April 26, 2013
The Monilinia Blight line is brought to you by the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia and Perennia, along with Delbridge Disease Management.
Fruit buds aren't able to be infected until they reach the F2 stage, and when there is a wet period long enough to allow for an infection period. Refer to this factsheet to as a resource http://nsac.ca/wildblue/facts/disease/monilini.asp
Here is a picture of a F2 floral bud
I have received reports from many parts of the Province, fruit buds are starting to open. All growers in mainland Nova Scotia should be looking at fruit bud development to see if they are getting close to 40% F2.
The current report numbers are as follows:
Annapolis county - 15% F2
Sable River - 20% F2
Caledonia - 35% F2 (cups are mature)
Glenmore (Musquodoboit valley) - 5% F2
Upper Rawdon (behind United Church) - 6% F2
Upper Rawdon (on Rt. 354) - 14% F2
Swallow Rd. (Wentworth area) - 14.6% F2
Lower Tatamagouche - 20% F2
South Hampton - 6% F2
Woods Mt. - 7% F2 (1 pin)
Windham Hill - 9% F2
Fox Point - 11% F2
Diligent River - 3% F2
Airport Field (Parrsboro) - 10% F2
Oxford - 40% F2
Westchester - 6% F2
Webb Field (Great Village) - 5% F2
Tower Field (Mt Thom) - 3% F2 (1 pin)
There was a significant amount of rain over the last couple of days. If a field was approaching the 40% F2 stage it would be worth considering an application after this infection period.
The forecast for the next seven days is currently very good, with warm dry weather expected. This should accelerate bud development but should also mean a very low risk of infection.
Remember Propiconazole does have up to a 72 hour back action and will protect open buds for 7-10 days, past application. Take note, only fruit buds that are past the F1 stage are protected by propiconazole.
The next blightline update will be Tuesday, April 30th in the late afternoon.