Newer Acaricides Effective in Fighting Blueberry Bud Mite 

Integrated Approach is Best for Botrytis Blossom Blight

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. 

Newest Cultivar 'Albus' Set for Release This Summer

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 

Council Launches Several Initiatives to Advance the Blueberry Industry in 2023

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!

Thursday, March 9, 2023

By now I hope you have scheduled a day to join your fellow Florida Blueberry Growers at our Fall Conference and Trade Show on October 20. If you come, you’ll get to meet with fellow growers with whom you have a great deal in common. They share many of the same challenges and rewards of growing blueberries in Florida that you do. You’ll learn about the latest research and advice from experts that are targeted specifically to growing blueberries successfully in our climatic conditions. I promise you’ll get more out of your participation at the conference than it costs you in the small amount of time and expense you invest.  

 Fall/Winter Irrigation and Fertilization Are Key to Bud Formation and Cold Acclimation

Fall may seem like a quiet time in blueberry fields, but important processes are silently occurring such as flower bud formation for next year’s crop and cold acclimation for the upcoming winter. When blueberry plants enter fall, they should have developed a canopy of moderately vigorous shoots with healthy leaves that developed following postharvest pruning during the summer. 

With a goal of helping growers make data-informed business decisions, the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) has launched an effort to develop a best-in-class data and insights program for the blueberry industry. 

Recommendations for Rust Management in the Evergreen System

The evergreen production system for southern highbush blueberry (SHB) is used extensively in the south-central and central regions of Florida. Under this system, blueberry plants do not go dormant and are harvested early in the season. One of the primary management requirements in the evergreen system is to keep the foliage healthy and intact through the harvest season. A significant challenge to accomplishing this is fungal leaf disease, especially rust. This article will provide some background and information on this disease, as well as a suggested fungicide program to minimize the incidence and severity of rust.

Fall and Early Winter Suggested Blueberry Management Items

The Blueberry Advisory System, a Grower Tool for Timing Anthracnose Fruit Rot Controls

Anthracnose fruit rot (AFR), also called ripe rot, is a fungal disease that can damage blueberry fruit, resulting in sunken lesions, softening, shriveling, and rotting of berries, along with eruptions of salmon-orange masses of spores. Symptoms typically start at the blossom end of the berry and cause the fruit to be unmarketable, affecting pack-out percentages and grower revenues. AFR infections can occur as early as bloom, with symptoms often not appearing until the fruit ripens or after it has been harvested and stored. Warm, wet weather is conducive to the development of AFR, with temperatures between 59-81°F (15-27°C) and leaf wetness duration of more than 12 hours the most favorable for infection. Rainfall or overhead irrigation disperses the pathogen to uninfected fruit and plants, creating additional opportunities for infection. The pathogen can also be spread by fruit-to-fruit contact, harvesting machinery, and sorting equipment. 

FBGA Joins Agencies in Support of Trade Petition

In early September, a bipartisan group of Florida’s congressional delegation, led by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Al Lawson, filed a Section 301 petition on behalf of Florida’s fruit and vegetable producers.

Fall and Early Winter Bring Threat of Southern Red Mite and Blueberry Gall Midge

Two of the primary pests typically observed on southern highbush blueberries in Florida during the fall and early winter months are southern red mites and blueberry gall midge.

Not All Cultivars Respond Well to Hydrogen Cyanamide

Chill hour accumulation is important for timely and vigorous spring growth in southern highbush blueberry (SHB). Some SHB cultivars exhibit slow or delayed leaf growth and canopy development during emergence from dormancy if grown in low-chill areas under the deciduous production system. Delayed leaf canopy development can result in slower fruit ripening, reduced fruit quality, and plant stress, especially for plants that set a moderate to heavy crop. Hydrogen cyanamide (HC), trade names Dormex™ and BudPro®, is a plant growth regulator that may be a useful tool for stimulating earlier and stronger spring leafing of certain SHB cultivars grown under the deciduous production system in Florida or in other low-chill areas. Where spring leafing is significantly advanced by HC, the harvest season is often earlier and more concentrated than would otherwise occur. Increased berry weight (size) and a slight increase in total yield have also been noted in some cases, but the main advantages are earlier and more concentrated berry harvests. 

Proper Summer Irrigation, Fertilization Needed for Productive Fields

by JEFF WILLIAMSON & DOUG PHILLIPS

How to Spot Common Problems Early to Ensure a Healthy Start

by PHIL HARMON & DOUG PHILLIPS

Are We Spraying the Bees Away?

by JOHN TERNEST & DR. RACHEL MALLINGER