Review of the identification and control of progressive die-back symptoms in blueberry

In April 2012 Project SF132 was set up to investigate the problem of dieback in blueberry. Some progress has been made. However, by March 2014 it is unlikely that the cause of the problem will be established with confidence. Until the cause is clearly identified it is not possible to further our understanding of how and when the pathogen gains entry and how the problem is spread. Without this knowledge it is not possible to evaluate fungicide control or provide advice on disease management. Therefore a one-year extension to the project is requested. This will enable the problem to be further investigated, especially to confirm pathogenicity of the fungal isolates already obtained and to study disease spread. Preliminary experiments on evaluating fungicides and disease management will also be conducted.