The most common and destructive root rot disease of southern highbush blueberry (SHB) in Florida is Phytophthora root rot (PRR) caused by the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi. PRR is a persistent problem that is currently managed through careful site selection, preparation, and routine Phytophthora-specific fungicide applications.
As late spring and early summer approach, it’s time to start thinking about managing chilli thrips. This has been reported as the most significant insect pest on blueberries in Florida, often taking repeated applications of different insecticides to achieve and maintain control.
The UF/IFAS Blueberry Breeding Program has released a new pesticide module as part of its UF/IFAS Blueberry Growers Guide app. This new module is a quick reference guide for certain information on pesticides labeled for highbush blueberry in Florida, including:
Pruning is an essential cultural practice for southern highbush blueberry (SHB) production in Florida. Proper pruning can result in many benefits, including maintaining suitable plant vigor, balancing vegetative and reproductive growth, controlling plant size, improving plant shape and structure, facilitating practices such as spraying and harvesting, and reducing incidence of pests and diseases.
The table below lists suggested blueberry management items for spring and early summer. 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 2022 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.
USHBC’s BerrySmart Field initiative is a collaborative experience among growers, researchers and tech providers to optimize blueberry farming operations, focusing on soil, soil nutrients, yield distribution, weather, chemicals, and labor. As part of this initiative, we’re working in partnership with innov8.ag to validate a smart farm network that enables blueberry growers, packers and stakeholders in sales, tech and research to collaborate on farm operation optimization with better and more predictable yield outcomes.
The UF/IFAS Blueberry Breeding Program is releasing a new pesticide module on February 6, as part of its UF/IFAS Blueberry Growers Guide app.
December – January
Are they right for me?
This year is one of transition for the FBGA Board membership. Several old hands who have guided us through challenging years are stepping down to focus on other important obligations with their endorsement of the concept that new board members bring new perspectives and ideas to refresh the board and broaden its inclusion of other growing regions.
Proper Irrigation Is Critical for Blueberries in Late Winter and Spring
Virtually all blueberry fields in Florida are subject to late winter or early spring freezes that can cause serious reductions in yield. Below is a list of activities for freeze preparation. The list was originally published by Mike Mainland in the North Carolina Blueberry News, Vol. 7, No. 1and has been modified by IFAS faculty and FBGA board members.
The blueberry bud mite (Acalitus vaccinii (Keifer), is an important pest of southern highbush blueberry in Florida. It belongs to a group of microscopic mites known as eriophyid mites. Adults are about 200 microns long, cigar-shaped, wormlike in appearance, transparent and mostly colorless, and disperse primarily by air. All four life stages of the blueberry bud mite live together in large clusters within the scales of the blueberry bud and reproduce there rapidly, with each female laying up to 200 eggs. The length of time to mature from egg to adult is approximately 15 days at 66°F (19°C). The bud mite population has been observed to peak as early as February in Florida, then decline during the hot summer months of June through September. During fall and early winter, all four life stages can be present in low numbers between the scales of dormant floral buds.
Botrytis blossom blight is an early-season disease impacting southern highbush blueberries. Although not frequently observed causing severe damage in Florida fields most years, infections starting during bloom can later develop into gray mold, which has become an important postharvest disease. The fungal pathogen, Botrytis cinerea, typically infects wounded or senescent floral tissues. As a blueberry bush blooms, white bell-shaped corollas (the fused petal of the flowers) should drop from the flower following pollination but before they senesce (turn brown). However, frost damage can wound plant tissues, delaying petal drop and facilitating infection of the flowers, undeveloped fruit, and damaged twigs and leaves. The pathogen survives in these dead and wounded plant tissues on the blueberry bush and on nearby weedy plants as well. Spores from these sources are abundantly produced when cool, wet periods occur during blueberry bloom through harvest.
The UF/IFAS blueberry breeding program has developed many southern highbush blueberry cultivars, which make up most of the commercial production acreage in Florida today. In 2021, the program released “Sentinel,” a vigorous, early-season, high-yielding cultivar that has scored high in consumer taste panels. It has performed well in both North-Central and Central Florida trial sites, and trials are being conducted in South-Central Florida to determine its production in that region.
As we rang in the new year, many of us were thankful that Jack Frost was no longer nipping at our nose … or crops, for that matter.
December – January
As 2022 comes to a close, the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) is preparing to launch a number of promotion programs to help ensure a successful 2023 for the blueberry industry!
