The Edges of My Blueberry Leaves Are Dying

Bacterial Leaf Scorch

• Bacterial leaf scorch is transmitted to blueberry plants by pests such as spittle bugs and sharpshooters, according to the University of Georgia. Once inside of the plant, the bacteria blocks the water conducting tissues. Both nutrients and water are no longer able to adequately transport throughout the blueberry plant. Typically, plants die out before the next season. It is important for gardeners to adequately diagnose their plant to rule out other factors that cause leaf edge dying.

Symptoms

• Gardeners may see their infected blueberry plant leaves produce a scorched or dying area at the tips of leaves. A dark band borders the dying tips from the healthy leaf area. The result is an "oak-leaf" pattern on leaves, according to the University of Georgia. While there may be a uniform distribution of diseased looking leaves, generally one side of the plant or the side that has its water conducting tissues blocked will display diseased leaves.

How to Diagnose

• Drought, over fertilizing and root rot disease causes dying leaves. However, there is a specific symptom of leaf scorch that is not shared by other blueberry problems. Diseased blueberry plants produce yellow stems and twigs after their leaves have defoliated. If you blueberry plant looks discolored or yellow after defoliation, there is a good chance that you are dealing with bacterial leaf scorch and not other issues. You can tell that the plant has root rot by looking at its root system. Root rot causes blueberry plants to have weak and discolored root systems, according to the University of Florida.

Cultural Control

• There is little that gardeners can do for their infected blueberry plants. Diseased plants must be removed from the garden. Avoid spreading the disease by planting it in your compost. Burn or throw away infected debris. Gardeners can prevent future leaf scorch infections by spraying their blueberry plants with a pesticide in the late spring to prevent pests from transmitting the disease, as suggested by the University of Georgia. Reapply according the directions on the label of your pesticide.