Wild Blueberry Blog

7.08.13 Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD)

It is no wonder with this HOT weather over the fourth and following weekend a few more SWD captures have surfaced since my update on July 2.  However, last week’s capture of a male SWD in Cherryfield was a misdiagnosis. When we looked at it, two spots were found on each wing and so we […]

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7.03.13 Spotted Wing Drosophila

Dave Yarborough and Frank Drummond will be sending out SWD updates one to two times a week over the growing season. Frank and Judy Collins will be monitoring 18 field sites from Stockton Springs up to Jonesboro. Dr. Jim Dill and Dr. Dave Handley (UMaine Cooperative Extension) are monitoring traps in mid-coast to southern Maine […]

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5.23.13 Warning: Bees and Botrytis blight

You will want to minimize any exposure of honey bees, bumble bees and native pollinators to pesticides, including fungicides, during bloom. Bumble bees and native pollinators will still be working pollinating your fields when poor conditions keep the honey bees in their hives. The fungicides recommended for control of Botrytis blossom blight are considered non-toxic […]

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5.22.2013 Botrytis Blossom Blight

If you have had Botrytis blossom blight in your field before, you may have conditions to have this disease occur this week. The Botrytis blossom blight can be identified by the black hairs that stick out of infected, dead blossoms.  Blossoms can also be killed by the Mummy berry fungus and frost.  Please see the […]

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Common wild bees found in blueberry fields

For three springs I’ve collected bees from blooming blueberry fields and, with the help of experts, given them a species name. I have not collected bumblebees since I did not want to take away bumblebee queens while they foraged in the fields! So my collection includes all bees except bumblebees and honeybees. In general, I’ve […]

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5.20.13 Symptoms of Mummy Berry Disease and Others

I think the mummy berry infection season is over for this year.  Cups in most areas would have dried up over the last few days, so there won’t be any spores to infect the plants.   I don’t think this current wet weather will be causing any infection periods for the mummy berry fungus. You […]

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5.16.13 Mummy Berry Forecast, May 16

Knox, Lincoln, Waldo and Southern Hancock Counties Mummy berry cups dried up early this week so it is unlikely there were any infections in your area in this last rain. Northern Hancock and Washington Counties Most cups are finished from our monitored field sites.  Only one mature cup was still reported at Long Pond area […]

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5.14.13 Mummy Berry Forecast and Frost, May 14

Meddybemps Area Only Our Meddybemps weather station indicated there was an infection period in that field last night starting at 7:20 p.m. and continuing to  8:40 a.m.  For this infection period in the Meddybemps area, if you have applied fungicide on or after Sunday, May 4, your plants were protected during the infection period overnight.  […]

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5.13.13 Mummy Berry Forecast, May 13

Knox and Lincoln Counties The mummy berry cups were finishing up last week and unless you had a very late field, you probably did not have any infection over this past weekend. Waldo and Southern Hancock Counties The mummy berry cups were finishing up a the end of last week, but there may have been […]

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5.11.13 Mummy Berry Forecast, May 11, Another Infection period

As you may have guessed, there was another infection period in all of our monitored sites overnight (from Friday, May 10) and there will be another one today and into tomorrow (Sunday, May 12) morning. The good news for more southern fields in Knox and Lincoln counties is that I suspect the mummy berry cups […]

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