Skip to content Skip to navigation
UMass Collegiate M The University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Visit
  • Apply
  • Give
  • Search UMass.edu
Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment
UMass Extension Fruit Program
  • Fruit Home
  • About
    • About the Fruit Program
    • Faculty & Staff
    • Program Sponsors
  • Publications
    • Annual March Message
    • Orchard BMP Manual
    • Small Fruit BMP Manual
    • New England Tree Fruit Management Guide
    • New England Small Fruit Management Guide
    • Fact Sheets
    • Fruit Notes
    • Healthy Fruit
    • Berry Notes
    • IPM Berry Blast
    • New England Grape Notes
    • NC-140 Massachusetts State Reports
    • Subscribe to Fruit Publications
  • Resources
    • Nutrient Management
    • Tall Spindle Apple
    • Apple Maturity Reports
    • Bud Stages Photos
    • Fruit Varieties
    • Invasive Pests
    • Useful Links
    • Clements Corner
  • Services
  • Research & Projects
    • Projects
    • Annual Reports
    • Tunnel Sprayer Blog
    • Research Videos
  • News & Events
    • News & Updates
    • Upcoming Events
    • Mass Aggie Seminars 2025
    • Northeast Extension Fruit Consortium
  • Make a Gift

Blueberry IPM- Shock Virus

Image
Blueberry shock virus symptoms
Image
Blueberry Shock Virus symptoms

Blueberry shock virus (BlShV) is a member of the Bromoviridae family of plant viruses. It is seen primarily in the western United States, but an outbreak did occur in New York in 2011. Blueberry growers in New England should be familiar with the symptoms and epidemiology of this virus.

BlShV causes leaf blight and sudden death of flowering shoots. Symptoms occur within a year or 2 of infection and may include defoliation, blighted flowers, shoot dieback, and little to no fruit set. Symptoms may occur on the entire plant or on just a few branches. Affected tissues usually fall off of the plant, but occasionally dead shoots remain. Plants will initiate new shoots and appear to regain their health, but no fruit will be produced. An infected plant can recover completely in 2 to 4 years and produce fruit once again, but its pollen will carry the virus to uninfected plants. In regions such as the Northwest where BlShV is endemic, the preferred management method is to leave plants in the field and await their recovery; however, in regions such as New England where the virus is not yet established, it is best to remove and destroy infected plants immediately and to carefully monitor those that remain for symptoms. Researchers recommend that all plants in a field should be destroyed if >20% are infected.

BlShV is unusual among plant viruses in that it is present in pollen, and pollinators are the primary mode of dispersal. Infection occurs only when pollen bearing the virus comes in contact with flowers. It is not spread by aphids, thrips, or other common agricultural insect pests, nor is it spread by tools such as pruners. Exclusion is the most reliable way to control BlShV. Buy certified virus-free nursery stock. Blueberries are the only known natural host of this virus. All blueberry cultivars are believed to be susceptible to BlShV, although the rate at which the virus spreads through a field appears to differ among cultivars. Transmission of the virus from one cultivar to another is most likely when the cultivars flower simultaneously. Wild Vaccinium species are not likely to be a reservoir for the virus in the New England, so eradication of native blueberries is not recommended. BlShV can survive 1-2 weeks in bee pollen, so hives believed to hold infected pollen should not be moved to uninfected fields.

Symptoms may resemble those caused by common fungal diseases of blueberry, but may be distinguished by the production of secondary growth on affected branches. Symptoms may also be similar to those of Blueberry scorch virus (BlScV). It is important to distinguish between the two because BlScV is vectored by aphids and BlShV is not.

The UMass Extension Plant Diagnostic Laboratory can make a presumptive diagnosis of BlShV based on symptoms, case history, and absence of other pathogens, but this diagnosis would need to be confirmed by further laboratory testing. For more information on blueberry virus testing, contact Agdia, Inc. (www.agdia.com).

Author: Angela Madeiras
Last Updated: September 8, 2015

Publications

  • Annual March Message
  • Orchard BMP Manual
  • Small Fruit BMP Manual
  • New England Tree Fruit Management Guide
  • New England Small Fruit Management Guide
  • Fact Sheets
  • Fruit Notes
  • Healthy Fruit
  • Berry Notes
  • IPM Berry Blast
  • New England Grape Notes
  • NC-140 Massachusetts State Reports
  • Subscribe to Fruit Publications

Connect with UMass Extension Fruit Program:

Facebook YouTube YouTube Podcast

Subscribe to Fruit Publications »

Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment

 

Stockbridge Hall,
80 Campus Center Way
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Amherst, MA 01003-9246
Phone: (413) 545-4800
Fax: (413) 545-6555
ag [at] cns [dot] umass [dot] edu (ag[at]cns[dot]umass[dot]edu)

 

Civil Rights and Non-Discrimination Information

College of Natural Sciences

Login for faculty and staff

CAFE Units

Mass. Agricultural Experiment Station

UMass Extension

UMass Research and Education Center Farms

UMass Cranberry Station

Water Resources Research Center

Interest Areas

Agriculture

Commercial Horticulture

Energy

Environmental Conservation

Food Science

Nutrition

Water

Youth Development & 4-H

Services

Pesticide Education

Plant Diagnostics Laboratory

Soil and Plant Nutrient Testing Laboratory

Hot Water Seed Treatment

Water Testing / Environmental Analysis Laboratory

Projects

Conservation Assessment Prioritization System (CAPS)

Extension Risk Management/Crop Insurance Education

Mass. Envirothon

Mass. Herp Atlas

Mass. Keystone

MassWoods

North American Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative

RiverSmart

UMass Design Center in Springfield

Resources

Extension Sales Portal

Agriculture & Commercial Horticulture Resources

Community & Economic Vitality

Disaster Preparedness

Food Safety

Home Lawn & Garden

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Land Conservation Tools

Pollinators

Tick testing

Resources for Faculty and Staff

Extension Programs

4-H Youth Development

Agriculture

Crops, Dairy, Livestock and Equine

Fruit

Greenhouse Crops and Floriculture

Landscape, Nursery and Urban Forestry

Pesticide Education

Turf

Vegetable

Clean Energy

Climate Change

Food Science

Nutrition Education

Value-Added Food

Seal of The University of Massachusetts Amherst - 1863
©2025 University of Massachusetts Amherst · Site Policies · Accessibility