Mummy berry forecast Monday May 16th 2011

Infected leaves and flower buds will continue to develop normally up to 8 days after infection. Eight to nine days after infection, the infected leaves and flower buds will die and produce grayish masses of spores. There is no point of applying fungicides after the mummy berry cups are done since the spores produced on the dead leaves and flowers can NOT infect and kill leaf and flower buds. The spores on the infected flower and leaf buds will be carried to some of the healthy flowers and produce mummified fruit at harvest. Applications of fungicide have not been proven to be effective in lowbush blueberries to control this second type of infection of healthy flowers.

Knox, Warren, Lincoln, southern Hancock counties

Mummy berry cups are likely finished in these areas and so mummy berry infection will no longer occur to the developing leaf and flower buds.

Northern Hancock and Washington counties

Mummy berry cups have been found in fields at Deblois, Montegail pond (north of Columbia Falls) and at Jonesport along the coast. Later fields are likely to have had cups throughout the past weekend and will continue to have cups into this week.

There was an infection period in fields that still had mummy berry cups starting on Saturday May 14^th at 7pm to 9pm through Monday May 16^th morning and this is continuing into Monday.

If you applied fungicide on or after Monday May 9^th , then your plants will be protected through this latest infection period.

If your plants were not protected, then you have until Tuesday May 17^th about 7pm to apply fungicide and kill off any infection that has occurred in this latest infection period starting on Saturday May 14^th.

With the weather forecast for the rest of the week, there will likely be more infection periods this week. Unfortunately, the plants are susceptible for as long as there are mature mummy berry cups in your field.