By Clint Thompson
Credit: O. Liburd, UF/IFAS
Florida’s blueberry crop is starting to bloom across the state. Harvests will commence in just a few months. Growers need to be mindful of multiple pests and diseases that could impact this year’s production, says Doug Phillips, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences blueberry Extension coordinator.
“The things that growers are concerned about or keeping an eye on this time of year, for insect pests, it would be blueberry gall midge. That tends to be a little bit more frequently observed in the northern part of the state, although it can be other places, too. Once you start to get bloom, flower thrips would be the other insect pests that folks want to keep an eye on,” Phillips said.
“As far as disease, once you start to get bloom, it opens up the possibility of infection for anthracnose fruit rot and sometimes also botrytis. Those would be, this time of year in particular, the four diseases and pests that folks would be keeping an eye on for blueberries.”
IPM Guide
Producers can reference the 2022 Florida Blueberry Integrated Pest Management Guide for additional information about potential pests they could encounter over the next couple of months. Scouting remains an integral part of any farmer’s management program, when possible.
“Scouting is going to be important for gall midge and for flower thrips. There are growers who do preventative insecticide applications for gall midge. For anthracnose fruit rot, it’s more so a preventative spray program once you start to get full bloom,” Phillips said. “With anthracnose, there’s potential for it to infect the blooms, but then it stays latent until you start to get the fruit developing and ripening. You can’t really scout for it, but a lot of growers will do preventative spray applications for it.”