Plant development Most plants are not ready yet. From the farthest south I have heard from, around Dresden Mills, there are some fields that are close to being ready. The phenology tracker report shows only about 1 to 8% of flower buds at F2 (crown stage and susceptible) which is what I saw in Ellsworth […]
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There were still mummy berry cups and pinheads seen in Midcoast and Downeast fields on Thursday May 8th and Friday May 9th. With the cool wet weather over the weekend, I would expect the cups and pinheads were still present. Please take a look at your mummy berry plots to let me know when the […]
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Mummy berry cups are still present in fields and the plants are still susceptible. There have been Monilinia infection conditions across Maine blueberry areas from Lincoln east through to Washington county. Two to three infection periods have occurred from May 4th to May 7th in all fields with reporting weather stations, and I expect the […]
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I suspect there are mummy berry cups across all blueberry areas, unless it is a very late field. The flower buds also seem to be at least 40% F2 or past that in development. The rain during the last two days produced conditions to cause Monilinia infections from Friday May 2nd evening to May 4th […]
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The warm weather this past weekend and the last few days will have had buds develop and probably many fields have susceptible buds. I have not had reports on bud development this week, so please check your field. Mummy berry cups are probably in most regions and typically continue for at least 2 weeks after […]
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There are mummy berry (fungus name Monilinia) pinheads, developing cups, and/or active cups being produced plots have been examined in Midcoast and Downeast blueberry fields. In the fields I have reports from, the flower buds are just starting to progress into F2 (T2) stage when they look like a crown. I suggest you wait until […]
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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 […]
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I am looking for crop fields with red leaf disease this summer, since one of my graduate students, Nahida Kabir, will be studying red leaf disease starting this summer and continuing in the summers of 2026 and 2027. We are looking for fields affected by red leaf disease ( see pictures below) with patches of […]
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We have just started to see bud swelling in the Midcoast region. The warm weather forecast for this weekend and early next week will probably get the plant buds starting to open. We are starting to get our blueberry weather stations out and hope to have them all out over the next week or so. […]
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“New” powdery mildew reports There are reports in the news of a “new” powdery mildew fungus (Erysiphe vaccinii) that is attacking blueberries around the world. The major interest in this fungus is because it has spread to countries that have recently started planting cultivated blueberries, such as China, Morocco, Peru, and Mexico. This disease is […]
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