Incidence of Stem Canker on Highbush Blueberry in New Jersey. A. W. Stretch, Research Plant Pathologist, USDA, ARS; Rutgers Blueberry and Cranberry Research Center, Chatsworth, NJ 08019. P. E. Marucci, Professor of Entomology and Extension Specialist, Rutgers Blueberry and Cranberry Research Center, Chatsworth, NJ 08019; and L. D. DeBlois, Entomologist, New Jersey State Nursery Inspectors, New Jersey Department of Agriculture, Trenton 08625. Plant Dis. 67:777-778. Accepted for publication 9 December 1982. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1983. DOI: 10.1094/PD-67-777.

In 1980 and 1981, highbush blueberries in New Jersey were inspected for stem canker caused by Botryosphaeria corticis. Thirty-two percent of the 6,625 plants examined had stem canker. The high incidence of stem canker in the two cultivars grown most frequently in New Jersey, Bluecrop and Weymouth, and the known ability of the fungus to develop new pathogenic races are a cause of great concern. Survey results indicate the need to determine the pathogenic races present in New Jersey and to include resistance to B. corticis in northern as well as southern cultivars.