Mummy Berry Forecast Post #5– May 12th, 2023

Friday, May 12, 2023

 

After a warm, dry, breezy week the apothecia at the monitoring sites have dried up and are no longer releasing spores.   Again, keep in mind that these observations are made on the valley floor from Berwick to Aylesford.   So I believe from here on out there will be little risk of primary infections of shoot blight.  Spread of the disease will occur as successful infections on the shoots are transferred by pollinators to the developing blossoms.  This phase of the spread is typically very hard to control which is why we concentrate our control efforts on the primary infection.  

I do not believe that the weather this spring was very conducive to infection.   Therefore, I do not expect to see a lot of disease development going forward. During the last wet spell, during the week of May 1st, the temperature was very cool which slows infections and many growers were covered with a fungicide in anticipation of the event.

Growers should take the time to look for infections in order to evaluate their spray program and timing of applications so that they can adjust their control going forward and know areas of the farm that have high pressure.