Hello everyone,
Here are the mid-week wild blueberry production
updates. The weather across the province is looking decent and there are some
good windows to spray.
Wild blueberry crop fields in Nova Scotia are in the
middle to late susceptible period to Monilinia Blight (Figure 1). Please
monitor your local weather forecasts and crop development to plan management activities
accordingly.
Figure
1. Susceptible stages of wild blueberry to Monilinia Blight infection
GDD Updates_
May 14, 2024
Figure 2. GDD Summary, May 14, 2024
Wild Blueberry Sprout and Crop Development Stages
Sprout fields:
Pre-emergence herbicides should
be applied ASAP. Sprout fields and areas with more than 230 GDD are risky to
receive treatment applications, especially if you are going to put on Chikara
and Ignite.
Crop fields:
Most areas in mainland Nova Scotia are now well above
the 40% F2 stage of plant development which makes them susceptible to
infection. A couple of sites we monitor in the Cumberland area are around 80-90%
F2 in a tight cluster stage (Figure 3). Watch and monitor your weather
forecasts closely. Higher temperatures require less duration of wetness to
bring a high risk of infection. We are looking at around 15- 20 degrees Celsius
in the next couple of days/
Please note, that an application should give protection
to plants for about 7-10 days. If you already applied 1st spray,
please check your record and note your own protection windows. There is a
chance a second spray might be needed if we are getting some wet periods in the
next few days.
We also recommend growers apply fungicides before a forecasted rain or soon after the rain stops and your fields are dry. Ideally, within 48 hours.
Figure
3. Wild blueberry tight cluster stage