Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable & Farm Market EXPOMichigan Greenhouse Growers EXPO

DeVos Place Convention Center, Grand Rapids, MI

Blueberry I Where: Grand Gallery (main level) Room E & F

Recertification credits: 2 (1C, PRIV OR COMM CORE)

CCA Credits: PM(1.0) CM(1.0)

Moderator: Larry Bodtke, MSHS Board, South Haven, MI

9:00 a.m. Harvest Time and Handling for Optimum Quality of Late

• Jim Hancock, Horticulture Dept., MSU

9:30 a.m. Recognizing and Managing Scale Insects in Blueberries

• Noel Hahn, Entomology Dept., MSU

9:45 a.m. Update on the Blueberry Industry in the Pacific Northwest

• Wei Yang, Regional Berry Crops Educator, Oregon State University Extension

10:25 a.m. Managing Blueberry Maggot Using Spatially

• Cesar Rodriguez

Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable & Farm Market EXPO

Michigan Greenhouse Growers EXPO December 7-9, 2010

DeVos Place Convention Center, Grand Rapids, MI

Grand Gallery (main level) Room E & F

2 (1C, PRIV OR COMM CORE)

PM(1.0) CM(1.0)

Larry Bodtke, MSHS Board, South Haven, MI

Harvest Time and Handling for Optimum Quality of Late-Season Varieties

Jim Hancock, Horticulture Dept., MSU

Recognizing and Managing Scale Insects in Blueberries

Noel Hahn, Entomology Dept., MSU

Update on the Blueberry Industry in the Pacific Northwest

Wei Yang, Regional Berry Crops Educator, Oregon State University Extension

Managing Blueberry Maggot Using Spatially-Based Tools

Cesar Rodriguez-Saona, Blueberry and Cranberry Center, Rutgers University

Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable & Farm Market EXPO

Season Varieties

Wei Yang, Regional Berry Crops Educator, Oregon State University Extension

Saona, Blueberry and Cranberry Center, Rutgers University

11/22/2010

1

Recognizing and Managing

Blueberry Gall Midge and Scale in

Blueberries

Noel HahnM.S. Student

Michigan State University

Overview

• Blueberry gall midge– A small fly that infests and damages

the new green shoots of blueberry

bushes

– Induces branching in shoots

– Widespread

– Multiple generations per season

– Short generation time

• Scale insects– Insects that feed on the sap of

plants

– Can cause shoot death

– Localized to very specific areas

Blueberry gall midge (Dasineura oxycoccana)

Larvae Adult

Shoot

damageBranching

effect

Surveyed at

blueberry farms

in 11 counties.

Detected at all

sampled

counties

Geographic distributionMonitoring

• Emergence traps

• Shoot collection

– Dissection

– Flushing in plastic bags

These are larvae that

have been flushed from

infested shoot tips

11/22/2010

2

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

4/15 4/29 5/13 5/27 6/10 6/24 7/8 7/22 8/5 8/19 9/2 9/16

To

tal #

of

BG

M

Emergence traps

There is consistent

emergence and

oviposition of BGM

throughout the

growing and harvesting

seasons

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

4/15 4/29 5/13 5/27 6/10 6/24 7/8 7/22 8/5 8/19 9/2 9/16

Shoot dissections

Avg

# o

f la

rva

e p

er

sho

ot

tip

Blueberry gall midge phenologyInsecticide trials

• Bioassay

– Replicated treatments of insecticides on infested

shoots

– BGM allowed to emerge and counted

• Field trial

– SWMREC blueberry planting

– First application at first detection

– Four biweekly treatments

No significant differences

between treatments were

found

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

Water Imidan Lannate Mustang Max Assail Delegate Movento Cyazypyr

#B

GM

per

Petr

i dis

h After the data was transformed, we found significant

difference between the control treatment and the other

treatments. There was no significant difference between

Cyazypyr and the other treatments

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

6/1/2010 6/22/2010

Control

Imidan

Cyazypyr

Assail

Movento5

Movento8

Perc

en

tof

vuln

era

ble

sh

oots

th

at are

infe

ste

d

**

**

*

* - Not

registered in

blueberries

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Uninfested shoot Branched infested shoot

# o

f fr

uit

buds

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Individual uninfested shoot Individual lateral shoot

# o

f fr

uit

buds

a

b

n.s.

Economic impact of blueberry gall midgeUninfested shoot Shoot with branching

Count of fruit buds on primary

shoot and branches

Count of fruit buds on solitary shoots

Scale insects

• Primarily feed on the sap of plants

• Crawlers are the immature, mobile life stage

of the insect. Adults are immobile.

• Adults are present in the early spring.

Crawlers hatch and move in the summer, then

overwinter on the bark.

Cottony maple scale

Lecanium scale

Putnam Scale

11/22/2010

3

Lecanium scale life cycle Monitoring

• Tape around branches

– Wrapping double-sided

tape around branches

catches crawlers

Monitoring

0

50

100

150

200

250

6/2 6/16 6/30 7/14 7/28

Av

era

ge

# o

f cr

aw

lers

pe

r ta

pe

Bioassay of insecticides for Lecanium scale

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

Control Asana Assail Esteem Movento Provado Sulforix

Pe

rce

nt

mo

rta

lity

of

sca

le

Conclusions

• Blueberry gall midge

– Widespread

– Continuous emergence throughout the season

– Affects only the vegetative shoots, but causes branching which may lead to lower fruit bud yield

– While pesticides are active in the lab, they do not seem to be as effective in the field

• Scale insects

– One peak of crawler movement in late June/early July

– Spray trials indicate activity in the lab

Update on the Blueberry Industry in the Pacific Northwest

Wei Qiang Yang Oregon State University

North Willamette Research and Extension Center Aurora, OR 97002

Production trends Areas of blueberry production in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) include Oregon,

Washington, and British Columbia (B.C.), Canada. The growing conditions and cultural practices are

similar in these areas. The growth of the blueberry industry is fast. Total combined acreage has tripled in

the past ten years. Currently, British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon have more than 17,000, 4,500,

and 6,000 acres of blueberries with 80, 36, and 46 million lbs of fruits produced in 2009 respectively.

Still, more than 30% of the acreage in the PNW is young and non-bearing. The PNW is the largest

blueberry producing region in North America. Oregon leads the world in highbush blueberry production

with an average yield of over 10,000 lbs per acre. Washington State and B.C. have the most increase in

acreage in the past few years. Production has expanded to non-traditional berry growing areas in Eastern

Washington and Oregon to capture the early fresh market. However, over wintering could be a potential

problem in Eastern Washington and Eastern Oregon.

Climate The high yield per acre of blueberries in the PNW is attributed to its Mediterranean climate

where summer has little precipitation. Winters are mild and rainy with average temperatures above 32o F.

Summer temperature is mostly in the 70os to 80

os F, but it can reach triple digits. In recent years, there

are more cultivars appear to flower a second time in autumn, albeit to limited number of flowers at the tip

of current year wood. These flowers need to be pruned off during pruning so they won’t provide entry

points for Pseudomonas spp. This of course will add to pruning costs. Cost of pruning is from $600 to

$1000 per acre. Another climate related cost is summer cooling when temperatures reach above 90F,

especially in Oregon.

Varieties Duke, Bluecrop, and Elliott are the main early, middle, and late season varieties in the early

2000s. New Michigan cultivars like Draper, Liberty, and Aurora have been planted widely in recent

years as the new early, middle, and late season standards. Rabbiteye cultivars such as Powderblue and

Ochlocknee have performed well in Oregon, capturing the very late fresh market in October. Other

cultivars such as Legacy and Reka are seen in newer plantings as well. Draper’s fruit quality has been

outstanding and yield is extremely high (10,000 lbs in a four year old planting). It is becoming an

excellent cultivar for the fresh export market. Aurora so far performed well although it needs extra work

such as trellising in planting year to help it growing upright. Liberty performed very well in Oregon but it

has a few problems in B.C., mainly due to stem canker and too many green berries dropping on the

ground during harvest. Planting Soils used for highbush blueberry production in the northwest are mostly upland mineral soils.

The pH is generally below 6.0, acidic. During planting, soils are amended with sawdust in a raised bed

system. With the additional sawdust as mulch, more than 30 units sawdust per acre can be used with a

cost as high as $2,700/acre. Although some growers do not use sawdust, sawdust amendment is a must

for plantings in heavier soils. Some growers use weed mat in the first few years to control weeds on the

beds. At planting, two drip lines and/or overhead sprinkler irrigation are installed. Drip lines sometimes

are suspended above the beds to avoid rodent damage. If only drip irrigation is used, fertigation unit is

used to deliver fertilizer nitrogen during the growing season. In-row plant spacing has decreased from 4’

in older plantings to 2’-3’ in new plantings with 10’ or 11’ centers. Fields planted for machine harvest are

trellised and pruned to a narrow base to reduce harvesting loss.

Culture Irrigation and nitrogen management are two of the most important management practices under

PNW conditions. Dry summer requires most commercial blueberry growers irrigate regularly. Most

large growers have soil moisture probes and weather stations in the field to help schedule irrigation based

on soil moisture readings and crop evapotranspiration. Fertilizer nitrogen is applied as a triple split at bud

break, upon fruit set, and during fruit development. About 25 lbs more fertilizer nitrogen is applied when

fresh surface sawdust mulch is present. Some growers tend to use a high amount of nitrogen up to 300

lbs per acre, which has caused some concern in newly established plantings. Slow release nitrogen

fertilizer has increasingly been used in some fields with good results. In general, flower buds or berries

are removed second summer after planting, but in plants with vigorous growth and good fresh market

price, some fruits are left on the bush and harvested for the fresh market in second summer. After harvest,

almost all growers will conduct tissue and soil testing to determine fertilization needs for the next season.

Tissue and soil testing have been widely adopted by growers. A typical blueberry field is hand picked

until fresh price drops; then the rest of fruits are harvested by machine. Machine harvest lose can be up to

30%. Ways to minimize such lose include narrow base pruning, raised bed, and wire trellising.

Insect and disease The northwest is generally having low insect disease pressure until spotted wing

drosophila (SWD) arrived in late 2009. Before then, aphids are probably the most serious insect in

British Columbia and Northwest Washington because they are a vector for blueberry ‘scorch virus’.

SWD has so far posted the greatest challenge in management of insect pest.

Like many other places, mummy berry is the most serious fungal diseases, in particular for small acreage

and organic growers. The normal wet spring often makes spray applications difficult. For example, green

fruit rot caused by botrytis was observed for the first time in 2010 in many fields due to prolonged wet

spring weather.

The Blueberry ‘scorch virus’ (BlSV), also known as ‘Sheep Pen Hill Disease’ is the most serious viral

disease in B.C. and Northwest Washington. Discovered in year 2000 in B.C., this viral disease has spread

quickly and makes an aphid control program essential to curb its spread. Oregon so far is free of BlSV.

The pollen transmitted ‘shock’ virus is wide spread, but plants recover from the ‘shock’ after a few

growing seasons. One problem is that the initial symptom of shock virus is similar to BlSV, which makes

growers nervous when ‘shock’ infection occurs. B.C. and USDA maintain an active testing program for

‘shock’ and ‘BlSV’.

Birds are a real problem. Although a combination of high-flying scarecrow balloons, bird distress, and

predator calls or other noise devices such as propane-fired cannons is widely used, the most effective bird

control is falconry--flying trained falcons during harvest time to protect large fields.

Harvesting July and August are peak harvesting months. Picking labors often are managed by large

packers, which have increased in numbers in the PNW. Competition to sign growers has happened to

make pricing aggressive. More fields are picked for fresh market with some growers using machine

picking for fresh market. Cost of picking labor is a concern to many growers, but the available of picking

labor is ample with the slowing down of the economy. A few large packers have started firmness testing

in their packing facility to control the quality of shipment.

Food Safety and Marketing In the last few years, food safety has become an important issue at farm

level. Many growers have gone through various food safety inspections such as GAP. Irrigation water

treatment is becoming a part of cultural management for blueberry growing. Most used irrigation water

treatment method is chlorination by using commercial chlorinators; this is particularly important for fields

with overhead irrigation system using non-well water. Most blueberries harvested are sold to fresh

packers that grade, pack, and sell the berries. Many small growers also sell blueberries to consumers at

many farmer’s markets, roadside stands, or U-pick operations. There are many U-pick operations around

the Portland Metro area. Pacific Rim countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China

have become major markets for the PNW with the demand for fresh blueberries rising rapidly. The PNW

blueberry industry is positioned to take advantage of this huge export market in the future.

References: Bristow, P.R., Martin, R.R. and Windom, G.E. 2000. Transmission, field spread, cultivar response, and

impact on yield in highbush blueberry infected with blueberry scorch virus. Phytopathology. 90:474-

479.

Strik, B. and W.Q. Yang. 2004. Proceedings of Blueberry Production Course—For new and

experienced growers and other industry members. Oregon State University Extension Service.

March 2, 2004.

Yang, W.Q. Blueberries in the Northwest. 2005. In: Blueberries – For growers, Gardeners, and

Promoters. Editors: Norman F. Childers and Paul M. Lyrene. Dr. Norman F. Childers Horticultural

Publications. Gainesville, FL. Pp. 206-208.

Yang, W.Q. 2002. 2002 Oregon blueberry industry survey—cultural practices. Proceedings of the

Oregon Horticultural Society. Portland, OR. January 2002. 93:113-115.

Managing Blueberry Maggot Using Spatially-Based Tools

Cesar Rodriguez-Saona, Faruque Uz Zaman, Dean Polk, and Peter Oudemans Department of Entomology, Rutgers University

PE Marucci Center for Blueberry and Cranberry Research and Extension, Chatsworth, NJ crodriguez@aesop.rutgers.edu, Ph: 609-726-1590 x 4412

Abstract

Highbush blueberries are grown mainly in ecologically and environmentally sensitive areas of the US,

with porous soils and high water tables. Due to the high number of insects that attack blueberries, insect

management programs often require the use of several insecticide applications in order to maintain high

fruit quality and requirements for exporting fruit. A key pest across many blueberry-producing US

regions is the blueberry maggot (BBM). To reduce the amount of insecticides used to control BBM, we

developed an Intensive Crop Monitoring (ICM) program that uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

in four commercial blueberry farms in New Jersey. ICM programs allowed us to provide site-specific

information to growers on where, when, and what to apply. We then compared the amount of insecticide

use and costs between ICM and grower standard programs. After one year of implementation, we found a

significant reduction in the number of insecticide applications and costs in the ICM farms compared with

standard farms.

Background

In New Jersey, highbush blueberries are grown in the ecologically important Pinelands National Reserve,

which serves as a fresh water source for 2.6 million people. A complex of native and exotic insect

species feed on blueberries in this region. Due to its high value, zero tolerance of insect infestation for

fresh fruit market, and a strict Canadian export quarantine program, insect contamination of harvested

fruit can result in rejected loads and lower market prices. To protect the fruit from insect pests, prevent

plant injury, and minimize the risk of crop rejection, organophosphate (OP) insecticides have served as

important management tools to control this diverse insect pest complex. However, elimination or phase

out of OP insecticides by EPA limits the options for pest management. Previous studies revealed that

insect abundance can vary greatly among fields in blueberry farms. Yet, we have limited understanding

of “where and when” to apply insecticides.

Our main objective was to develop an ecologically-sound Integrated Pest Management program for

blueberries that incorporates spatial variability of pest abundance and applications of low-risk

insecticides. These studies were conducted to manage the blueberry maggot (BBM), a key insect pest

among several blueberry-growing US states including Michigan and New Jersey.

Methods

Eight blueberry farms were selected based on three landscape categories i.e. farms surrounded by forest,

open fields or other crops, and other blueberry farms. Four farms were intensively monitored for BBM

and thus designated as Intensive Crop Monitoring or “ICM” farms, while the other four farms were under

a grower standard monitoring program designated as “STD.” In the ICM farms, growers applied

insecticides based on spatial information (GIS) and applied low-risk insecticides based on our

recommendations. In the STD farms, growers made their own decisions on where, when, and what to

apply. Baited yellow sticky traps were used to monitor BBM and data on the number of BBM flies on

traps were collected twice per week. Farms were digitally mapped by a Trimble hand held GIS device.

Trap layout within farms was mapped as point source data (Fig. 1).

At the end of the season, grower pesticide records were collected. Geo-spatial data were analyzed by

ArcGIS 9.0 software. Amounts of insecticide use, active ingredient (a.i.)/acre, and costs/acre were

compared between ICM and STD farms.

Fig. 1. Example of a geo-referenced trap layout in an Intensive Crop Monitoring (ICM) farm (A), and in a

Standard farm (not geo-referenced) (B). Each dot represents spatial location of a trap in the ICM farm.

Results

Farms surrounded by forest had higher BBM fly populations near field borders (Fig. 2A). Farms with no

forest had low fly populations (Fig. 2B-C). Farms with a late cultivar had higher fly populations later in

the season (Fig. 2A). In general, traps near field edges captured higher number of flies, indicating

possible invasion from outside areas. In a few cases, flies were captured in the interior of fields,

indicating the presence of resident populations.

Growers used almost half the number of insecticide applications in ICM farms compared with STD farms

(Table 1). Amount of a.i./acre and cost of insecticides/acre were also reduced by 39% and 57%,

respectively, in ICM farms compared with STD farms.

Fig. 2. Geospatial locations and seasonal BBM distribution in farms surrounded by variable landscape

and cultivars. Circle in A indicates location of a late cultivar.

Table 1. Number of insecticide applications, amount of a.i./acre, and cost of insecticides/acre in the

Intensive Crop Monitoring (ICM) and STD farms (2009).

GrowerICM

Apps

STD

Apps

ICM

Lb/ac

STD

Lb/ac

ICM

Cost

STD

Cost

HAR 3.2 6.5 1.8 2.79 $32.46 $100.39

WH 4 4 3.65 3.65 $48.02 $48.02

DR 2 10 1.89 5.14 $24.84 $167.18

MC 5.48 8.2 2.82 5.09 $70.96 $94.66

Grower

Mean3.67 7.2 2.54 4.17 $44.07 $102.56

0

1 - 3

4 - 10

11 - 33

34 - 59

60 - 76

77 - 125

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