Recent Posts
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Over the past few weeks, we have received several reports of flatheaded borer infestation in blueberry orchards. The flatheaded borers are a complex of over 600 species of beetles in the United States. The adult flatheaded borers (Fig. 1) are metallic wood boring beetles which are perhaps the most serious pests attacking a wide range…
Posted in: Pest Management -
By: D. Scott NeSmith The 2014 blueberry season is underway, and the cold weather has certainly had an impact on our crop. The deep cold has been beneficial in giving a high number of chill hours; however, the length of cold has slowed warming and subsequent plant development. Therefore, at the time of this writing (April…
Posted in: Variety Selection -
The spotted wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) is an invasive and economically important pest of many soft-skinned fruits such as blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, and other. Since its first detection in California in 2008, SWD spread rapidly across the United States. It was first found in Georgia in 2010 and since…
Posted in: Pest Management -
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…
Posted in: Disease Management -
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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Dr. Jim Ballington, North Carolina State University blueberry breeder, announced the advanced selection ‘Pinnacle’ (US 508) is available for trials. ‘Pinnacle is a collaboration between NCSU and USDA-ARS and is a cross of NC 1408 (‘Elizabeth’ x US 75) X ‘Bluechip’ made by A. D. Draper at Beltsville, MD. ‘Pinnacle’ has demonstrated an early ripening,…
Posted in: Variety Selection -
I hope everyone learned a little something at our calibration workshop held in Alma on February 27. I think it became clear as the day went on that we really need to spend more time going through examples and doing some hands-on calibration for everyone to get a good feel for what it means. One…
Posted in: Spray Technology -
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…
Posted in: Disease Management -
Although this was one of the coldest winters we have seen in years along with two major snowstorms, it was not cold enough for spotted wing drosophila (SWD). We identified our first SWD female of 2014 this past Monday (Feb 17) in a trap located in Clarke County. This means that the monster is around…
Posted in: Pest Management -
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…
Posted in: Disease Management