{"id":2764,"date":"2019-05-18T00:04:52","date_gmt":"2019-05-18T07:04:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/pal\/pal-question-547\/"},"modified":"2024-01-31T12:24:10","modified_gmt":"2024-01-31T20:24:10","slug":"managing-mummy-berry-on-blueberries","status":"publish","type":"pal","link":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/pal\/managing-mummy-berry-on-blueberries\/","title":{"rendered":"managing mummy berry on blueberries"},"content":{"rendered":"

We have 5 acres that are covered in 50-year-old fir and cedar forest,<\/strong>
\nwith lots of salal and evergreen huckleberry. The huckleberries have<\/strong>
\nwhat looks like mummy berries that I have seen in photographs of<\/strong>
\nblueberries before. They have a dry grey peeling that feels like old<\/strong>
\ngarlic skin with a very hard brown inside. There doesn’t appear to be<\/strong>
\nany problem with the foliage. These bushes are naturally growing, and<\/strong>
\nare all over through the property. Mulching and cultivation would be<\/strong>
\nnearly impossible on this scale, and I’d really prefer not to spray if<\/strong>
\npossible. Can you suggest a safe method of control that would be<\/strong>
\npossible on this large scale? Or is this something that nature will take<\/strong>
\ncare of on its own? Or do we even need to worry about it since we don’t<\/strong>
\nharvest the berries? I can live with a few shriveled berries. I just<\/strong>
\ndon’t want it to spread wildly or kill off half of our underbrush.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If mummy berry is what you are seeing (and it does sound like it), it is
\ncaused by a fungus which overwinters in the fallen berries, so anything
\nyou can do to collect them might help. The following,<\/a> from Ohio State
\nUniversity Extension, describes the life cycle of this fungal problem.<\/p>\n

The Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control<\/em> by
\nBarbara Ellis (Rodale, 1996) recommends removing the berries and in
\nspring, cultivating around the bushes to bury any fallen mummies, or
\nadding mulch to cover fungal spores.<\/p>\n

Beyond the good hygiene of removing the fallen fruit, there may be a
\nchance that wettable sulfur spray might help, as described in this information from McGill University.<\/a> Excerpt:<\/p>\n

“Clean cultivation can reduce the incidence of mummy berry disease. This
\npractice destroys the fallen mummified fruit, which harbors the inoculum
\nfor the next season’s infection. Wettable sulfur sprays have also been
\neffective in reducing mummy berry infection. In New Jersey, researchers
\nused three sprays roughly one week apart with the first spray timed for
\nleaf emergence in the spring.”<\/p>\n

However, I found Ohio State University<\/a> contradicting this information,
\nindicating that organic fungicides such as sulfur and copper were
\nineffective against mummy berry.<\/p>\n

Here<\/a> is additional information from National Sustainable Agriculture
\nInformation Service. Excerpt:<\/p>\n

This fungus overwinters in mummified berries that have fallen to the
\nground. Sod or moss directly under the plant will contribute to spore
\nproduction. To control this fungus, remove infested fruit (“mummies”)
\nfrom the plant, rake and burn mummified berries, or cover the fallen
\nberries with at least two inches of mulch. Cultivation during moist
\nspring weather will destroy the spore-forming bodies. Strategies that
\nlead to early pollination of newly open flowers may be useful in managing
\nmummy berry disease in the field, since studies show that newly opened
\nflowers are the most susceptible to infection and that fruit disease
\nincidence is reduced if pollination occurs at least one day before
\ninfection.(Ngugi et al., 2002)<\/p>\n

The fungus survives the winter on dead twigs and in organic matter in the
\nsoil. The disease is more severe when excessive nitrogen has been used,
\nwhere air circulation is poor, or when frost has injured blossoms.
\nVarieties possessing tight fruit clusters are particularly susceptible to
\nthis disease. Remove dead berries, debris, and mulch from infected plants
\nduring the winter and compost or destroy it. Replace with new mulch, and
\ndo not place mulch against the trunk of the plant.<\/p>\n

I’m afraid there is not an easy solution for such a large expanse of
\nhuckleberries. Then again, if you are not concerned about harvesting the
\nfruit, then you can probably just let it be. Since the fungus seems to be
\na problem primarily for plants in the blueberry family, I do not imagine
\nit will harm other plants on your property.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We have 5 acres that are covered in 50-year-old fir and cedar forest, with lots of salal and evergreen huckleberry. The huckleberries have what looks like mummy berries that I have seen in photographs of blueberries before. They have a dry grey peeling that feels like old garlic skin with a very hard brown inside. There doesn’t appear to be any problem with the foliage. These bushes are naturally growing, and are all over through the property. Mulching and cultivation…<\/p>\n

Continue reading managing mummy berry on blueberries<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","keyword":[63,124,694],"class_list":["post-2764","pal","type-pal","status-publish","hentry","keyword-fungal-diseases-of-plants","keyword-gaultheria-shallon","keyword-huckleberries"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pal\/2764"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pal"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/pal"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"keyword","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/keyword?post=2764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}