Hi, everyone. As we get closer to the mid-late bloom,
we are no longer under the Monilinia Blight infection window, but there are
still infection risks from Botrytis blossom blight. We can see infection symptoms
caused by Monilinia Blight in crop fields now, as well as some early blooming
clones with Botrytis Blight infection. In today’s post, we will talk about
infection symptoms from Monilinia Blight. Also, how the
season’s weather is influencing this production year’s disease infections.
This will be our last blight line post for the year! Please
continue to follow the blog. More updates to come!
GDD Updates_ April
1- June 4
Figure
1. GDD Summary, April 1- June
4
·
Crop field wild blueberry stages: mid
to late bloom across the province. Central and Mainland fields are at the late
bloom stage. Higher ground and fields in Antigonish and Cape Breton are around mid-bloom
stages.
·
Sprout field plant emergence status: more
than 50-60% plant emergence.
Monilinia
Blight Infection Report for the 2024 Season (updated)
Initial report
(May 29): May is a traditional month with a high risk of Monilinia blight
infection in wild blueberry crop fields because of the right crop stage and the
Maritime spring weather pattern. As most of you are aware, May was pretty dry. The
Kentville weather station recorded 25 mm of rain in May and that’s below the 75
mm 10-year average in the area. Although we received some rain in the last two
days, May was very likely running into a precipitation deficit in the province.
The good news is that the Monilinia blight infection risk
is low. We had two provincial-wide wet periods (May 8-9 and May 16-17)
according to the weather station data, but it was short and mild. Most growers
apply at least 1 Monilinia blight fungicide which was very helpful.
Updated report (June 4):
after the last few days’ field scouting and growers’ reports, the Monilinia
Blight infection was low to none if fungicide applications were conducted on
time.
I still noticed high levels of the disease infection
in unmanaged fields (no fungicide inputs for this season or fields had low to
no inputs in the past). The blowing photos were taken from a crop field on May
31. I circled Monilinia Blight infection symptoms on leaves and flowers. If you
are walking around crop fields, you can try to ID them.
Events and
Webinars
A free webinar on Pesticide Drone
Application:
-
This is a free webinar to talk about
pesticide drone application. Time: June 19, 1 PM Halifax time. Zoom. To
register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEvdu6hqjksGdES3pLq80Y8qvsuWtKge2fU#/registration
Perennia Events:
-
In-person: Davis Vantage Pro 2 Weather
Station Maintenance Workshop – Murray Siding: June 7, 2024. 1-4 PM. Information
and registration: https://www.perennia.ca/eventer/davis-vantage-pro-2-weather-station-maintenance-workshop-murray-siding/edate/2024-06-07/.
-
Understanding Alternative Nutrient
Amendments – Virtual Series. June 25 to July 30 2024. Information and
registration: https://www.perennia.ca/eventer/understanding-alternative-nutrient-amendments-virtual-series/edate/2024-06-25/.
WBPANS Wild Blueberry Field Day:
July 17, 2024, in Debert, NS. To register: https://nswildblueberries.com/field-day/.
Have
a great week!
-Hugh