Culprits Behind Blueberry Packout Losses: Key Insects and Diseases

High-value blueberry crops require careful management throughout the season, as growers are faced with a wide range of pests, disease pressure and environmental stressors that can impact plant health and fruit quality. Managing these yield-robbers requires timely, well-coordinated approaches that address these threats while supporting consistent plant development and maximizing yield potential.

Vive Crop Protection’s Precision Chemistry™ solutions enable a flexible, system-based approach to blueberry production. By combining broadcast, drip, and foliar applications, growers can implement targeted control strategies that protect against disease and insect pressure at critical timings, while also supporting plant vigor, stress tolerance, and overall fruit quality throughout the season.

Blueberries

More Effective Fungicides. Stronger Protection. Higher Marketable Yield.

Protecting blueberries from fruit rot and foliar diseases is essential for preserving yield and minimizing packout losses. Fruit rots such as Mummyberry and Monolinia blight, and foliar diseases including Grey mold, Septoria blotch, and Powdery mildew can have a significant negative impact on fruit quality. These diseases increase decay, reduce storage capabilities, and compromise marketability if not effectively managed.

AZteroid® FC 3.3 fungicide delivers reliable foliar performance to help manage blueberry diseases, giving growers confidence that every application is working as intended by:

Providing systemic, long-lasting disease control to protect plant health.
Supporting plant vigor through key growth stages.
Offering superior tank mixability with foliar feeds, micronutrients, and other crop protection inputs for zero clogs or plugs, ensuring all products make it on the field and doesn't gum up in the tank.

“Just knowing that we’re going out with something that we know works, we have peace of mind. We’re not going to be plugging filters or plugging nozzles,”

said Jose Rivera, Agronomist at Skagit Farmers Supply, Lynden, WA.

Building Plant Resilience and Boosting Growth

A well-structured fungicide program with multiple Modes of Action (MOA) remains essential for resistance management and season-long control in blueberries. Many key blueberry pathogens have a high capacity to develop resistance with repeated exposure, often leading to reduced product efficacy over time.

AZterknot®, a dual Mode of Action (MOA) bio-enabled fungicide, is a valuable addition to a foliar spray program. Combining azoxystrobin with Reynoutria sachalinensis extract (RSE), AZterknot protects the plant from infection in two distinct ways: by reducing the likelihood of resistance development and enhancing disease control over solo azoxystrobin. This dual-MOA approach translates into consistent, in-field performance by:

Providing full leaf coverage protection from key diseases.
Strengthening cell walls and reinforcing plant defenses through the power of RSE to enhance photosynthetic efficiency, increase greening, boost plant growth, and amplifying fruit development.
Acting as a plant health promoter, helping improve crop vigor, resilience, and overall productivity.
AZterknot’s Advanced Application Advantage ensures the active ingredient sticks and stays where it’s applied, providing uniform leaf coverage and reduced run off.
Supporting increased marketable yield potential and improved fruit quality.

“You are going to get a longer protection, save time, and save money,”

said Jiwan Brar, Washington blueberry grower.

AZterknot® In Blueberries Sees Increased Yield Potential

Agriculture Development Group, WA

Standard Program: Indar™ (6 oz), Proline® (5.7 oz), Bravo® (32 oz), Pristine® (23 oz), Switch® (14 oz), Kenja® (15.5 oz). All fungicide treatments contain NIS - SB-56 (6 oz/100 gal). Means followed by the same letter do not significantly differ (P=0.10 LSD).

Foliar Disease Control Meets Uniform Coverage

As the crop moves into full canopy, blueberry diseases become more difficult to control, especially under high humidity and frequent rainfall. Dense canopies further restricting airflow to dry the plants will cause high disease pressure that can impact fruit quality and packout if not effectively managed.

Phobos® FC fungicide provides consistent control of key foliar diseases through superior, uniform leaf coverage to help prevent and limit the spread of infection. This performance is delivered in the field by:

Protecting crops under high disease pressure and unpredictable summer rainstorms.
Utilizing its Advanced Application Advantage, Phobos FC maximizes leaf surface coverage and reduces rain wash off, providing widespread, uniform protection.
Delivering reliable foliar disease control through harvest for grower peace of mind and increased marketable yields at the end of the season.

Manage Insect Pressure to Protect Fruit Quality

In blueberries, insect pressure from soil insects (Wireworms, Grubs), foliar insects (Japanese beetles, Aphids), and most importantly, fruit insects (Blueberry maggot, Drosophila), can significantly impact plant health, fruit quality, and overall packout.

Root-feeding insects can compromise plant establishment and reduce water and nutrient uptake, while foliar feeding can limit photosynthetic capacity and weaken overall plant vigor. However, the greatest risk to marketable yield often comes from fruit-infesting pests which can cause berry damage, contamination, and increased susceptibility to secondary infections.

Viloprid® 4 insecticide provides systemic control to help manage these damaging pests by:

Delivering effective pest protection to reduce feeding damage on leaves and fruit.
Maintaining clean, marketable berries that are undamaged from yield-robbing pests.

Supporting overall crop health by reducing feeding damage.
Handling easier! Engineered for a clean, hassle-free pour and longer shelf life, Viloprid 4 handles much easier than Admire® Pro and generic imidacloprids, ensuring the active ingredient is making it to the field, not getting wasted in the jug or tank.
Seamlessly mixing with liquid fertilizers, foliar feeds, micronutrients, and other crop inputs, saving growers valuable time and resources.

Conclusion

Blueberry production demands consistency, uniform growth, balanced plant health, and the ability to deliver high-quality fruit at harvest. With constant pressure from pests and diseases, protecting both plant health and fruit integrity is critical to minimizing packout losses.

What sets Vive’s blueberry program apart is not just individual products, it’s the application flexibility and compatibility across solutions, enabling growers to target pests and diseases at the right time and place. This integrated approach strengthens disease and pest control, protects canopy function, and supports plant health throughout the season.

The result is a more efficient, flexible program that helps growers protect yield potential, boost fruit quality, and maximize packout, all while managing more acres with fewer inputs and passes.

Learn more about Vive’s full product lineup: https://www.vivecrop.com/products