Wild Blueberry Blog

8.19.14 SWD Update from Frank Drummond

Last week (August 19) SWD trap captures in both the Blue Hill and Jonesboro area remained stable with little change in adult captures compared to the previous week (Blue Hill = 10-20 flies/trap; Jonesboro = four to six flies/trap).  As of last week, we have not detected any SWD in fruit samples. We will be […]

Read more

8.18.14 SWD Update from Frank Drummond

Last week (August 13) SWD trap captures in the Blue Hill area started to increase dramatically to 10-20 flies/trap. In the Columbus and Jonesboro area, trap capture increased to four to six SWD/trap. As of last week, there was still NO detectable SWD larval infestations in the fruit. We will be sampling the traps and […]

Read more

8.13.14 SWD Update from Frank Drummond

SWD adults are still being trapped in single numbers. This suggests that the population has not started to build yet, although it is anticipated that this might occur in the next seven-ten days.  As of yet, we have NOT yet found any wild blueberry fields that have SWD infested berries, although blueberry maggots have been […]

Read more

7.28.14 SWD Update from Frank Drummond

Last week we captured SWD in traps that were placed in Jonesboro. So far, SWD has been captured in a few fields in Coastal Maine, the Blue Hill area and in Jonesboro. SWD was also captured in Nova Scotia last week. Please deploy traps if you have not already done so and monitor them at […]

Read more

7.21.14 SWD Detected in Parts of Southern and Downeast Maine

The spotted wing drosophila is starting to be detected in both southern and parts of Downeast Maine. David Handley, who has been sampling highbush blueberry and raspberry fields have reported trap captures of spotted wing drosophila in Cape Elizabeth, Buxton, Turner, and Wales. In wild blueberry fields, MALE SWD has been captured in Blue Hill […]

Read more

7.21.14 SWD Management Recommendations Fact Sheet

Fact sheet for SWD management in Michigan Highbush blueberries: SWD Management Recommendations for Michigan Blueberry, Updated June 2014 (PDF), which is very informative and includes a table with rain steadfast properties of some of the SWD insecticides. SWD Management Recommendations for Michigan Blueberry, Updated June 2014 (PDF) (Michigan State University College of Agriculture & Natural Resources […]

Read more

6.06.14 Some Reports of Botrytis Blossom Blight and Frost

There have been some reports of localized patchy frost damage the last week of May followed by Botrytis symptoms showing up this week. Frost will make blossoms more susceptible to Botrytis infection.  I have heard this from growers in the Union area and around the Orland area. In one field, we saw low levels of […]

Read more

5.29.14 Frost and Botrytis risk in Some Areas, May 29

Frost In Northern Hancock at our Silsby Plains site and at our Deblois and Cherryfield weather station locations in Washington County, there were frost conditions overnight from Wednesday, May 28 to Thursday, May 29.  Lee Beers is a Ph.D. student studying cold tolerance in blueberries and his research has found conditions from 28ºF to 24ºF […]

Read more

5.26.14: Mummy Berry and Botrytis Blossom Blight

I think the mummy berry infection season is now over for 2014.  Any remaining cups would have dried up over the last few days, so there won’t be any spores to infect the plants.  I don’t think the wet weather we had this weekend or will have on Tuesday will be causing any infection periods […]

Read more

5.22.14: Mummy Berry Disease and Botrytis Blossom Blight

Hancock and Washington Counties Mummy Berry Disease There was another infection period overnight for mummy berry disease in all fields with weather stations in Hancock and Washington counties.  Most cups will be dying off by now, but if you have a later or wetter field there is a chance you may have had infection period […]

Read more