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Blueberry stem canker? #259364

Asked July 05, 2015, 4:28 PM EDT

A few days ago, I noticed some black spots on the stem of my 2-3 year old Sunshine Blue blueberry bush. Today, I checked again, and it seems the whole stem is turning black. I just planted the bush this year, and this is one of the original canes that was already on the bush when I planted it. I checked the rest of the bush, and found a smaller patch on a new growth stem that's branching off of a different cane. The lesions on the newer growth appear to be dark reddish colored, while the more extensive ones on the orginal cane appear to be black. I looked it up on the Internet and it looks like stem canker. I'm attaching photos. Should I prune off the affected branches now, or should I wait until the plant goes dormant in winter? Thank you.

Josephine County Oregon

Expert Response

It looks like blueberry stem canker and the symptoms sound like it. The following website has information for you http://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/blueberry-vaccinium-corymbosum-bacterial-canker

To summarize its suggestions:

"Plant resistant cultivars. Prune out all diseased wood as soon as it is noticed and especially before fall rains. Avoid late-summer nitrogen fertilizer applications, which can lead to winter injury.Prune susceptible cultivars during dry weather if possible."

The link goes on to suggest copper spray in the fall and spring. So do what you can now with pruning back dead and diseased tissue, then spray in the fall and spring. Or remove the plant and plant instead one of the canker resistant varieties listed in the above link.

Thanks for using Ask an Expert

An Ask Extension Expert Replied July 06, 2015, 2:57 PM EDT

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