the
undersides of the youngest leaves and on tender shoots. Aphids
reproduce very rapidly explode to cover stems and leaves. Aphids also
transmit blueberry shoestring virus and should be controlled with
regular insecticide applications.
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- Anthracnose fruit rot (ripe rot)
- Armillaria root rot
- Bacterial canker
- Botryospaeria stem blight
- Botryospaeria stem canker
- Botrytis blight and fruit rot
- Crown gall
- Cylindrocladium rot
- Dodder
- Leaf mottle
- Leaf rust
- Leaf spot diseases (various)
- Mosaic
- Mummy berry
- Necrotic ringspot
- Nematodes
- Phomopsis canker and twig blight
- Phyllosticta leaf spot, fruit rot, berry speckle
- Phytophthora root rot
- Postharvest fruit rots
- Powdery mildew
- Red leaf
- Red ringspot
- Ripe rot
- Scorch
- Shock
- Shoestring
- Sooty blotch
- Stunt
- Tomato ringspot
- Witches’ broom
Aphids
Blueberry
blossom weevil
Blueberry
bud mite
Blueberry
gall midge
Blueberry
maggot
Blueberry
mealybug
Blueberry
stem gall wasp
Blueberry
tip borer
Cherry
fruitworm
Cranberry
fruitworm
Cutworms
Flower
thrips
Fruitworms
Gypsy moth
Japanese
beetle
Leafrollers
Obliquebanded
leafroller
Oriental
beetle
Plum
curculio
Scales
Sharpnosed
leafhopper
Spanworms
White-marked
tussock
moth
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