For the last couple of years, I've noticed an increasing amount of orange blotches appearing on my thornless blackberry canes. Initially, I thought it was Orange Rust, but when I would research Orange Rust on the Internet, the description and pictures I would find didn't match what I was seeing. However, yesterday I found the below reference to a disease called Orange Felt, sometimes referred to as Orange Cane Blotch, which is exactly what I've been seeing. The good news is it's relatively harmless with regards to fruit production and it's controllable, unlike Orange Rust in both cases. I just wanted to pass along to my fellow southern berry farmers what I've found since Orange Felt is especially prevalent on blackberries grown in very hot, wet, and humid environments, such as those
encountered in much of the Coastal Plain areas of the Southeast.
Hope this helps,
Ken Barber
Barber Berry Farm
Millbrook AL |
Here is a link that might be useful: Description of Orange Felt
