Phil Brannen

  • Botrytis Management after the Cold Event

    The following information is of value to commercial blueberry producers in the southern part of the state or anywhere that blueberries are in bloom.  We just had a couple of nights of cold temperatures (<25 F) in most parts of our blueberry belt, so this message is especially targeted for those producers.  Where cold-damaged blooms/shoots…

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  • I have recently had a few questions relative use of Sulforix on sites with no history of Exobasium leaf and fruit spot.   For the most part, if your blueberries have never shown Exobasidium symptoms before, it might be overkill to apply Sulforix.  We think the disease builds up over a period of 2-3 years,…

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  • Timing of Lime Sulfur Applications

    We are having numerous questions concerning the use of Sulforix or lime sulfur at this specific time.  For the remainder of this note, I will reference lime sulfur only, but know that I am referring to either lime sulfur or Sulforix when I do so. Relative an application of lime sulfur at this time (early…

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  • 2014 Mummy Berry Epidemic in Progress*

    As blueberry development is currently in full swing, it is a good time to review some aspects of the mummy berry situation from spring 2014. Where fungicide applications were minimal or absent in 2013 and 2014, mummy berry was back with a vengeance (Fig. 1); this included some organic sites. However, most producers seem to…

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  • We have not had a major freeze on our rabbiteye blueberries, and I am hopeful that cold damage will be minimal this year. Cold damage (even a light frost) substantially increases the likelihood of mummy berry disease. However, even without cold damage, we still have rainfall and temperature conditions that can combine to increase infection…

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  • The following information applies to our major commercial blueberry production region in the southern part of the state, but other parts of the state will soon progress into a timeframe in which mummy berry disease could be an issue. Based on the best information we can derive from the literature at large, cold-damaged, exposed tissue…

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  • Proline (fungicide) Registration for Blueberries

    Proline (prothioconazole), a Bayer product, has been registered for blueberries. This is another demethylation inhibitor (DMI), FRAC Group 3 fungicide – similar to Indar, Orbit, and Quash, though it is listed in a triazolinthione chemical group, as opposed to a triazole group. In Georgia, we do not have blueberry research data with this fungicide, but…

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  • Last year, I visited a blueberry site with significant mummy berry pressure in one of our southern Georgia counties.  Based on the producer spray records, the materials applied and application timings were on target; there initially appeared to be no good reason for the level of mummy berry observed – assuming all was accurate.  At…

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  • Exobasidium leaf and fruit spot has been an infrequent and geographically dispersed disease of blueberries in the Southeast.  However, during the 2011-2013 harvest seasons, we have had frequent reports of the disease in rabbiteye and highbush blueberries. Although scattered, where Exobasidium leaf and fruit spot occurs it can cause significant losses (60-70% in specific locations),…

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