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| Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries |
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Abstract: Fireblight of raspberry caused by Erwinia amylovora is a serious disease
in New Brunswick particularly on the variety Nova where fruit produced in late fall serve as
an overwintering site for inoculum. BlightBan C9-1 is a biopesticide containing the bacterium
Pantoea agglomerans that has been shown to suppress fireblight on apple. BlightBan (0.5 g/L)
and copper hydroxide (1.1 g/L) were applied to the point of runoff to the upper one third of the
canopy using a backpack sprayer operating at 276 kPa. Treatments were applied at 10 percent
bloom or at 10 percent bloom with two follow up applications at 5 day intervals. Blight assessments
were made 41 days after the first application when fireblight incidence was observed to be common
in the plots. Disease incidence was high with an overall fruit infection rate of 26 percent. None of the
treatments significantly reduced fireblight infection of raspberry fruit; untreated control - 24%,
BlightBan (1 application at 10% bloom) - 20%, BlightBan (3 applications) - 24%, copper hydroxide
(3 applications) - 36%. Fruit set was good in all plots and no phytotoxicity was observed for any of
the treatments.
1NB Department of Agriculture and Aquaculture, Crop Development Branch, P. O. Box 6000, Fredericton, NB E3B 5H1