253-Cultural and Biological Management for Insects and Diseases in Wild Blueberries

Fact Sheet No.253

Prepared by David E. Yarborough, Extension Blueberry Specialist, The University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469. Revised June 2017.

Insects	Method	Comments
Blueberry Maggot	Harvesting	Harvesting techniques that reduce fruit loss can minimize the number of infected fruit left on the plants and on the ground. Avoid edges as higher infestations occur there. Allowing infected fruit to drop before harvest will increase fly populations and future losses.
	Clean Winnow Piles	Compost, burn or dispose of winnower refuse or hot spots of fly emergence will be created.
	Keep all fields in same cycle	Since 90% of the flies emerge from the previous crop field, having all fields in the same locale will deny flies fruit and reduce maggot infestation.
Flea beetle, Spanworm, Sawfly	Fire pruning	Blueberry litter must be ignited, if too wet then will have incomplete sanitation.
Thrips, Tip midge	Fire pruning	Burn curled stems as soon as extensive curling occurs in early spring but before June 1.
Biological Control of Spanworm		Apply to small early instar larvae for best control. Larval death not immediate, but feeding quickly inhibited. May use when bees pollinating. Do not apply when bees are actively foraging, toxic to bees. Best results occur when applications are made in the evening since sunlight kills the Beauveria spores over time. Do not apply when bees are actively foraging toxic to bees for 3 hours after application.
BT (Bacillus thuringiensis)	Multiple labels
Micotrol-0 (Beauveria bassiana)	1 qt./acre
Entrust	2 oz./acre
Biological Control of Flea Beetle, Strawberry Rootworm		Apply at seven to ten day intervals in evening. Flea beetle larvae only. Best results occur when applications are made in the evening since sunlight kills the Beauveria spores over time. Do not apply when bees are actively foraging, toxic to bees. Do not apply when bees are actively foraging toxic to bees for 3 hours after application.
Micotrol-0 (Beauveria bassiana)	1 qt./acre
Entrust	2 oz./acre
Insects	Method	Comments
Monilinia Blight	Fire pruning	Blueberry litter must be ignited, if too wet then will have incomplete sanitation. Burning can decrease approximately 50% of mummies. A two-inch layer of mulch put down in prune year will prevent germination of mummies in the following year.
Control of Monilinia Blight		Apply at bud break and repeat every seven to ten days as needed. Please see labels for particular requirements for each material.
Regalia (extract of Reynoutria sachalinensis)	1 to 4 qt./50 to 100 gallons per acre
Serenade Max (Bacillus subtilis)	1 to 3 lbs./acre
Valdensia	Spot burn	BURN the diseased area and a 10 ft. area outside the edge of the infected stems. All leaf litter must be burned to ensure eradication of disease.

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