How to Fix Burnt Blueberry Leaf Tips

Burnt blueberry leaf tips are a symptom of a bacterial disease known as bacterial leaf scorch. Although all blueberry bushes are at risk for this disease, the southern highbush varieties are particularly susceptible. The bacterium Xylella fastidiosa invades the blueberry bush's vascular system prevents water from reaching all areas of the plant. The bacterium overwinters on host plants, primarily grasses and weeds. In spring it is spread by insects from infected plants to healthy ones. The most apparent symptom is a burnt or scorched area on the blueberry's leaf tips. Although there is currently no cure for the disease, there are ways to prevent it and, if infected, to slow it down.

Insecticide soil drench
Insecticide foliar drench

Instructions

- 1
  Keep the disease in check by not allowing the blueberry bush to become stressed for water. Supply at least 1 inch of water a week when there is no rain.
- 2
  Drench the soil around the blueberry bush when it begins its spring flush of growth with an insecticide containing imidacloprid or thiamethoxam. This will kill the insect vectors that spread the disease. Apply at the highest rate listed on the label and according to the manufacturer's precautions.
- 3
  Spray the blueberry bush's foliage, in late spring, with a pyrethroids and organophosphate to kill sharpshooters, one of the bacterium's insect vectors. Apply at the rate suggested on the label.
- 4
  Deliver a foliage sample of any growth that you suspect may be infected to the county cooperative extension office for a diagnosis. If the bush is positive for bacterial leaf scorch, it should be removed and destroyed.

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