Mummy berry season is starting
I have reports of mummy berry cups in West Rockport, Hope, near Deblois and around the barrens. The plants were mostly in F1 but some were at F2. Please check your own field for the flower development. If you use fungicides to manage mummy berry disease, I recommend waiting until there is approximately 30 to 40% of flower buds at the F2 (T2) stage (see picture below and the Wild Blueberry Phenology Guide) when there is enough plant tissue to get infected. Your field could have mummy berry infections if your flowers are susceptible, you have active mummy berry cups in the field, and there is suitable weather, rain or fog, for long enough to allow the fungus to infect the plant.
The rain forecast for Friday night through Saturday may cause some early developing fields to have an infection period, but most fields will probably not have enough susceptible plant tissue.
Please let me know how your plants are developing and what is happening in your mummy berry plots. Thank you, Seanna
