There may be a time in the future where you'll have to describe just the memory of blueberries to your children or grandchildren. Scientists are warning that blueberries could very well go the way of the Dodo bird.
Researchers are very concerned about a fungus that's spread across the globe and impacting the crop. It causes blueberry plants to mildew and has caused a decrease in the crop. Farmers are turning to fungicides to try to stop the spread of the fungi. Erysiphe vaccinii has circumvented the globe for the past decade.
Its impact on the crop can't be underestimated.
Michael Bradshaw, assistant professor of at North Carolina State, said, "This is a hard organism to control. If you're sending plant material across the world, you're likely spreading this fungus with it."
Blueberries Face Threat
"There are other closely related powdery mildews that affect plants like wild berries or eucalyptus, but these are genetically different from the ones spreading across the world on blueberries," Bradshaw also said.
The fungi reproduce sexually and asexually meaning that it's hard to destroy. Researchers warn that the fungi covers the plants as almost a parasite. So far, outbreaks have been minor in the U.S., but scientists are concerned about the spread. The fungi can be hard to identify, making it easy to spread to other places.
"This platform allows growers to enter their data and learn which specific strain is in their fields," Bradshaw said. "That's important because understanding the genetics can warn farmers about which strain they have, whether it is resistant to fungicides, and how the disease is spreading, as well as the virulence of particular strains."
The fungi has also infected strawberries, wheat, and grapes. "Different species of this fungus affect different plants; wheat, hops, grapes and strawberries, among other plants, have been detrimentally affected by powdery mildew," the researchers said.
The researcher highlighted the affect on agriculture.
"Disease spread could also be impacted by agricultural conditions," Bradshaw said. "Some areas that grow blueberries in tunnels, or enclosed areas, seem to have worse disease outcomes than areas that grow blueberries outdoors without any covering, like in North Carolina."
