Now is the time to put out Mummy Berry Plots for next year

The mummy berries are easy to find at this time, but as their outer white coat comes off they will become very difficult to find. If you have any questions please contact me via email or on the blueberry hotline number.

Seanna Annis

How to put out Mummy berry plots (Approx. time 15-20 minutes to collect mummies, 10 min. to place out plots)

1. Collect about 150 mummy berries (50 for each mummy berry plot) from your field(s) (or from the process line or winnowing if you have them). They will be whitish grey and smaller than the berries and will have dropped onto the surface of the leaf litter, or may still be in clusters of unraked berries on stems. Often clones produce different amount of mummy berries, so if there are no mummy berries in one spot, try another area in your field. Often there are more mummy berries at the edges of fields.

2. In a 2011 crop field, choose 3 areas within your blueberry field. Each area should be about 3” by 3” that is clear of stems but amongst the plants. Choose areas that will be easy for you to access next spring. These areas do not need to be widely spread around the field, 5 to 10 ft between each one will be fine, unless you have very different conditions in your field. If you have different exposures, soil types or large shaded areas in your field you may want to place your mummy berry plots in these different areas to get the full range of when the mummy berries develop. The areas should not be on slopes where they will be washed away, in hollows where they will be water-logged or in areas with lots of frost-heaves.

3. In each chosen 3" by 3" area, clear off the leaf litter to one side and a small amount of soil. Place about 50 mummy berries on the surface of the soil and press the mummy berries firmly into the soil (with your fingers or step on them). Then put a small amount of dirt (1/4”) on top and press them firmly down again. Replace the leaf litter over the mummy berries to provide protection over the winter.

4. VERY IMPORTANT: STAKE or flag the plots on either side so you can locate them in the spring.

Time to start scouting for Valdensinia leaf spot!

Valdensinia Leaf Spot - the "new" leaf spot.

Leaves infected with this fungus last year, will have over wintered on the ground. With the wet weather, Maine had from Thursday, June 3rd through Monday, June 6th, spores will be produced on leaves that were infected with this fungus last year and survived over the winter.

Leaf spots caused by the Valdensinia fungus may start appearing in your field in the next few weeks. PLEASE Scout your field for any areas of leaf drop or leaf spot.

You will see large (1/8 to 1/2”), often circular, light brown spots with dark margins on leaves. There may only be one or a few spots on leaves, and the lower leaves will be affected first.

Young lower leaves will be infected first and drop off while still green and with only a few spots.

Disease causes leaf drop starting after first infections anytime from May on and continues through August.

If you suspect Valdensinia leaf spot is in your field:

- Avoid diseased area, do NOT enter the field when it is wet

- Remove dead leaves from footwear, vehicles, equipment before leaving field (fungus can spread by moving infected leaves)

- Please send a sample to confirm disease and get information on control by contacting Seanna Annis or Dave Yarborough (Blueberry hotline: 1-800-897-0757)

- S. Annis also needs disease samples for DNA fingerprinting to determine how the fungus is spreading among fields

More info is available at the Blueberry Extension website

http://wildblueberries.maine.edu

Septoria leaf spot is a common disease found through out Maine

– It can be mistaken for Valdensinia leaf spot, but it has smaller, more numerous spots.

You will start to see very small (pin prick) spots in mid June which will grow bigger over the season. There will be many smaller, not circular spots with dark red/brown centers

Heavy infections can cause leaf drop mid July and later with dry conditions.

Mummy berry forecast and Botrytis blossom blight May 20th

Washington County
ONLY later developing fields or wet fields re likely to have mummy berry cups still producing spores. Our mummy berry site in Jonesport still has ONE mummy berry cup producing spores! So other fields in early bloom may still have cups present. The majority of fields in Washington county are DONE for mummy berry disease.

In fields that still have mummy berry cups, there was an infection period from Wed. May 19th from around 10am through Thursday night.

IF your field is likely to still have cups AND your last application of fungicide was BEFORE Wednesday May 12th then you will need to apply a fungicide treatment to kill off any infection of your plants.

If your field is NOT likely to still have cups OR your field still has cups AND your last application of fungicide was ON or AFTER Wednesday May 12th, you do not need to apply fungicide to control mummy berry disease.

There has not been a long enough wet period to cause infection by Botrytis blossom blight in most fields. If you have brown flowers in your field, please see previous information on "Damage to Blueberry flowers: Is is Frost or Disease" to confirm you have blossom blight.
IF you are certain your field has a yearly history of getting Botrytis blossom blight from fog events AND you confirm you have the disease on early blooming clones, ONLY then would you want to consider applying fungicides for Botrytis blossom blight.

Note: I need more growers to put mummy berry plots out in their fields and track the cups to get a more accurate idea of where and when the cups are finished in different fields. Please call me or email me if you are interested in putting out some mummy berries for next year and I will help you set them up.

Damage to Blueberry Flowers - Is it Frost or Disease?

There can be multiple reasons why you see brown flowers on your plants. One of these is frost damage, and the others are infection by Mummy berry blight OR infection by Botrytis blossom blight. It is highly unlikely we have had the conditions for blossom blight in most fields. Long periods of wetness on almost open to fully open flowers is required for infection by the Botrytis fungus. Before applying fungicide to protect your plants from Blossom blight make sure you know what is the cause of your browning flowers.
Frost damage to flowers has occurred in the last week to some fields.
This is also the time that flower infections by mummy berry blight will be seen in fields.
Botrytis blossom blight can be scouted for on early blooming clones.

Please see the pictures and notes below, to determine what is the cause of your problem. Disease recommendations are in the "Disease Control Guide for Wild Blueberries (revised 2010) Publication 219.

Frost Damage to Flowers
- All flowers clusters on a stem will be affected

- Closed flowers are not affected as much

- Leaves are not affected

- NOTE - You will only see browning of flowers that are almost open or fully open.



Mummy Berry Blight of Flowers
- Only some flower clusters on a stem will be affected

- Open and closed flowers are affected

- Leaves will also show symptoms of the disease

- NOTE - Gray powder (spores) at base of flowers



Botrytis Blossom Blight
- Only some flower clusters on a stem will be affected

- Only almost open and fully open flowers affected

- Leaves can also show disease symptoms


- NOTE - black hairs (may have gray tips - spores) extend off of affected flowers

Mummy berry Forecast Monday May 10th

Washington County
MOST fields in Washington county are DONE for mummy berry disease. IF there are NO cups in your field and adjacent fields, there is NO chance of more leaf and flower bud infection.

ONLY later developing fields that still are not in bloom or are only in very early bloom are likely to have mummy berry cups still producing spores. Our mummy berry site along the coast in Jonesport still has mummy berry cups producing spores.

In fields that still have mummy berry cups, there was an infection period from Saturday May 8th from around 1pm to Sunday morning around 8am.

IF your field is likely to still have cups AND your last application of fungicide was BEFORE Saturday. May 1 st then you will need to apply a fungicide treatment to kill off any infection of your plants.

If your field is NOT likely to still have cups OR your field still has cups AND your last application of fungicide was ON or AFTER Saturday May 1st, you do not need to apply fungicide to control mummy berry disease.

I need more growers to put mummy berry plots out in their fields and track the cups to get a more accurate idea of where and when the cups are finished in different fields. Please call me or email me if you are interested in putting out some mummy berries for next year and I will help you set them up.

Mummy berry Forecast Friday May 7th

Washington and Hancock Counties
Cups are probably finished in much of warmer regions of these counties, but in later fields, mummy berry cups are still producing spores. For example, cups are still being produced in blueberry fields along the coast at Jonesport.

There was probably an infection period through out this region on Thursday May 6th that started in the morning and continued through the afternoon.

IF your last application of fungicide was BEFORE Thurs. April 29th then you will need to apply a fungicide treatment to kill off any infection of your plants.

If your last application of fungicide was ON or AFTER Thurs. April 29th, your plants were still protected during these last infection periods and you do not need to apply fungicide.

Mummy Berry Forecast Wed. May 5th

Washington and Hancock Counties
Mummy berry cups are finishing up in most fields Downeast, BUT in later developing fields there are still mummy berry cups producing spores (ex. in Jonesport).

There was an infection period through out this region that started Tues. May 4th afternoon or evening and continued through to Wed. May 5th morning.

IF your last application of fungicide was BEFORE Wed. April 28th then you will need to apply a fungicide treatment to kill off any infection of your plants.

If your last application of fungicide was ON or AFTER Wed. April 28th, your plants were still protected during these last infection periods and you do not need to apply fungicide.

Mummy berry Forecast Monday May 2nd

Knox, Lincoln and Waldo counties
There were mummy berry cups still present in Belfast, Palermo and Liberty over the weekend, but by Monday, the cups appear to be done. In South Hope and more southern areas, mummy berry cups appears to have finished about Thursday April 29th.
Over the weekend, the only fields likely to have had an infection period are those with fog or rain event of over 6.5 hours, but this did not occur in either Belfast or Palermo sites.

Unless you have a very wet or delayed field, cups are probably no longer being produced in your field so your plants will not get infected with any future rain or fog events.

Washington and Hancock Counties
There are still mummy berry cups producing spores in Deblois and Jonesport over the weekend and through Monday. Fields that develop earlier were probably finished producing cups by the end of last week.

The only fields that likely had an infection period are those that had at least 8 hours of fog overnight, but this did not occur in Deblois, Jonesport or at the BBHF sites over the weekend.

Mummy Berry Forecast Thursday April 29th

Knox, Lincoln and Waldo counties
There were still cups present in much of Knox, Waldo and Lincoln counties this week. There was infection periods from Tuesday April 27 afternoon through the morning of Thursday April 29th.

IF your last application of fungicide was BEFORE Tuesday April 20th then you will need to apply a fungicide treatment to kill off any infection of your plants.

If your last application of fungicide was ON or AFTER Tuesday April 20th, your plants were still protected during these last infection periods and you do not need to apply fungicide.

Washington and Hancock Counties
There are still cups through out the Downeast. There was an infection period from Wed. April 28th morning through Thursday April 29th morning.

IF your last application of fungicide was BEFORE Wed. April 21st then you will need to apply a fungicide treatment to kill off any infection of your plants.

If your last application of fungicide was ON or AFTER Wed. April 21st, your plants were still protected during these last infection periods and you do not need to apply fungicide.

NEW UPDATE Mummy berry Forecast April 24th

UPDATE: Washington and Hancock Counties
There was another infection period from 8:30pm Friday April 23rd through Saturday April 24th.

Washington and Hancock Counties
There were likely 2 infection periods recently. One occurred from around 4:30pm Wed. April 21nd through Thurs. April 22nd. A second infection period occurred around 7 to 8pm from Thursday April 22 overnight through Friday April 23rd.

Knox, Lincoln and Waldo counties
There was an infection period in most of Knox, Waldo and Lincoln counties due to rain from approximately 7:30pm Thursday April 22nd to Friday April 23rd.

IF your last application of fungicide was BEFORE Friday April 16th then you will need to apply a fungicide treatment to kill off any infection of your plants.

If your last application of fungicide was ON or AFTER Friday April 16th, your plants were still protected during these last infection periods and you do not need to apply fungicide.

Mummy berry Forecast - Wed. April 21

Mummy berries are still producing cups through out blueberry growing areas in Maine and the plants are still susceptible. The plants are susceptible through their entire leaf and flower bud development. The end of infections by the mummy berry fungus does not occur until the fungus stops producing spores.

There is chance of a infection period through out the state with the rain forecast for the night of Wednesday April 21st through Friday April 23rd with more rain forecast for Sunday.

Please refer to Bulletin 217 "A Method to Control Monilinia Blight" for information on how long continuous rain or fog needs to occur for an infection period to occur in your field.

If you have leaf wetness data or are watching a mummy berry patch and wish to share this information to improve the forecast, please contact Seanna Annis on the Blueberry Hotline or via email.

Mummy berry forecast Apr. 19th 2010

Kennebec, Waldo, Knox and Lincoln counties - April 16th to 19th
There was an infection period in most areas from the night of Friday April 16th through Saturday April 17th. The infection period varied by location on when it started from late Friday night or early Saturday morning. There was also chance of a frost on Thursday April 15th through to the morning of Friday April 16th which will make mummy berry disease symptoms more severe in the plant that become infected.

If your last application of fungicide was BEFORE Friday April 9th then you will need to apply a fungicide treatment before the afternoon of Tuesday April 22nd to kill off any infection of your plants.

If your last application of fungicide was ON or AFTER Friday April 9th, your plants were still protected during this last infection period and you do not need to apply fungicide.

Downeast Hancock and Washington counties - April 16th to 19th
There was an infection period in most areas Downeast on Sunday night Apr. 18th through Monday morning April 19th. The infection period started approximately 5 to 6pm on Sunday. There was also chance of a frost on Fri. April 16th through to the morning of Sat. April 17th which will make mummy berry disease symptoms more severe in the plant that become infected.

If your last application of fungicide was BEFORE Monday April 12th then you will need to apply a fungicide treatment before Wed. April 21st at 5pm to kill off any infection of your plants.

If your last application of fungicide was ON or AFTER Monday April 12th, your plants were still protected during this last infection period and you do not need to apply fungicide.

Mummy Berry Forecast UPDATE: APRIL 10th

Lincoln, Waldo, Knox and Western Hancock Counties
There was a mummy berry infection period in most of Lincoln, Waldo, Knox and Western Hancock counties. There are mummy berry cups actively shooting off spores through out this area. If it was likely your field had continuous rain or fog for over 8 hours from Friday morning through Saturday morning, then there was an infection period. Most areas had continuous leaf wetness from early Friday morning through to early Saturday morning. The start of the infection period was likely early Friday morning in most parts of Lincoln, Knox and Waldo counties. If fungicide has not been applied within the last 7 days before Friday, then it needs to be applied by early Monday morning to kill off any infection that has occurred.

East Hancock and Washington Counties
There was a chance of an infection period in these areas from early Friday morning through to midnight. By Friday, some "faster" fields had open mummy berry cups, while other slower fields had no open cups yet. If the mummy berry cups are open in your field (look like a wine glass) AND if your field had more than 8 hours of continuous fog and rain during Friday, you likely had an infection period. If you have not applied fungicide already, you have 3 days (likely mid Monday) from when the rain or fog started in your field, to apply fungicide to kill off the infection.

Fungicide recommendations are found in Bulletin #219.

Any questions please contact Seanna Annis 1-800-897-0757 ext 3 (in Maine) or 207-581-2621.

Mummy berry forecast for Apr. 8th to 10th 2010

UPDATE APRIL 8TH: INFECTION Periods have occurred.

WALDO, KNOX, LINCOLN
Thurs. April 8th- Mummy cups are now present and producing spores in Belfast and South Hope plots.

An infection period for the mummy berry fungus occurred in the South Hope, Knox county region on Wednesday from afternoon to evening and then overnight to Thursday morning.

Belfast, Waldo County region probably had a infection event on Wednesday night through Thursday morning

If you have any typically early field, that may have been infected. Please check your fields to see if 40% of the flower buds are at F2 stage (seen to your right). If they are, then you may have had an infection period on Wednesday afternoon through Thursday morning and will need to apply recommended fungicide before Saturday evening to get control.
Please follow all recommendations in Disease Control Guide for 2010, Bulletin 219.

DOWNEAST
Thursday, April 8th - Mummy berries with pinhead cups (NOT yet open enough to produce spores) were found in Deblois, Jonesboro and Jonesport. Plants do not yet have enough open flower and leaf buds to have susceptible tissue to be infected. The rain predicted for Friday will probably NOT cause an infection event. However, open mummy berry cups producing spores are likely by the end of the weekend (Apr. 11th) at the latest. A rain or fog event next week is likely to cause an infection event.

FROST is NOT required for mummy berry infection
Studies in Nova Scotia by Dr. Paul Hildebrand have found that plants do NOT need to have been exposed to frost to get mummy berry infections. The fungal spores only needs susceptible leaf or flower tissue and a long enough wet period (dependent on the temperature) to get into the plant. Leaves and flowers exposed to frost have more severe disease symptoms but no more infections than without frost. Disease will occur after an infection period even if no frost has occurred.

Request for information on YOUR mummy berry plots
IF you have mummy berry plot you are watching, please call (1-800-897-0757) or email (sannis@maine.edu) and tell me where your location is and what stage are your mummy berries.