Oscar E. Liburd

0000-0001-8827-5823

Calendar for Southern Highbush Blueberry Management in Florida

Douglas A. Phillips, Jeffrey G. Williamson, Philip F. Harmon, Oscar E. Liburd, Peter J. Dittmar, yRachel E. Mallinger

Southern highbush blueberries (SHB) are commercially grown throughout Florida in both deciduous and evergreen systems. This calendar addresses the monthly general management requirements for Florida commercial blueberry growers in conventional (nonorganic) systems and should be used in coordination with other Ask IFAS publications.

Organic Blueberry Production in Florida

Douglas A. Phillips, Peter J. Dittmar, Philip F. Harmon, Oscar E. Liburd, Danielle D. Treadwell, and Jeffrey G. Williamson

A UF/IFAS numbered peer reviewed Fact Sheet for Commercial audience(s). Published by Plant Systems

2024 Florida Blueberry Integrated Pest Management Guide

Philip F. Harmon, Oscar E. Liburd, Peter Dittmar, Jeffrey G. Williamson, and Doug Phillips

This publication is intended to be a resource for Florida blueberry growers to use in scouting for disease and insect/mite pest damage; managing disease, insect/mite pests, and weeds; and application of certain plant growth regulators.

A Parasitoid Wasp Cotesia congregata (Say) (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

Christopher D. Crockett, Andrea Lucky, Oscar E. Liburd, and Karen M. Kester

The Featured Creatures collection provides in-depth profiles of insects, nematodes, arachnids and other organisms relevant to Florida. These profiles are intended for the use of interested laypersons with some knowledge of biology as well as academic audiences.

Yellowmargined Leaf Beetle: A Pest of Cole Crops

Elena M. Rhodes and Oscar E. Liburd

A UF/IFAS numbered Organism ID for Commercial audience(s). in support of UF/IFAS Extension program: Integrated Pest Management

Flower Thrips in Blackberries in Florida

Oscar E. Liburd, Elena M. Rhodes, Elke Weibelzahl, and Sara E. Brennan

A UF/IFAS numbered publication. in support of UF/IFAS Extension program: Integrated Pest Management

Whitefly Predatory Lady Beetle (suggested common name) Delphastus catalinae (Horn) (Insecta: Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Janine Razze and Oscar E. Liburd

The Featured Creatures collection provides in-depth profiles of insects, nematodes, arachnids and other organisms relevant to Florida. These profiles are intended for the use of interested laypersons with some knowledge of biology as well as academic audiences.

Diaprepes Root Weevil on Southern Highbush Blueberry in Florida

Douglas A. Phillips, Oscar E. Liburd, and Larry W. Duncan

Poinsettia Thrips, Impatiens Thrips (suggested common names) Echinothrips americanus Morgan (Insecta: Thysanoptera: Thripidae)

Babu Panthi, Oscar Liburd, and Justin Renkema

The Featured Creatures collection provides in-depth profiles of insects, nematodes, arachnids and other organisms relevant to Florida. These profiles are intended for the use of interested laypersons with some knowledge of biology as well as academic audiences.

Mite Pests of Southern Highbush Blueberry in Florida

Oscar E. Liburd, Lorena Lopez, and Doug Phillips

Chilli Thrips on Blueberries in Florida

Oscar E. Liburd, Babu R. Panthi, and Douglas A. Phillips

Pollination of Cucurbita spp. (Squash and Pumpkin) Crops in Florida

Rachel E. Mallinger and Oscar E. Liburd

Integrated Pest Management Tools for Strawberry Seed Bug Pest on Organic Strawberries in Florida

Oscar E. Liburd, Hannah R. Talton, yElena M. Rhodes

Strawberry seed bug, Neopamera bilobata (Say), is a pest of organic strawberries in Florida. The rhyparochromidae species has been collected in a range of habitats worldwide, including South and Central America and many states in the southeastern United States. Strawberry seed bugs can cause injury to ripe strawberries, decreasing growers’ profits. Integrated pest management techniques can mitigate strawberry seed bug populations in organic systems. This publication provides an overview of the strawberry seed bug and the injuries it can cause to strawberries produced in Florida. It includes monitoring and management options growers can use against strawberry seed bugs in organic strawberry production.

Wax Scale on Southern Highbush Blueberries in Florida

Oscar E. Liburd and Doug Phillips

Florida wax scale, Ceroplastes floridensis, is an insect pest causing damage on plants throughout much of the United States, including Florida, where it can be found infesting southern highbush blueberries. This publication is intended to inform Florida blueberry growers about this pest and to discuss management and control alternatives.

Management of the Blueberry Gall Midge on Southern Highbush Blueberries in Florida

Marice Lopez, Patricio Munoz, and Oscar Liburd

The blueberry gall midge (BGM) is one of the most important pests of southern highbush blueberries in Florida. Monitoring for BGM using clear sticky traps or bucket traps should begin as early as November. Chemical control should be applied right before bud break and then ten days after bud break, or when at least two BGM are found on traps. Other management practices include the use of younger mulch, using potentially resistant cultivars, and chemical control such as Movento with Induce and Apta in rotation to avoid resistance development. Applications should also be timed with larval and adult emergence for optimal insecticide efficacy. 

Diamondback Moth Management in Cole Crops

Purity K. Muthomi, Dakshina Seal, and Oscar E. Liburd

The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus), is a significant pest of cole crops such as cabbage, Chinese cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, collards, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, radish, carinata, turnips, and watercress. Globally, the annual cost of managing the DBM is estimated to be USD 4 to 5 billion. The pest originated in Europe but is now widely distributed wherever cole crops are extensively grown. DBM has become widespread due to its high dispersal ability, multiple generations per year, and potential to develop resistance to most commonly used insecticides. DBM management is heavily reliant on chemical control, but DBM is notorious for developing resistance to many classes of insecticides, so frequent pesticide applications can lead to insecticide resistance, ineffective pest suppression, and yield losses. Therefore, to manage DBM, a good integrated pest management (IPM) strategy is critical.

Flatheaded Borers of the Genus Chrysobothris in Florida Blueberries (Insecta: Coleoptera: Buprestidae)

Alexis G. Zapata, Esnai Munthali, yOscar E. Liburd

The Featured Creatures collection provides in-depth profiles of insects, nematodes, arachnids, and other organisms relevant to Florida. These profiles are intended for the use of interested laypersons with some knowledge of biology as well as academic audiences. This publication describes flatheaded borers in the genus Chrysobothris, which are emerging pests for nursery plants, fruit crops, hardwood trees, and tree nut orchards, and which are of especial concern for blueberry producers in Florida. The publication describes the beetles' distribution and seasonality and their biology, as well as the damage they cause and some management strategies.

Managing Spotted Wing Drosophila in Florida Blueberries

Oscar E. Liburd, Arden R. Lambert, yDouglas A. Phillips

Since its first detection in 2009, spotted wing drosophila (SWD) is common in all of Florida’s fruit-producing counties. Surveys indicate that SWD are active year-round in Florida’s warm climate, with peak activity from April to May when the blueberry harvest is highest. Although this is a significant pest of blueberries in Florida, with good cultural practices, proper monitoring, and appropriate pesticide applications it can be successfully managed. This publication is intended to be used as a resource for Florida blueberry growers to successfully identify and manage SWD.

Grapeleaf Skeletonizer, Harrisina americana (Guerin-Meneville) (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae)

F. W. Mead and Susan E. Webb

The Featured Creatures collection provides in-depth profiles of insects, nematodes, arachnids and other organisms relevant to Florida. These profiles are intended for the use of interested laypersons with some knowledge of biology as well as academic audiences.

Grape Leaffolder, Desmia funeralis (Hübner) (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

Oscar E. Liburd, F. W. Mead, Susan E. Webb, and Elena M. Rhodes

The Featured Creatures collection provides in-depth profiles of insects, nematodes, arachnids, and other organisms relevant to Florida. These profiles are intended for the use of interested laypersons with some knowledge of biology as well as academic audiences.

Predatory Mite, Neoseiulus californicus (McGregor) (Arachnida: Acari: Phytoseiidae)

Elena M. Rhodes and Oscar E. Liburd

The Featured Creatures collection provides in-depth profiles of insects, nematodes, arachnids and other organisms relevant to Florida. These profiles are intended for the use of interested laypersons with some knowledge of biology as well as academic audiences.

Recommendations for Management of Whiteflies, Whitefly-Transmitted Viruses, and Insecticide Resistance for Production of Cucurbit Crops in Florida

Xavier Martini, Ioannis Karapanos, Sanju Kunwar, Scott Adkins, Jane E. Polston, Pamela D. Roberts, Oscar E. Liburd, Teresia W. Nyoike, Eugene McAvoy, Susan E. Webb, yAlicia J. Whidden

This publication lists and describes common viruses spread in cucurbit crops by whiteflies. It includes strategies for managing whiteflies, most of them originally from a similar publication on managing whiteflies in tomatoes.

Intercropping, Crop Diversity and Pest Management

Hugh A. Smith and Oscar E. Liburd

Cultivos en asocio, diversidad de cultivos y manejo integrado de plagas

Hugh Smith y Oscar Liburd

A Stink Bug Euschistus quadrator Rolston (Insecta: Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)

Sara A. Brennan, Joseph Eger, and Oscar E. Liburd