Blueberry IPM in Florida
Oscar E. Liburd, PhD
Associate Professor
Entomology and Nematology Department
University of Florida
Chronological Order of Blueberry pests
Flower thrips
Blueberry gall midge
Cranberry fruitworm
Spotted wing drosophila
Blueberry bud mite
Flea beetle
Flower Thrips, Frankliniella bispinosa
Ovipositional Injury
•Travel along wind currents
• Multiple generations per year
Size of thrips populations in relation to flower phenology
Percentages of opened flowers
1
10
70
90
20
250
Average # of Thrips captured
200
x column 1 vs y column 1
Col 1 vs Col 2
150
100
50
0
0
5
10
15
Days after blooming
20
25
Flower thrips (left); Chilli thrips (right)
(Scirtothrips dorsalis)
Injuries resulting from chilli thrips
Management of thrips
 Monitoring for adults
White sticky boards
floral tapping on white paper
 Conventional insecticides
Delegate 3-6 oz per acre (biological Insecticide)
Malathion (organophosphate)
Assail (Neo-nicotinoid)
 Organic insecticide
Entrust
Blueberry gall midge, Dasineura oxycoccana (Johnson)
Blueberry gall midge
Management of blueberry gall midge
 Monitoring for adult emergence
Bucket traps
 Conventional insecticides
Delegate 3-6 oz per acre (Biological Insecticide)
Malathion (organophosphate)
**Assail (Neo-nicotinoid)
 Organic insecticide
Entrust, Pyganic
Blueberry bud mite, Acalitus vaccinii (Keifer)
Feeds on the
under-scale of
buds
The mite is whitish, elongate and
very small (1/125 of an inch long)
Blueberry bud mite injury
Confused with frost damage
Fewer fruits with Pimpeling
Bud scale under dis Mcro.
Management of blueberry bud mite
 Removal of infected branches through pruning
 Pruning old canes
 Post-harvest application insecticide/miticides such as
endosulfan
 Summer oils
Cranberry Fruitworm, Acrobasis vaccinii Riley
Cranberry Fruitworm
Larvae are light green with a dark head capsule
Mature larvae are about ½ inch in length
Silk webbing
deformed
Management of cranberry fruitworm
 Monitoring for adults
Conventional Insecticide
Delegate
Assail
Confirm 2F (tebufenozide)
Organic Insecticide
Entrust
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)
Blueberry maggot
Management of blueberry maggot
Monitoring for adults
Conventional Insecticide
Assail
Imidan
Monitoring trap for BMF
Organic Insecticide
Entrust
Spotted Wing Drosophila
 Several generations per year
 Larvae develop inside fruit
 Fruit becomes soft and unmarketable
Management of Spotted Wing Drosophila
Monitoring for adults
Conventional Insecticide
Delegate
Mustang
Organic Insecticide
Entrust
Monitoring trap for SWD
Bait Solution Spotted Wing Drosophila
Yeast-Sugar Bait Solution Recipe:
2 teaspoons of bakers yeast
4 teaspoons of sugar
2 cups of water
Mix and pour ≈1 ½ inches of yeast bait into cup
Flea beetles in Blueberry
Blueberry leaf beetle
Colaspis pseudofavosa
Damage
Flea beetles in Blueberry
Red-headed flea beetle
Systena frontalis
Damage
Management of flea beetles
Monitoring for adults
Conventional Insecticide
Assail
Mustang
Monitoring for flea beetles
Organic Insecticide
Entrust
Common Beneficial Insects
Coleoptera
- Coccinellidae; lady beetles
Aphids
thrips
- Carabidae; ground beetles
Weed seeds
Lepidoptera eggs
Common Beneficial Insects
Hemiptera
Bigeyed bug, Geocoris spp.
Minute pirate bug, Orius spp.
Common Beneficial Insects
Neuroptera
Green lacewings
Diptera
Hover or Flower flies
Acknowledgements
Small Fruit and Vegetable IPM Lab
Florida Blueberry Growers Association for our funding
research
oeliburd@ufl.edu
(352) 273-3918
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/liburd/fruitnvegipm/