Raspberries dying - Ask Extension
2nd year raspberries are breaking off from main stem and dying. Any ideas why?
Knowledgebase
Raspberries dying #766331
Asked August 08, 2021, 1:55 PM EDT
2nd year raspberries are breaking off from main stem and dying. Any ideas why?
Lane County Oregon
Expert Response
Not a lot of information to go on here. I see a broken floral cane of a raspberry in what appears to be a raised bed garden in a backyard. There are lots of other plants in the background so I am assuming the growers knows about the life history of caneberries like these. I see soaker hoses for irrigation but not sure what the third images is trying to show us.
I do not know of any diseases that would do this in this type of production system. When commercial growers use mechanical harvesters there is something called cane blight that cause these symptoms:
https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/host-disease/raspberry-rubus-spp-cane-blight
I think this might be more due to a insect that has bored into the cane. Not sure which one but if you cut the canes open you might see evidence of insect activity - tunnels, frass, etc.... I will forward this to someone else who might be able to help with this aspect.
I do not know of any diseases that would do this in this type of production system. When commercial growers use mechanical harvesters there is something called cane blight that cause these symptoms:
https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/host-disease/raspberry-rubus-spp-cane-blight
I think this might be more due to a insect that has bored into the cane. Not sure which one but if you cut the canes open you might see evidence of insect activity - tunnels, frass, etc.... I will forward this to someone else who might be able to help with this aspect.
Let me start by asking how many of the canes are affected? Did it start in one plant and spread? Do you see any other symptoms?
It is possible this is caused by a insect that has bored into the cane. There are several boring type insects that are known pests of raspberries in this region, including the Cane maggot,
raspberry crown borer, and the rose stem girdler. Please inspect the canes to look for holes that may have been caused by an insect tunneling into the cane and frass (insect poop). Then cut open one of the affected canes to look for insect larvae. Let me know what you find.
