Garden blueberry diseases and their treatment, pest control methods
Northern berry culture is unpretentious and not capricious. If the rules for planting in acidic soil are followed, care recommendations are followed, the plants grow strong and bear fruit abundantly. Failure to comply with the recommendations for growing turns into a weakening of the bush, as a result, the appearance of blueberry diseases, damage by insect pests.
Blueberry diseases and how to treat them
Gardeners in the process of intensive cultivation of blueberries are faced with diseases leading to a change in color, structure, drying out of individual organs or the death of a whole bush. Information about species, signs of diseases, methods of fighting infections helps to avoid mistakes in crop care.
Fungal diseases
For the introduction, development of all types of fungi, the same prerequisites are characteristic:
- a large amount of precipitation;
- steady heat;
- the proximity of groundwater;
- lack of drainage;
- thickening of landings;
- mechanical damage to the stem, shoots, leaves;
- unsuitable acid-alkaline soil environment, mineral additives are not balanced.
Fungi are visualized on damaged surfaces with a sticky substance or mold with fluff. Infection occurs through neighboring diseased plants, spores are carried by insects, wind, and precipitation. Pathogens overwinter on blueberry bushes, in fallen berries, on the ground.
Fungal diseases cause significant damage to the culture, reduce yield, change the taste and aroma of berries. Unlike viral infections, fungal infections are treatable if time is not lost.
Stem cancer
When blueberries are infected with stem cancer through the root system, the following symptoms are noted:
- the formation of red dotted spots on the leaf plates, gradually growing and merging;
- dying off of the affected foliage;
- drying out of the stems after the appearance of deep brown ulcers on them;
- violation of metabolic processes leading to a slowdown in plant development, grinding, shedding of berries;
Sick blueberries can be cured by treating the culture with Bordeaux liquid, Topsin or Fundazol when the first symptoms appear and to consolidate the result after harvest.
Phomopsis
Tall blueberry varieties are susceptible to fungal infection. The disease begins from the tops of young shoots, gradually sinks lower, causing wilting of all parts of the bush.
Typical signs:
- changes begin with the appearance of brown, then gray spots on branches up to 10 mm in diameter;
- after a while, ulcers, brown with a gray tint, clearly outlined with a border;
- after 8-12 weeks blueberries dry out;
- the tops of the branches are folded.
Favorable environment for the development of fungi - low humidity - less than 60%, high summer temperatures. To save garden blueberries and to keep nearby plants safe, diseased branches are removed and burned. The bush is sprayed with Topsin, Tridex or Fundazol solution.
Gray rot
Suitable conditions for the growth and reproduction of mold pathogens are high humidity, persistent heat. Areas of the stem, shoots, leaf plates are covered with a gray or brown bloom with fluff, but the disease is more pronounced on the berries.
First, yellow dots are formed, gradually darkening and increasing in size. The fruits begin to rot, the bush dries up. If there is no mold on the berries, then the taste changes, the fruits become inedible. When gray rot appears during flowering, the inflorescences turn brown and fall off.
To protect the culture from a common disease, every autumn and spring, the plant is sprayed with copper fungicides.
Moniliosis of fetuses
The second name for moniliosis is fruit rot. The drooping shoots and flowers turn yellow, then turn black and die off. Blueberries look frostbitten. Fruits, not having time to reach the desired size, slow down in growth, dry out, crumble. On damaged leaves and berries, fungal spores form colonies, wait out the winter cold.
Damaged shoots, volunteers collected from the ground are removed, fungicides are used for treatment - Funginex, Topas, Mission.
Physalosporosis
In August-September, red spots are visible on young blueberry stems, which eventually transform into encircling rings. Ultimately, the shoots die. In the spring, old branches are removed, leaving several young shoots. It is recommended to process the culture with Bordeaux liquid, Fundazol or Topsin twice - in spring and after picking berries.
White spot
The disease begins with the appearance of multiple small brown spots on blueberry leaves. They increase in size, turn white and outlined with a brown border. The affected areas rot or dry out, forming holes in the foliage. Later, the fungi move to the branches, fruits. The berries acquire a herbaceous taste and become smaller.
Spores develop quickly in humid warm weather, but tolerate heat well, temperatures from 3 ° C. It is recommended to mulch the soil around the plantings, do spraying with Bordeaux liquid or fungicides.
Witch's broom
A characteristic symptom of a plant disease is the growth of short, reddish shoots in the form of a bundle or an irregular ball at the root of the fungus. The leaves on the branches are not viable, dry quickly. The ovary and fruits are not formed. With the active growth and reproduction of fungi, pieces of mucus fall from the plant. Vigorous growths of short thin shoots take away some of the nutrients and moisture from blueberries, oppressing the culture, leading to death.
Removing the lesions does not eliminate disease-causing fungi. Treatment of bushes with Fundazol, Kuprozan helps. The witch's broom is difficult to treat.
Viral diseases
Diseases of this etiology are incurable. Plants are completely removed, taken outside the garden area, burned.
Viral diseases include:
- Mycoplasma or dwarfism. The first four years are the latency period. All organs of the blueberry slow down growth. The leaves begin to turn red, then die off. A distinctive feature of dwarfism is the stripes on the branches.
- Mosaic. The disease develops quickly. The blueberry bush dies in a few months. At first, the growth rate of shoots decreases, there is no fruiting. Yellow mosaic patterns appear on the foliage. The last stage in the development of the disease is complete wilting.
- Red annular spot. From mid-July, red spots are visible on the leaves of the culture, standing out in a brighter tone at the edges.Later, the formations merge into a single whole, the leaf dies.
If the blueberry leaves turn red, they get rid of the plant to avoid contamination of neighboring bushes. Measures aimed at combating vectors of viruses - nematodes, ticks help to prevent spotting.
Plant pests and methods of dealing with them
It is estimated that blueberries are attacked by 28 species of insects, of which more than half are butterflies. Agrotechnical measures taken in time, aimed at protecting the crop, reduce the risk of reducing yields.
Triangular flat leafworm
A small butterfly, whose size at a wingspan barely reaches two centimeters, lays eggs on a bush. The green caterpillars formed from them with stripes of a more saturated color on the sides and back, eat the buds and buds. Later, the leaves are entwined with cobwebs, which begin to curl. Hence the name - leaf roll. The pest, found everywhere, affects most of the buds, half of the foliage on the bush.
Caterpillars are harvested by hand, removing together with curled leaves. In the spring, at the beginning of sap flow, before budding and after blueberry flowering, chemical preparations Kemifos, Iskra, Decis Profi are used. For the purpose of prevention, Prophylactin is used, and when whitewashing boles, copper sulfate is added to the lime.
Blue moth
The moth caterpillar is yellow with black stripes along the body. It has two pairs of legs on its stomach. They are activated immediately after the budding of the culture, eating them, leaves, buds. After a month, insects on cobweb threads descend to the ground, where pupation occurs. One butterfly can lay up to three hundred eggs under the bark. Damage to more than 10% of foliage is a signal to treat blueberries with pesticides (Lepidocide, Sumition).
Sagittarius heather
The insect is common in the middle zone of the European part. Brown hairy caterpillars with contrasting black and white blotches are active throughout the summer. They feed on the leaves of the plant. In the fight against lancet heather, insecticides Karbofos, Aktara, Fas, Lightning are effective. It is recommended to alternate chemical preparations to exclude addiction.
Preventive measures
To prevent the development of fungal and viral infections, disease-resistant blueberry varieties are chosen. Reduces the risk of diseases, pest attacks, proper soil preparation, crop care.
Preventive measures include:
- control over the acidity of the soil, if necessary, adding organic acids to the soil;
- planting blueberries in a loose, drained substrate;
- avoiding waterlogging of the earth;
- autumn and spring pruning of diseased and deformed blueberry shoots;
- weeding of weeds;
- balance of applied fertilizers;
- mulching the soil around the plants and between the rows with bark or sawdust;
- covering blueberry bushes for the winter to scare away rodents;
- the use of covering material to prevent freezing and weakening of the culture;
- fungicide treatment of plants in early spring, three times after the appearance of leaves with an interval of a week, 3 times after harvesting the fruits and at the end of the growing season;
- sanitary cleaning of the earth from fallen leaves, berries, debris of branches.
Before planting blueberries, the intended area is checked for beetles and wireworms. If the concentration of insects per 1 sq. m exceeds 2 and 7 individuals, respectively, then such a place is not suitable for blueberries.
