Doug Phillips, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) blueberry Extension coordinator, is advising blueberry growers about management options they need to consider during November.
Producers should continue monitoring and managing leaf diseases, especially in evergreen systems.
It is the time for blueberry farmers to begin monitoring for blueberry gall midge. They can use bucket traps (3 to 5 per acre) or sticky panel traps (1 to 3 per acre). Growers should apply suggested insecticides when adults are observed. If traps are not being implemented, producers can spray right before floral bud break with a second spray about 10 days later.
Growers should also monitor for southern red mites and flat mites and spray miticides and insecticides with efficacy on mites.
For those farmers looking for weed control, they need to apply a post-emergence herbicide if weeds are at densities that hinder the growth of the bush.