How to translate text using browser tools
13 April 2022 Fertility Effects on Blueberry Gall Midge (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) in Wild Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium; Ericales: Ericaceae)
R. Gumbrewicz, L. Calderwood
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Blueberry gall midge, Dasineura oxycoccana (Johnson) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) is a pest in American cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton (Ericales: Ericaceae) and wild blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton (Ericales: Ericaceae), and has been observed in areas of high soil and foliar nutrient levels. New management strategies, including fertilization, will need to be altered to sustain wild blueberry production under climate change and, in turn, may impact the occurrence of this pest. The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertilizer application on density of infested stems and the combined effects of fertilizer application with and without infestation on wild blueberry systems. This study was conducted at two field sites in Jonesboro and Washington, ME during 2020 and 2021. Despite increases in habitat availability (blueberry cover) for the gall midge and greater infestation density, wild blueberry production benefited from DAP application. This was shown in the number of buds per stem at both sites, as well as in stem height, flowers, green fruit, blue fruit per stem, and total yield at the Washington site. Foliar nitrogen and phosphorus levels had a significant positive linear relationship with infestation density. Growers applying fertilizers should monitor blueberry gall midge field infestation levels due to our findings that DAP fertilizer impacted infestation density and the interaction of DAP fertilizer with infestation impacted wild blueberry production.

© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
R. Gumbrewicz and L. Calderwood "Fertility Effects on Blueberry Gall Midge (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) in Wild Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium; Ericales: Ericaceae)," Journal of Economic Entomology 115(3), 783-791, (13 April 2022). https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toac043
Received: 17 December 2021; Accepted: 7 March 2022; Published: 13 April 2022
JOURNAL ARTICLE
9 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
blueberry gall midge
climate change
fertilizer
wild blueberry
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top