Study identifies beetle larvae as potential emerging threat to North Carolina blueberry crops
PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Southeastern North Carolina’s blueberry growers may be facing a new challenge as researchers investigate a native beetle species that appears to be targeting blueberry bushes, potentially due to environmental stressors such as drought conditions.
North Carolina ranked seventh in the nation for blueberry production in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The crop is a major part of the agricultural economy in southeastern North Carolina, where blueberry farms are common throughout the region.
A recent study published in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management identified the tile-horned prionus beetle as a growing concern for some blueberry producers. Researchers say the beetle’s larvae, which typically feed on the roots of dead or dying hardwood trees, are now being found in blueberry bushes.
“These beetles that predominantly target really dead trees, these blueberry bushes are now becoming a viable host for these beetles,” said Kenneth Geisert, an entomology graduate student at North Carolina State University and one of the study’s authors.
Geisert said researchers believe environmental stress may be making blueberry plants more vulnerable to infestation.
“We suspect that they might be moving to blueberry bushes, as opposed to their normal hardwood trees, like oaks predominantly, because especially this year we’re seeing a really long period of drought, and it’s kind of still going on,” Geisert said. “All these environmental factors that are changing rapidly and inconsistently, and that’s putting a lot of stress on these blueberry bushes.”
According to Geisert, North Carolina is currently the only state reporting problems involving the tile-horned prionus beetle and blueberry crops.
The threat is difficult to detect because the larvae feed underground, attacking the roots of blueberry plants. Growers may not realize a plant is infested until it begins showing signs of decline or dies.
Morgan Sykes of Altar Cross Farms said the farm has not encountered confirmed cases of the beetle but plans to monitor its blueberry bushes more closely after learning about the research.
“We have not seen any, and now that we have heard about this study, it is something we will be looking at a little closer,” Sykes said. “We have had a few bushes that have died and we couldn’t really figure out why. So it is something that we’ll be looking into more.”
Sykes said she appreciates researchers studying potential threats to blueberry crops and providing growers with information that could help protect their harvests.
“I’m really happy that people are looking into it and doing things like that,” she said. “It may be harder to deal with since it is something that is in the ground. So it just depends on what that life cycle is of when you’ll need to be spraying or trying to do something to combat that bug.”
Despite concerns about the beetle, Sykes said Altar Cross Farms had a successful harvest of its legacy blueberry variety this season. The farm sold blueberries throughout the weekend at the North Carolina Blueberry Festival in Burgaw, where demand remained strong.
