Lincoln, Knox, Waldo, and western Hancock counties
Mummy berry cups ares still present in these areas.
There was another infection period from Thurs. April 28th about 2pm through Fri. April 29th at 4 to 6am depending upon the field.
There was a wet period in Stockton Springs and surrounding areas overnight from Sun. May 1st to Mon. May 2nd, but due to the cool temperatures (33F) this did NOT cause an infection period.
If you applied fungicides after April 22nd, then your plants would have been protected during this last infection period. If your plants were NOT protected, then you would have needed to apply fungicides by Sun. May 1st 2pm to kill off any fungus that penetrated your plants during this last infection period.
There is wet weather predicted for this area from Tuesday morning through Thursday and this will likely result in multiple infection periods.
Downeast- eastern Hancock and Washington counties
Mummy berry cups are present in Deblois, Jonesboro and at Montegail pond in the barrens. Mature mummy berry cups have not been found at Jonesport yet, but are likely to start in this and other cooler, later fields this week.
There was a very long infection period from Wed. April 27th at 5 to 6pm through until Fri. April 29th at 7 to 8am OR two infection periods within this time period with a short dry period on Thursday.
There was a wet period overnight from Fri. April 29th to Sat. April 30th, but this did NOT cause an infection period because the wetness was too short for the cool temperatures (42 to 47F).
If you applied fungicides after April 22nd, then your plants would have been protected during these last infection periods. If your plants were NOT protected, then you would have needed to apply fungicides by Sat. April 30th 4pm to kill off any fungus that penetrated your plants during these last infection periods.
There is wet weather predicted for this area from Tuesday through Thursday and this will likely result in multiple infection periods.
If you have a cooler, later field, you should check your plant development before applying fungicides. If you have less than 40% of your flower buds at the susceptible stage, then you do not have very much plant tissue to be infected by the fungus, AND you do not have much young tissue to absorb the fungicide you apply. The fungicide will absorb better through new leaf and flower tissue than through the stems and bud scales around unopened leaf and flower buds.
If you have a mummy berry plot, I would like to know how it is progressing, please contact me at sannis@maine.edu.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Mummy berry forecast for April 28th 2011
WALDO, KNOX, LINCOLN, HANCOCK
Mature cups that would be shooting out spores have been present this week in Union, Belfast and Liberty.
Plants were at the susceptible stages in most of these fields. If you have a slower, cooler field and your plants were NOT yet at 40% of the stems with susceptible flower buds on Thursday April 28th, then your field may have escaped most of the recent infection periods this week.
Multiple mummy berry infection periods have occurred in Lincoln, Knox, Waldo and Hancock counties since Monday. The exact timing of the start and end of an infections period depended upon the field.
Infection periods occurred from:
Mon. April 25th 6 to 7pm through to Tues. April 26th 11am to noon
Tues. April 26th 5 to 7pm to Wed. April 27th 6 to 9 am
Wed. April 27th 4pm to Thurs. April 28th morning.
If you have applied fungicide within 7 days of the start of an infection period your plants would have been protected.
If your plants were NOT protected during one of the recent infection periods, you can apply fungicides with 72 hours of the start of an infection period and kill off any fungus that penetrated during that infection period.
Downeast (northern Hancock, Washington counties)
We have found one mature cup in Deblois on Wednesday April 27th, but only pinheads at Jonesboro. The fields in Deblois were not at 40% susceptible stems on Wednesday, but Blueberry Hill farm field was at 70% susceptible stems. If you have a warmer, earlier field than your plants may have been exposed to an infection period in this past couple of days.
We found no germination of mummy berries and the plant are not ready yet at Jonesport, so the wet weather would NOT have created infection periods because the fungus was not present.
There were infection periods through out this region, but to determine if you need to apply fungicides you should check the development of your plants. Please see the last 2 forecasts for information on how to evaluate your plant development.
Possible infection periods if cups were present in your field and the plants were at least 40% susceptible:
Wed. April 27th 2 to 4am through Wed. April 27th noon
Wed. April 27th 4 pm through Thurs. April 28th morning.
If your plants were NOT protected during one of the recent infection periods, you can apply fungicides with 72 hours of the start of an infection period (so by Saturday, April 30th morning) and kill off any fungus that penetrated during that infection period.
If you are using the calendar method for timing fungicide applications you will want to apply fungicides before an infection period when your plants are at 40% susceptible stems.
For recommendations on fungicides and biopesticides to control mummy berry disease please use the Disease Control Guide for 2011, Bulletin 219.
Mature cups that would be shooting out spores have been present this week in Union, Belfast and Liberty.
Plants were at the susceptible stages in most of these fields. If you have a slower, cooler field and your plants were NOT yet at 40% of the stems with susceptible flower buds on Thursday April 28th, then your field may have escaped most of the recent infection periods this week.
Multiple mummy berry infection periods have occurred in Lincoln, Knox, Waldo and Hancock counties since Monday. The exact timing of the start and end of an infections period depended upon the field.
Infection periods occurred from:
Mon. April 25th 6 to 7pm through to Tues. April 26th 11am to noon
Tues. April 26th 5 to 7pm to Wed. April 27th 6 to 9 am
Wed. April 27th 4pm to Thurs. April 28th morning.
If you have applied fungicide within 7 days of the start of an infection period your plants would have been protected.
If your plants were NOT protected during one of the recent infection periods, you can apply fungicides with 72 hours of the start of an infection period and kill off any fungus that penetrated during that infection period.
Downeast (northern Hancock, Washington counties)
We have found one mature cup in Deblois on Wednesday April 27th, but only pinheads at Jonesboro. The fields in Deblois were not at 40% susceptible stems on Wednesday, but Blueberry Hill farm field was at 70% susceptible stems. If you have a warmer, earlier field than your plants may have been exposed to an infection period in this past couple of days.
We found no germination of mummy berries and the plant are not ready yet at Jonesport, so the wet weather would NOT have created infection periods because the fungus was not present.
There were infection periods through out this region, but to determine if you need to apply fungicides you should check the development of your plants. Please see the last 2 forecasts for information on how to evaluate your plant development.
Possible infection periods if cups were present in your field and the plants were at least 40% susceptible:
Wed. April 27th 2 to 4am through Wed. April 27th noon
Wed. April 27th 4 pm through Thurs. April 28th morning.
If your plants were NOT protected during one of the recent infection periods, you can apply fungicides with 72 hours of the start of an infection period (so by Saturday, April 30th morning) and kill off any fungus that penetrated during that infection period.
If you are using the calendar method for timing fungicide applications you will want to apply fungicides before an infection period when your plants are at 40% susceptible stems.
For recommendations on fungicides and biopesticides to control mummy berry disease please use the Disease Control Guide for 2011, Bulletin 219.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Infection period Saturday April 23rd thru April 24th
WALDO, KNOX, LINCOLN, Southern HANCOCK
Mummy berry infection periods have occurred in most areas of Lincoln, Knox and southern Waldo county. An infection period also may have occurred in southern Hancock county.
Cups were found on Monday in Union, Liberty and Belfast. Cups had developed over the weekend in Belfast, which tends to be a week later than fields in Union for plant development. If you have a warmer, earlier field in those area, you probably did have some cups for the infection period on Saturday. If you have a cooler, later field you may have avoided the infection period. On Monday April 25th, 70% of the stems in Belfast had susceptible buds up from 30% last Thursday. Most areas that are south of Belfast will have enough susceptible stems to need protection.
The infection period in these areas started on Saturday April 23rd from approximately 10am to noon depending upon the field and ended on Sunday, April 24th from 6am to 8am, again depending upon the field.
If you have applied fungicide between April 16th and April 22nd then your plants would have been protected for the infection period on Sat. April 23rd.
If you have NOT applied fungicide, then you have until approximately Tuesday April 26th at noon to protect your plants.
The wet, warm weather forecast for much of the state in the next 4 days will provide more opportunities for infection periods to occur.
Please follow all recommendations in the Disease Control Guide for 2011, Bulletin 219.
DOWNEAST
Mummy berries are still only at the pin head stage and are not producing spores yet. Plants do not yet have enough open flower and leaf buds to have susceptible tissue to be infected. I predict cups will start to open this week with the warm, wet weather. Cups do open before the plants have enough susceptible tissue. Please check your field for how far along your plants are in development (see below). If 40% of the stems have susceptible flower buds than you have enough exposed tissue to make an application of fungicide effective.
Checking the development of your plants
To find the percentage of stems with flower buds at the F2 stage (seen to your right). Walk across your field and randomly collect 20 stems. If 8 out of 20 stems have flower buds at F2 stage than your plants are far enough along to become infected. Flower and leaf bud development follow each other closely and flower buds are much easier to determine when they are susceptible.
If you have a mummy berry patch I would like to hear how it is progressing, particularly if you are in Hancock county as I have no sites in that area.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
MUMMY BERRY INFECTION PERIODS IN SOUTH
WALDO, KNOX, LINCOLN, Southern HANCOCK
Mummy berry infection periods have likely occurred in warmer, early fields in Waldo and Lincoln and possibly Knox and Hancock counties. Cups have been found in the Union area and in Dedham. Cups are not present in Belfast yet.
Southern areas near Camden are likely to have had an infection period from Wed. April 20th around 3 to 4pm through to Thurs. April 21st 8 to 9am. Our location near Union was a bit cooler and it was not wet long enough for an infection period, but warmer fields in the area may have had an infection period.
If you have a warmer, early field, I strongly suggest checking your plants to see if you have greater than 40% of the stems with opening flower buds (stage F2). This has been variable and many fields may not have enough susceptible stems yet. If your plants are at this stage and you have a warmer field, your field is likely to have had an infection period.
If you decide to apply fungicides, with either propiconazole or fenbuconazole you have until Saturday, April 23rd to apply the fungicide and kill off the infections that occurred from Wed. April 20th.
Please follow all recommendations in the Disease Control Guide for 2011, Bulletin 219.
DOWNEAST
Mummy berries are still only at the pin head stage and are not producing spores yet. Plants do not yet have enough open flower and leaf buds to have susceptible tissue to be infected.
HOW TO CHECK PLANT STAGE IN YOUR FIELD
Please check your fields to see if 40% of the stems (8 out of 20 stems) have flower buds at the F2 stage (seen to your right). Walk across your field and randomly collect 20 stems. If 8 out of 20 stems have flower buds at F2 stage than your plants are far enough along to become infected. Flower and leaf bud development follow each other closely and flower buds are much easier to determine when they are susceptible.
WALDO, KNOX, LINCOLN, Southern HANCOCK
Mummy berry infection periods have likely occurred in warmer, early fields in Waldo and Lincoln and possibly Knox and Hancock counties. Cups have been found in the Union area and in Dedham. Cups are not present in Belfast yet.
Southern areas near Camden are likely to have had an infection period from Wed. April 20th around 3 to 4pm through to Thurs. April 21st 8 to 9am. Our location near Union was a bit cooler and it was not wet long enough for an infection period, but warmer fields in the area may have had an infection period.
If you have a warmer, early field, I strongly suggest checking your plants to see if you have greater than 40% of the stems with opening flower buds (stage F2). This has been variable and many fields may not have enough susceptible stems yet. If your plants are at this stage and you have a warmer field, your field is likely to have had an infection period.
If you decide to apply fungicides, with either propiconazole or fenbuconazole you have until Saturday, April 23rd to apply the fungicide and kill off the infections that occurred from Wed. April 20th.
Please follow all recommendations in the Disease Control Guide for 2011, Bulletin 219.
DOWNEAST
Mummy berries are still only at the pin head stage and are not producing spores yet. Plants do not yet have enough open flower and leaf buds to have susceptible tissue to be infected.
HOW TO CHECK PLANT STAGE IN YOUR FIELD
Please check your fields to see if 40% of the stems (8 out of 20 stems) have flower buds at the F2 stage (seen to your right). Walk across your field and randomly collect 20 stems. If 8 out of 20 stems have flower buds at F2 stage than your plants are far enough along to become infected. Flower and leaf bud development follow each other closely and flower buds are much easier to determine when they are susceptible.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
MUMMY BERRY INFECTION PERIODS HAVE NOT YET OCCURRED YET.WALDO, KNOX, LINCOLN
Mon. April 18th- A single mummy berry cup was present near Union, and many pinhead cups (not yet producing spores) were present in Union and Liberty areas. Plants do not yet have enough open flower and leaf buds to have susceptible tissue to be infected. The rain predicted for Wednesday may cause an infection period IF you have an early field that already has 40% of the stems with opening flower buds (stage F2). See below on how to determine the plants' stages in your field.
DOWNEAST
Mummy berries are starting to germinate in a few areas but are only at the pinhead stage (too early to produce cups). Plants do not yet have enough open flower and leaf buds to have susceptible tissue to be infected.
HOW TO CHECK PLANT STAGE IN YOUR FIELD
Please check your fields to see if 40% of the stems (8 out of 20 stems) have flower buds at the F2 stage (seen to your right). Walk across your field and randomly collect 20 stems. If 8 out of 20 stems have flower buds at F2 stage than your plants are far enough along to become infected. Flower and leaf bud development follow each other closely and flower buds are much easier to determine when they are susceptible.
Please follow all recommendations in Disease Control Guide for 2011, Bulletin 219.
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 need 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. I would very much appreciate any additional information.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
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.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
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.
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.
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