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.