Hey everyone, has anyone ever come across this before? I’ve been picking and eating Saskatoons all my life, but this is a first for me. These are wild Saskatoons. Many of them have this odd “fuzz” growing on them, sorta growing out of them… and NO, THERE IS NO CHANCE OF SOME MONSANTO OVERSPRAY GOING ON
We are right in the middle of native prarie grass, the closest crop is miles away.
We’ve had some very challenging weather the last few years. Less than 4" of annual precipitation and very hot, windy summers. Over +30°C and 50-80km winds are very standard. (How do we manage to grow anything here? Well it’s a challenge
) Do you think it’s just our harsh climate causing the plants to react like this, or is this something else? We had amazing berries last year, in spite of the weather.
Cedar Apple Rust.
Yeah, my local ones have had that past 2 years. Stinks.
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Same here in Southern WI. Bad year for it. Some years we get it and sometimes not.
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wow! I’ve never seen that on my serviceberry and we get 5xs the rain here. also similar growing zone and have white cedar 50yrds up wind of the bush. id thought they had cedar/apple rust but it didn’t look anything like that. guess it was something else. looks like burdock spines growing out of them.
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Definitely cedar(juniper)-serviceberry rust.
Im open to correction, but iirc, white cedar(Thuja) is not the alternate host…gotta be a Juniper species.
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The fruit have cedar apple rust. juniperus virginia is the alternate host.
But, I can’t say if / how often other junipers or evergreens might possibly act as a host.
worst case I ever saw was on “cumulus” cultivar in Charlotte, NC…but they can get pretty bad in Kentucky.
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Thanks everyone! I sure hope this goes away, it sure is ugly!
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Not just ugly…inedible too. 
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Oh don’t worry, I didn’t consider eating it 
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