ABSTRACT
Stem blight, caused by the fungus Botryosphaeria dothidea (Moug. LFr.) Ces. and De Not (anamorph Fusicoccum aesuli Corda.) is a widespread and destructive disease of highbush (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) and rabbiteye blueberries (V. ashei Reade) grown in the southeastern United States (Milholland, 1995). Losses are most severe in young fields where plants often become infected and die in the first two years (Milholland, 1972). In older fields stem blight is most commonly seen as a dieback of one or more canes in a bush; however, mature bushes of susceptible cultivars, such as ‘Tifblue’, sometimes die from stem blight infection (Smith, 1997). Creswell and Milholland (1987) reported a 23% incidence of stem blight in North Carolina in 1985.
