Susceptibility of Highbush Blueberry Cultivars to Cranberry Fruitworm and Japanese Beetle

The susceptibility of ten highbush blueberry cultivars, Vaccinium corymbosum L., to infestation by two key insect pests was compared. Over 5 years of assessing infestation by cranberry fruitworm, Acrobasis vaccinii (Riley), in a replicated field planting, "Duke" received the greatest infestation in 3 of the 6 years. Susceptibility of the 10 cultivars to Japanese beetle feeding was measured over 3 years in laboratory assays designed to measure relative feeding on fruit and foliage. "Brigitta" was the most susceptible cultivar to fruit feeding, while "Elliott" and "Legacy" were the least susceptible cultivars to foliage feeding. "Elliott" and "Legacy" also had the lowest level of Japanese beetle feeding on leaves of blueberry bushes in the field. These results suggest the presence of plant-based resistance to foliage and fruit feeding insect pests in some cultivars of V. corymbosum, which