Overview of

blueberry
diseases
Annemiek Schilder

Dept. Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences

Michigan State University
Blueberry production in Michigan
– 20,000 acres of highbush
blueberry

– Average of 100 million lbs

produced over past 5 years,
which is 27% of total U.S.
production

– Value: US$ 100-165 million

– 1/3 handpicked, 2/3

mechanically harvested
Plant pathogens

• Fungi

• Bacteria

• Viruses

• Nematodes
 Mummy berry
Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi

Mummified berries Shoot strike with Spores produced

produce “trumpets” “oakleaf” pattern on main leaf vein
in spring
 Bees transfer spores to flowers

P. Oudemans, Rutgers Univ.

Flower strike
Fungus grows inside fruit
 Mummy berry
Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi

Infected berries mummify and fall to the ground

where they overwinter
Mummy berry facts
• A problem in wet sites or near woods; the
disease can spread from wild blueberries
• Up to 60% yield loss possible; there
is also a zero tolerance in processed fruit
• 50-57ºF optimal for mummy germination, which is
synchronized with development of host
• Spring frosts increase risk of shoot strikes

• Long bloom period and good pollinating weather

increase fruit infection risk
Phomopsis twig blight
Phomopsis vaccinii

Twig and
blossom blight,
dying fruit
clusters
Spores are produced in
bleached areas and are
dispersed by rain splash
 Phomopsis canker
Phomopsis vaccinii

Cane collapse in
Cankers on canes
mid-summer
 Phomopsis leaf spot and fruit rot

Phomopsis spore
droplets on fruit
Phomopsis leaf postharvest
spot Phomopsis fruit rot
leads to soft berries
and berry splitting
Phomopsis facts

• The disease is often introduced

with the planting material
• Rainy seasons are conducive to
infection and spread
• Fungus can infect young canes and twigs directly
but needs wounds to enter older wood
• Most infections occur in spring and early summer,
role of frost and herbicides unclear
• A hard winter or drought stress may exacerbate
symptoms
 Botryosphaeria stem blight
Botryosphaeria dothidea, B. ribis, and other species
Botryosphaeria stem blight
facts
• Primary disease limiting establishment
of blueberry plantings in SE US
• Fungus enters the plant through wounds
(mechanical, insect, freeze injury)
• Disease causes rapid death of canes, especially
in 1- and 2-year-old plantings
• Most infections occur early in the growing season,
but infection can take place year-round
• The disease also occurs in other wild and
cultivated hosts, e.g., holly, blackberry, willow
Bacterial blight/canker
Pseudomonas syringae
Facts about bacterial canker
• Cold, rainy weather and spring frosts in early
promote disease development

• Bacteria are dispersed by rain and enter the plant

via wounds

• 1-year-old canes and twigs are most susceptible

• Late-season applications of nitrogen may delay

hardening off of plants and promote fall infection in
the Pacific Northwest

• Bacteria can be spread via pruning shears

 Botrytis blight/gray mold
Botrytis cinerea

Twig blight

Leaf blight

Spores on blighted
blossoms are
dispersed by wind
Botrytis Facts

• Botrytis promoted by
extended cool, wet periods

• Botrytis has a wide host

range and spores are
common in the air Post-harvest fruit rot

• Fungus overwinters in infected plant parts,

and produces spores on dead plant material

• Botrytis also a common cause of post-harvest

fruit rot
 Phytophthora root rot
Phytophthora cinnamomi

Yellow/red leaves

Wilting, defoliation, and plant death

Small root system

Phytophthora root rot
Phytophthora cinnamomi

Oospores develop in infected Oospores release

roots and can survive in the swimming spores
soil for more than 10 years (zoospores) which
infect roots
Phytophthora root rot facts
• Disease is promoted by rainy periods
resulting in standing water in the field
and heavy soils with poor drainage

• Old bark beds also can harbor the disease

• Oospores can survive in the soil for more than 10

years

• The disease can spread via movement of soil from

infested fields, with run-off water, on equipment
and boots, and via infected planting material
 Armillaria root rot Armillaria mellea

Black, shoelace-like
strands under bark
Cane death,
stunting of bush

White hyphal
mats below
bark at crown Mushrooms at base
Armillaria root rot facts

• Planting at a site of a cleared

orchard or oak forest with a
history of the disease can lead
to infection

• The fungus spreads by root-to-root contact and

can survive for many years on old stumps and
roots in the soil

• Armillaria root rot may also spread via wood

chips from trees that died of the disease
 Crown gall Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Galls on blueberry canes

can disrupt sap flow and Bacteria enter the plant
can weaken or kill canes through wounds
Facts about crown gall
• Crown gall bacteria may be present
in the soil or infected planting
material
• Wounding of plants (freezing injury,
mechanical injury) promotes the
disease
• Once the plant is infected, it continues to
make galls
• Usually a problem in planting beds but
less so in the field
 Leaf rust
Thekopsora minima

Necrotic lesions on upper

leaf surface and orange
pustules on lower surface
Leaf rust facts
• Alternate host for stem rust is hemlock tree
(Tsuga spp.) which is the source of new infections
in early summer
• In warm climates, leaf rust survives on evergreen
blueberry leaves

• Repeating cycles of infection (from blueberry to

blueberry) can lead to premature defoliation

• Infection is favored by temperatures above 68ºF

prolonged leaf wetness – incubation period
is 10 days
Powdery mildew Microsphaera vaccinii
Powdery mildew facts

• Powdery mildew is promoted by warm summers

with limited rain and high relative humidity

• In blueberries, powdery mildew is mostly present

on the lower leaf surface in contrast with other
plants

• The fungus overwinters on infected

leaves and probably in bark

• Powdery mildew usually is of

no concern and growers do not spray for it
 Leaf spots of blueberries

Gloeosporium leaf
spot (G. minus)

Septoria leaf spot

(S. albopunctata)
Leaf spot facts
• Leaf spot diseases are widespread
in the southern United states

• Infections occur mostly on immature leaves and

may take up to 4 weeks to become visible

• Most leaf spots appear mid- to late season and

are favored by wet weather
• Spores are rain-splash dispersed and the fungi
overwinter in infected leaves

• Don’t confuse with spray injury

 Post-harvest fruit rots of blueberries

Colletotrichum Alternaria Botrytis

Phomopsis Aspergillus Pestalotia

 Post-harvest fruit rots of blueberries

Epicoccum Hainesia Sphaeropsis

Aureobasidium (yeast) Rhizopus Penicillium

 Anthracnose fruit rot
Colletotrichum acutatum, C. gloeosporioides

Rotting berries with orange

spore masses in the field
 Anthracnose fruit rot

Spores produced in blisters

Spore masses on
Spores are dispersed by rain dead twig in spring
Anthracnose fruit rot facts
• Most cultivars susceptible

• Promoted by warm, rainy weather

and frequent overhead irrigation

• Berries are susceptible at all stages of

development
• Fungus overwinters in infected twigs and bud
scales

• Berries can also be infected by contact with

infected berries during harvesting and processing
 Alternaria fruit rot Alternaria tenuissima

Alternaria leaf spot

Spores on rotting (not very common)
fruit are dispersed
by wind
Post-harvest fruit rot
Alternaria fruit rot facts
• Very common post-harvest
rot

• Cool, rainy weather during

fruit development promotes
infection
• Fungus survives and produces spores on dead
plant material, spores very common in air once
fruit starts to ripem

• Large wet stem scars predispose berries to

infection
 Virus and virus-like diseases

Blueberry mosaic
Blueberry shoestring (Blueberry mosaic virus)
(Blueberry shoestring virus)
Red ringspot
(Blueberry red
ringspot virus)
 Virus and virus-like diseases

Tomato
ringspot
(Tomato ringspot
virus) Blueberry stunt
(Blueberry stunt
phytoplasma)
 Virus and virus-like diseases

Blueberry scorch
(Blueberry scorch virus)

Blueberry shock
(Blueberry shock virus)
 What is a virus?
Genetic material
(DNA or RNA)
Virus shapes
(under electron
microscope)

Protein coat
Infection Plant cell
process
DNA Cell
Plant virus or Protein machinery
RNA coat

Cell
machinery

Virus becomes
systemic in plant
 Role of vectors in transmission of viruses
from plant to plant

Dagger nematode (Xiphinema),

vector of tobacco ringspot virus

Blueberry aphid, vector of

blueberry shoestring virus

Sharpnosed leafhopper,
vector of blueberry stunt
phytoplasma
Virus disease facts
• Viruses are systemic in plants

• Vegetative propagation main

means of virus spread!
• Over time, viruses can stunt growth,
reduce yield, and kill plants

• Viruses can spread within and between

fields, especially when vectors are abundant

• Cool springs often result in more symptom

expression
Plant parasitic nematodes
Pratylenchus, Meloidogyne,
Xiphinema, Trichodorus, etc.

Stylet
Galls on roots

Nematode eggs
Facts about plant-parasitic nematodes
• Feed on roots externally or internally
and cause root lesions, stunting, galls
• Can swim short distances and prefer
sandy soils
• Spread via soil, water, equipment,
and plant material
• Usually do not cause much damage in blueberry
plantings but may be a problem in nursery beds
• Some nematodes are virus vectors (e.g.,
Xiphinema spp.) and can therefore be damaging
in low numbers