4.02.12 The 2012 Mummy Berry Season is Coming!

April 2, 2012 2012, Mummy Berry
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By Seanna Annis

Waldo, Lincoln, Knox Counties

It is time to start looking at your plants for flower bud opening and for cups to start appearing this week if you have a mummy berry plot in these counties. After the unusually warm weather two weeks ago,  the plants have moved along to just starting to open their bud scales on their flower buds. Plants in Appleton on Sunday were mostly at F1 stages (buds scales opening, see pictures below.

Mummy berry cups were not seen in Appleton on Sunday.  I expect both plants to become susceptible and cups to start opening in these areas within the next week.

I have put out weather stations in fields in Appleton and Belfast, and growers are observing mummy berry plots in Appleton.

If you have a mummy berry plot I would like to hear how your cups are developing.

Applications of fungicide are more cost-effective when 40% or more of the stems have susceptible flower buds.

To determine the percentage of plants in a field that is susceptible:
  1. Lowbush Blueberry flower bud stages: F0 - buds covered by scales; F1 - scales starting to open, green shows; F2 - Crown Stage.Bud scales separated. Tips of buds form a crown shape. After this stage, flower and leaf buds are susceptible. Buds at F0 and F1 are not susceptible.Collect 20 stems randomly in a transect across the field
  2. Count the number of stems that have any flower buds at F2 stage (flower buds are easier to see than leaf buds)
  3. Multiple the number of stems with susceptible buds by five (if you looked at 20 stems) to get the percentage of susceptible stems in your field.