Sick Blueberry, help!

[gav28]

Hi Guys,

I wonder if anybody can help shed some light on a recurring problem I have had with Blueberry plants. For the past two/three years, my potted Blueberrys all start the season well, flowering and leaf growth is great. Then suddenly the leaves start to wilt, turn brown and then die. The plant then seems to recover a few months later and grows happily. The fruit it does produce is very small in quantity and also in size.

I have taken a few photos which are attached, does anybody recognise what the problem could be? The plant is potted within Ericacious compost and fed with Ericacious feed, using rainwater. I have three Blueberry plants, they all exhibit the same symptom, the others are looking far healthier at the moment though.







Thanks

Gavin

[FB.]

Mine have never done that!

But the first thoughts into my head are:

1.
They have not been allowed to harden-off after being grown in a greenhouse during the winter and transferred outdoors.

2.
They are lacking water or a nutrient.

3.
They don't like the compost.

4.
They have a fungal or pest infection.

[gav28]

Thanks for your thoughts, answers within

1.
They have not been allowed to harden-off after being grown in a greenhouse during the winter and transferred outdoors.

Ans: Have been outside all winter, for past 2-3 years, so I wouldn't have thought so?

2.
They are lacking water or a nutrient.

Ans: They were fed as soon as shoots started to appear and have been watered when necessary.

3.
They don't like the compost.

Ans: This could be a possibility, after the fruiting season is over, I could re-pot.

4.
They have a fungal or pest infection

Ans: This is what I thought to be honest, but I have no idea on how to treat!?

cheers

Gavin

[Nicos]

All I can find on wilted blueberry leaf is mummy berry...what do you think????

http://www.ccenassau.org/hort/fact_s...wing_oct00.pdf

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?im...a%3DN%26um%3D1

The piccie looks a bit similar

[gav28]

That looks like it, Mummy Berry it is! Now to treat it.

[WrexTheDragon]

I have 5 six year old plants in the garden and 4 have done this for the first time.
Thanks for the link Nicos, I think I have Botrytis.

[Duronal]

One of mine has done the same too!

[WrexTheDragon]

It has been very wet over winter, I am sure that I was told that you could not kill a blueberry bush.

Lets hope they come back?

[teakdesk]

I am sure that I was told that you could not kill a blueberry bush.

One of my blueberry bushes is testament to the falseness of that statement !!

It was the most exposed of my three bushes and is as dead as the proverbial dodo... I'll move the remaining two to shelter this winter !!!

[gojiberry]

Mine look OK but have not fruited as well as I would have hoped. Pruning shears are at the ready though. I would have thought that if it were a disease then the bush would have completely died, especially after reading that thread. My thoughts tend to turn to vine weevil. Maybe Gav it would be worth taking a plant out and having a look at its roots to see if there are any root pests. If not then just repot with fresh soil and see how it does compared with the others. Nothin to loose by doing so.

Ian

[lesleygl]

What is vine weevil, I am abit worried about my Blueberry as well?

[lapin_rouge]

Yup - vine weevil could be the culpret, they love waterlogged peat based compost. Pull up a plant and have a ferret around the roots - look for fat white grubs (about 12mm) curled round in a C.

Snag is.... the only vine weevil chemical I know of, is fine at killing the bugs - but you cant eat any of the fruit afterwards. So hopefully VW's arn't your problem!

[gav28]

Well, talking of Vine Weevil, I've just been out and killed 6 of the blighters on my Strawberry planter. They are really going to town on those plants, eating the leaves etc. The Blueberry plants remain untouched though. To be sure I have used some Nematodes to deal with the grubs within the Strawberry planter. And take great delight in nuking the adult Vine Weevils!!! :-)

As for my original Blueberry problem, I have decided it is either Phomopsis or Blueberry Scorch Virus. I have therefore burnt and binned the most badly affected plant and am keeping a very close eye on the others. At the moment, the fruit is looking good, just starting to ripen. Any sign of trouble and I'll be out with the cutters!

cheers