MONILINIA TWIG AND BLOSSOM BLIGHT OF LOWBUSH BLUEBERRY AND ITS CONTROL
Surveys showed twig and blossom blight of lowbush blueberries, caused by Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi, to be prevalent in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The severity of the disease increased each successive year after burning.Sclerotia remained viable for several years and gave rise to apothecia from late April till early June. Apothecia from sclerotia from lowbush blueberries were smaller than those reported from the highbush blueberry. When first isolated in culture the fungus produced micro- and macro-conidia, but on subsequent transfer only microconidia were produced. The fungus could not be isolated from overwintered diseased leaves or twigs. Field inoculations readily reproduced the disease but inoculations in the greenhouse were unsuccessful.Three applications of ferbam, zineb or thioneb dust gave good control of twig and blossom-blight. In practice, the disease is largely controlled by burning which destroys the overwintering mummy berries without killing the underground parts of the plant.