Fungal

Mummyberry

A two-stage fungal disease of blueberries causing shoot blight in spring followed by infected berries that shrivel into hard tan mummified fruits.

Symptoms to Look For

Shoot tips wilting and turning brown as if frosted, with salmon-coloured spores inside
Berries turning tan, shrivelling, and becoming hard before they ripen
Mummified fruits dropping or remaining attached through winter

Blueberry

Mulch deeply

Apply 10 cm of wood chip or pine bark mulch under bushes in early spring to bury mummified fruit apothecia and prevent spore release.

Remove mummies

Rake and destroy all mummified fruits from the ground and canopy before bud break to remove the primary inoculum source.

Apply fresh mulch every spring as the key preventive measure - deeply buried mummies cannot release spores
Rake and remove all dropped fruit through the growing season

Garden, by Willowbottom recommends only organic, wildlife-friendly solutions. No synthetic pesticides, no harmful chemicals - ever.