The FBGA meetings are always a great way for growers to connect and compare notes about what’s working and what isn’t. This past meeting in Citra on March 6 was no exception, especially when it came to the panel discussion on machine harvesting. Growers Ryan Atwood, Kyle Hill, Kyle Straughn, and Cameron Allison highlighted several important aspects, including labor and genetics.
Dear Valued Members,
When blueberry samples are submitted to the UF/IFAS Plant Diagnostic Center, it’s not uncommon for us to observe a handful of pathogens, most of which are minor and unrelated to the problem the grower is concerned about. Alternaria and Pestalotiopsis leaf spots are examples that we find on most every leaf sample but that fungicides aren’t needed to control because the damage done is not severe. A dozen or more other minor leaf spots are listed as occurring on highbush blueberry in the American Phytopathological Society’s Compendium of Blueberry Diseases that rarely— if ever — cause Florida growers problems. However, occasionally, we will see something flare up out of the ordinary. That was the case with target spot caused by Corynespora cassicola that showed up around 2015 and that has required some adjustment to fungicide programs since.
Most woody perennial fruit crops, including southern highbush blueberry (SHB), require regular pruning to maintain good plant health and productivity. Pruning and training SHB can be used to accomplish a variety of different goals depending on the plant age, size, and overall health and condition. General benefits of pruning include: maintaining and balancing vegetative and reproductive growth, improving fruit yield and quality, reducing incidence of pests and disease, improving overall plant shape and structure, controlling plant size, facilitating practices such as spraying and harvesting, and reducing limb breakage, just to name a few.
No Longer Considered Impractical, the Practice Signals a Future of Possibility
Chilli thrips have become the most significant insect pest in Florida blueberry production and have now been recorded in Georgia. Careful scouting and appropriate application of suggested insecticides are important to help manage this invasive pest.
As I write this letter, we are just scraping together our first pallets for a commercial pick in the third week of March. The majority of Florida growers are three to four weeks behind last year’s start date setting us up to have a late start and likely a condensed season. We will blame this on the weather.
The North American Blueberry Council’s (NABC) amplified government affairs efforts are having an impact – ensuring that growers’ voices are heard in Washington, D.C., and at the state level.
The table below lists suggested blueberry management items for April through June. Suggested management items for the entire calendar year are available in an EDIS publication, Calendar for Southern Highbush Blueberry Management in Florida (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS1363). Specific disease, insect, and weed controls are listed in the 2024 Florida Blueberry IPM Guide (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS380), as well as in subject-specific publications referenced below. Also, a list of all UF EDIS blueberry publications can be found at www.blueberrybreeding.com/blog, along with a summary description and link to each.
The table below lists suggested blueberry management items for February. Suggested management items for the entire calendar year are available in an EDIS publication, Calendar for Southern Highbush Blueberry Management in Florida (https://edis.ifas.u.edu/publication/HS1363). Specic disease, insect, and weed controls are listed in the 2024 Florida Blueberry IPM Guide (https://edis.ifas.u.edu/publication/HS380), as well as in subject-specic publications referenced below. Also, a list of all UF EDIS blueberry publications can be found at www.blueberrybreeding.com/blog, along with a summary description and link to each. Remember to take a look at the UF/IFAS Blueberry Growers Guide phone app (available in both English and Spanish) for eld scouting tools, as well as information on all of the UF southern highbush blueberry cultivar, a monthly management calendar, and pesticide information (https://tosto.re/blueberryuf).
The table below lists suggested blueberry management items for January. Suggested management items for the entire calendar year are available in an EDIS publication, Calendar for Southern Highbush Blueberry Management in Florida (https://edis.ifas.u.edu/publication/HS1363). Specific disease, insect, and weed controls are listed in the 2024 Florida Blueberry IPM Guide (https://edis.ifas.u.edu/publication/HS380), as well as in subject-specific publications referenced below. Also, a list of all UF EDIS blueberry publications can be found at www.blueberrybreeding.com/blog, along with a summary description and link to each. Remember to take a look at the UF/IFAS Blueberry Growers Guide phone app (available in both English and Spanish) for field scouting tools, as well as information on all of the UF southern highbush blueberry cultivars (https://tosto.re/blueberryuf).
The table below lists suggested blueberry management items for January - March. Suggested management items for the entire calendar year are available in an EDIS publication, Calendar for Southern Highbush Blueberry Management in Florida (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS1363). Specific disease, insect, and weed controls are listed in the 2024 Florida Blueberry IPM Guide (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS380), as well as in subject-specific publications referenced below. Also, a list of all UF EDIS blueberry publications can be found at www.blueberrybreeding.com/blog, along with a summary description and link to each.
I would like to start by introducing myself. My name is Kyle Straughn, and I am a fifth-generation Florida farmer. My partners and I have close to 750 acres of blueberries planted in Alachua County. We also have partners farming approximately 250 acres in southern Georgia. Our four largest farms are fully vertically integrated, from propagating our own bare-root plants to picking and packing out of centrally located packing houses on each farm. I say all this to explain we are heavily invested and therefore dedicated to the success of the Florida blueberry industry. I would like to personally invite anyone to come visit our farms to look at research plots and varieties, and I hope to get the opportunity to visit yours as well.
The southern red mite (Oligonychus ilicis) is a type of spider mite that causes significant damage on southern highbush blueberries (SHB) in Florida. Typically seen in the spring and fall during warm dry weather, these mites live and feed on the underside of blueberry leaves. Damage from this feeding can include bronzing of the foliage, decreased photosynthesis, stunted plants, defoliation, and flower and fruit malformation.
“Grass,” “grasses,” or specific grass species are common answers to the problematic weed question that appears in the UF-IFAS End of the Blueberry Season questionnaire that is distributed by Doug Phillips. The grass botanical family, Poaceae, is a broad family that can be difficult to control because there is a species for every situation. Perennial and Annual. Summer annual and Winter annual. Wet and Dry. Propagation through seeds, stolons, and rhizomes. Multiple control methods are required to control such a broad species.
Rust was the top reported item for most significant disease issue in a 2024 end-of-season survey of Florida blueberry growers. When rust is left unchecked or becomes significant, it can cause severe defoliation on blueberry plants. This is especially problematic in the evergreen system where plants don’t go dormant, and it is essential to keep the summer foliage healthy and intact through harvest.
When U.S. lawmakers passed a stopgap measure — the American Relief Act of 2025 — late last month to avoid a government shutdown, they also dealt a saving grace to the country’s farmers and other ag producers by extending the 2018 farm bill.
