Another pic--sorry, don't know how to merge them to one! See my other post for a description of the problem. This picture clearly shows the brown nodules at the leaf axils, plus the leaf pattern and tip die back.
This message was edited Jul 28, 2009 9:59 PM
Sorry, I don't know much about bb pests, mine stay relative pest free. However, those bumps look like some kind of scale, which is a type of insect. Remove one of the bumps and crush it - does it have insect/snail type goo?
They sure do!
I went out this morning, and yes, I think the bumps MIGHT be scale, with the exception that they don't have much of anything in them. Most scale I've seen is just as you describe i.e. you squish them and they do have some fluid in them. Do you think scale would cause that much die back, though? I've never seen scale do that, except in overwhelming numbers. Of course, I'm thinking of scale on houseplants, as I've never seen it outdoors. What do you think Krowten?
Could also be a kind of snail as well. If you have enough of them for long enough, they can do a lot of damage. Do the bumps move from day to day?
No, definitely not a snail. I'm going to remove all the bumps with some cotton dipped in alcohol, just like I would with scale. There arent' that many of them, though, so I don't think they are the total problem.
yotedog,
Have you tested the soil's pH? Blueberries prefer a pH between 4.0 - 4.5.http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1422.html
Its not quite there, but almost, and the neighboring bushes are fine. It is in acidic red clay, but the Ph went up a bit when I amended the soil for drainage. I added sulphur (I think it was sulphur) last fall--haven't checked it since then, but, as I said, I believe it to be no higher than 5, which is what it was pre-sulphur.
On a few occasions where one of my container blueberries got missed on watering and I caught the problem when they were wilting but almost too late, I have seen leaves do something like your second picture shows. Could you have had a close call with a too dry plant?
That was my first thought, and its definitely possible, but again, its neighbor--same cultivar, same conditions--is ok. Also, from the time I first noticed the problem till now, it has progressed.
Since I am only 20 mi N. of Raleigh, I think I will study my BB bushes tomorrow. I have rabbiteye bushes, 4 cultivars, and they seem to be doing well. My soil test gave me 4.2 to 4.6 which blew my mind, but the BBs seemed to applaud.
My dog Pepper loves the blueberries.
I think dryness is a definite possibility, but I took samples to the Plant Disease Clinic at NC State to rule out anything else. I don't think its dryness, as its been raining fairly often, and I do water with rain barrels. This happened, for the most part, while I was out of town, so it could have gotten too dry. We'll see. Supposed to have results in a week.
Pbyrley, your dog Pepper looks like my dog Pepper, a newfoundland mix. He and my mastiff graze on my blueberries and blackberries before I can get them. Can't wait until my rabbiteye bushes get too high for them! No pests to speak of on my bb's (knock on wood).
