Seeing "Blue" berries and Field Day Reminder

I was in the Debert area today and took this picture of ripe blueberries.  This is a reminder to get your blueberry maggot fly traps into the fields.  Once you start to see ripe berries the traps need to go out.

You will also notice the weed in the picture.  It is fairy common annual weed "Hemp nettle".
It has pink flowers and very hairy leaves and stems.

You can get blueberry maggot fly traps from the WBPANS office in Debert

902-662-3306 

wbpans@ns.aliantzinc.ca

WBPANS Field Day Reminder - It will be held again this year at the Institute in Debert (168 Dakota Rd.) on Saturday, July 21st. (9:00am - 4:00pm)

Botrytis showing up

We are seeing significant Botrytis infections in many fields around the province, not just the traditional coastal areas.  I have been seeing more and more bortytis in inland fields the last several years.  This year appears to be particularly bad for whatever reason.  The actual yield reduction varies from field to field.  Given the heavy bloom I am still optimistic that there is still a good crop out there to be picked.

Dense canopies will contrinute to the problem but I have seen a fair amount of disease in patchy fields as well. These pictures were taken today (June 27th)

This disease causes infections during bloom, so there is not much we can do now.  Growers on inland fields may have to adjust their management practices in the future to deal with this disease. We will be talking about this much more over the next year.

This weblink shows a chart that outlines the timing of some fungicides and the major diseases we deal with.

http://www.agrapoint.ca/Fact%20Sheets/Horticulture/Fruit/Blueberry/Fungicide%20Disease%20Chart.pdf

Valdensinia - what to look for

At this point the defoliation due to Valdensinia is low in the canopy and hard to see without opening up the canopy.  These photos from Paul Hildebrand show typical symptoms at this stage.

We are not seeing this disease wide spread yet.  It is mainly in fields were this disease has been a problem in the past.

Valdensinia and weather update

Paul Hildebrand sent along a note today, on Valdensinia and how it is developing this year.

"On Friday (June 15) Valdensinia leaf spot was beginning to cause minor leaf loss on Westchester Mountain.  The disease was first observed several weeks ago (May 25) for the first time this year, but the relatively dry weather has prevented it from becoming a problem.  Should the weather turn wet for several days, the disease likely will intensify."

The dry conditions are certainly helping with the reduction in disease severity, however there is some concern over water shortages.

The AAFC map below shows the departure from average precipitation since April 1st. As you can see Central NS has received about 100 fewer mm of rain than the average year.

Frost Damage

We had a signficant frost in North-eastern parts of the province (Cape Breton, some parts of Pictou and Antigonish counties) around the 27th and 28th of May.  I was in some fields earlier this week and I clearly saw the impacts of these frost events.  Fields that were hit will show purplish blue pin heads that will not form fruit. Severely affected fields will not have much fruit come harvest time.

If you are seeing similar symptoms, let me know.

Spanworm and Fleabeetle?

Over the last couple of days I heard several reports of some insect activity in sprout fields.  This presents itself as areas that appear to be delayed in emerging.  Sections of a field will have this appearance while around it there are emerged plants.

Take a walk through your sprout fields to see if you are seeing any of these symptoms.  Also look for notching on leaves around these areas and try and sweep to see if flea beetle larvae or spanworm are present.

I have attached a link to our insect and disease management schedule to see what products are available if you do need to treat.
http://www.agrapoint.ca/Pest%20Management%20Guides/Fruits/2012/Wild%20Blueberry%20Insect%20and%20Disease%202012.pdf


Be very cautious about treating any crop field during bloom, as insecticides at this time can severely reduce pollination.  As always check with your broker or processor to see what products are allowable for their markets.

WBPANS Twilight Meetings

Just a reminder of the upcoming twilight meetings around the province.  We had a successful meeting in East Kempt last Thursday and will be having sessions in Debert (WBPANS office) today June 4th, East river St. Mary's (John Cameron's Shed) tomorrow and Parrsboro (Art Sargent's Shed) on Thursday.

Each session has a field walk through starting at 3:30

The twilight meetings start at 6:30

Bring your pests for identification and management questions.  There will be a wide range of researchers, extension personnel and experienced growers to talk to and exchange ideas.