by K. MICHELE TRICE

Management and Control on Southern Highbush Blueberry

As late spring and early summer approach, it’s time to start thinking about managing chilli thrips. This has been reported as the most significant insect pest on blueberries in Florida, often taking repeated applications of different insecticides to achieve and maintain control.

The Importance of Planning

The UF/IFAS Blueberry Breeding Program is releasing a new pesticide module on February 6, as part of its UF/IFAS Blueberry Growers Guide app.

Managed Bumble Bees Are a Great Way to Bolster Pollination

Are they right for me?

December – January 

Thursday, March 9, 2023

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!

December – January 

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.

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. 

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. 

Newer Acaricides Effective in Fighting Blueberry Bud Mite 

Protection Checklist

Virtually all blueberry fields in Florida are subject to late winter or early spring freezes that can cause serious reductions in yield. Below is a list of activities for freeze preparation. The list was originally published by Mike Mainland in the North Carolina Blueberry News, Vol. 7, No. 1and has been modified by IFAS faculty and FBGA board members. 

Proper Irrigation Is Critical for Blueberries in Late Winter and Spring 

This year is one of transition for the FBGA Board membership. Several old hands who have guided us through challenging years are stepping down to focus on other important obligations with their endorsement of the concept that new board members bring new perspectives and ideas to refresh the board and broaden its inclusion of other growing regions.  

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.