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Northwest Berry Foundation's

First harvest in blackberries, 6-17-16. Photo by Tom Peerbolt

WEEK 26 JUNE 27, 2019

THIS ISSUE
Regional Field Reports
Industry Calendar
Industry News Blueberry harvest in the central and northern Willamette began
Insect/Disease Alerts this week and will pick up speed heading into next week. The
main processing blackberry varieties (Black Diamond, Columbia
Crop Management Star and Marion) will also get going by the end of this week.

The unseasonably cool weather has certainly affected this critical

start to blueberry and caneberry
harvests.

On the positive side:

• Fruit is sizing very well. Quality looks excellent.
• Very little plant stress showing.
• Some fields might have started earlier but this weather is al-
lowing the fruit to hang longer.
•
On the negative side:
• ‘Redbacks’ could be a problem in some blueberry fields as the
ripening process has slowed down.
SUBSCRIBE TO THIS • The caneberries are hanging tight to the canes and need
NEWSLETTER some heat units to loosen them up so they’ll drop when the
harvester comes through.
• Some insect pests—SWD, aphids, leafrollers, etc. also like this
weather and pose a higher risk than in warmer years.
NORTHWEST BERRY
• Fungal; diseases are also favored and we’re at higher risk from
FOUNDATION supports
a sustainable NW berry
rust, botrytis and various ripe fruit diseases than in warmer,
industry through research,
drier years.
education, and reducing
food waste. Visit our
Keep a close eye on soil mois-
website and follow our
ture. This cool weather can
facebook page to learn mask drying soils.
more about our latest work.
Have a great week,
THE SM ALL FRUIT UPDATE Tom
is a weekly update for the
Northwest berry industry,
supported entirely by the
Black raspberries (blackcaps)
region’s growers through
6-20-19. Photo by Tom Peerbolt
their regional berry
commissions.
 REGIONAL FIELD REPORTS 2

Cascade Premier (6-24-19)—the most

recent raspberry release from WSU.
Earliest fruit from a test plot
in Jefferson, OR. It looks to be
early compared to our
other commercial cultivars.
Photo by Tom Peerbolt.

WSU 2010 (6-24-19)—An advance

selection from the WSU
raspberry breeding program.
Earliest fruit from a test
plot in Jefferson, OR.
Photo by Tom Peerbolt.

Columbia Sunrise (6-24-19)— A recent

blackberry release from the USDA/OSU
Caneberry breeding program.
Earliest fruit from a test plot in Jefferson,
OR. Ripens earlier than Black Diamond
and Columbia Star.
Photo by Tom Peerbolt.

WILL A METTE VALLEY, OREGON 6-25-19

Blackberries:
• We will be picking the Black Diamonds Friday
night.
• Thinking Monday night for Columbia Star but
cool weather could push it back a couple days.
• We don’t run any Marionberries with thorns
anymore.

Top: Black Diamonds. Left: Columbia Star. Right: Thornless Marions. June 23,2019. Photos by Bill Dinger
 REGIONAL FIELD REPORTS 3

Albion crop stage, 6-24-19.

Photo by Julie Pond.

WILL A METTE VALLEY, OREGON 6-25-19

Strawberries: Day Neutral strawberries to report here on out. The gap in Albion bloom
is starting to transition now. Plants are needing their usual bump in fertility at this time.
First Lygus bugs moving into the field have been found over the last week.

NORTHERN WASHINGTON, WATCOM COUNTY

Blueberries: Chehalis dukes barely have any color, crop appears two weeks later than last
year. Cooler temps and cloud cover don’t favor speeding up harvest. Snohomish machine
pick expected July 20. Cockerham (upriver Skagit ) expected July 14. Fields closer to the
bay in Skagit are still quite a way from even turning color. Whatcom county is much the
same with tentative hand harvest in a couple days on fields that are close to the mountains
and several weeks out for those towards the water.

Insect pressure is variable. Aphids are omnipresent. North Whatcom has worm pressure
that seems difficult to suppress.

Raspberries: Rudy harvest began 4 days ago. Wake haven began yesterday with gigantic
tonnage (1 ton/ac already). Meekers eminent.

Shield bugs seem to be an issue, but easy to deal with. Mite pressure low

FR ASER VALLEY, BRITISH COLUMBIA

6-25-19 Blueberries: Harvest has started in some areas with others beginning over
the next week. It seems harvest is ramping up a few days earlier than what would be
considered a normal start time. Our weather during the bloom period seemed pretty
ideal for pollination but have seen some fields where some of the fruit was not well
pollinated. I have heard the same comment from others as well. Overall though it seems
like there's a pretty decent crop out there.

FR ASER VALLEY, BRITISH COLUMBIA

6-25-19 Blueberries: Dukes have begun to be hand harvested on a number of farms.
Machine harvest is a bit down the road with it likely to start somewhere around the July
8-10 in the earlier areas. The weather has been pretty good for fruit development with a
continuation of moderate temperatures. We could use some moisture though as it really
has been quite dry. I'm always a bit reluctant to ask for rain as we approach harvest as it
can have a tendency to backfire.

Raspberries: Machine harvest of raspberries has begun, with Rudi and Chemainus
varieties having been picked now a couple times. Meekers are still some days off. Seeing a
lot of lygus bugs in raspberries this year.
 BLUEBERRY BUD DEVELOPMENT 4

Willamette Valley, Oregon

Photos are from same fields on close to the same day from each year

PATRIOT BLUEJAY DR APER DUKE LIBERTY TOP SHELF AUROR A L AST C ALL

WEEK 24 6-14 -19

WEEK 25, 6-21-19

WEEK 25, 6-22-18

WEEK 25, 6-23-17

Duke
began
WEEK 25, 6-24 -16
harvest
on 6-9-
16

PATRIOT BLUEJAY DR APER DUKE LIBERTY TOP SHELF AUROR A L AST C ALL
 INDUSTRY C ALENDAR 5

JULY 11: WSU MT VERNON FIELD DAY 3- 5:30pm. Go

here for more information

JULY 17: OSU BLUEBERRY FIELD DAY 1pm - 3pm.

North Willamette Research and Extension Center, 15210
NE Miley Road, Aurora, Oregon. For more information
contact 503-678-1264 x110. Go here for the agenda.

JULY 18: M ACHINE HARVEST TRIAL FIELD DAY 1 -

VISIT TH E WE ATH E R C A FE ®
3pm. Honccop Farm. Go here for information.
Go here for Rufus La Lone's
uniquely long-range forecasts
AUGUST 7: OSU C ANEBERRY FIELD DAY 1pm - 3pm.
for the PNW.®
North Willamette Research and Extension Center, 15210
NE Miley Road, Aurora, Oregon. For more information
contact 503-678-1264 x110. Go here for the agenda

SEPTEMBER 4: WASHINGTON RED R ASPBERRY

COMMISSION MEETING 1pm - 5pm. 204 Hawley St.,
Lynden, WA.

SEPTEMBER 10: OREGON R ASPBERRY &

BLACKBERRY COMMISSION MEETING 10:30am -
2:30pm. Hayden's Lakefront Grill, 8187 SW Tualatin-
D EG R E E DAY I N FO R M ATI O N
Sherwood Rd, Tualatin, OR 97062
Go here for Dr. Len Coop's
Degree Day information.
SEPTEMBER 27 - NOVEMBER 10: ONLINE
BLUEBERRY PHYSIOLOGY, PRODUCTION SYSTEMS
& M ANAGEMENT. 6-week course taught by Bernadine
Strik For more information and to register, go here.

For more information, go here.

To add your event to t he ca lenda r, ema i l Nor t hwest Ber r y Foundat ion or
ca l l t he of f ice at 503-285 - 0908
 INDUSTRY NEWS
H I G H LI G HTS
With harvest season upon us, here’s how
Whatcom farming is changing (6/18, The
Bellingham Herald)
Raspberry prices – situation in Ukraine,
Poland and Serbia (6/19, Fresh Plaza)
Production of berries in Mexico – a
growing market (6/19, Fresh Plaza)
‘Children killer’ glyphosate found
in Cheerios? Experts dismantle
Environmental Working Group’s
herbicide food residue study (6/17, GLP)
Northwest blueberry production meets
skyrocketing demand (6/25, The Produce
News)
Michigan expects higher blueberry
volumes, “difficult” market conditions
(6/25, Fresh Fruit Portal)
Blueberries take off after slow start
(6/24, The Packer)
BEES
Bees with access to diverse flowering
plants are healthier pollinators, USDA
study shows (6/21, GLP)
Survey sees biggest US honeybee winter
die-off yet (6/19, New York Times)
U.S. honeybees had the worst winter die-
off in more than a decade (6/20, Science
News)
L A BO R
Mid-Atlantic growers discuss latest labor
pains (6/21, The Packer)
STR AWBER R I ES
Strawberries in charts: Lower
production brings prices back to normal
(6/25, Fresh Fruit Portal)
R ESE A RCH
Research: Survival of Listeria
monocytogenes on Fresh Blueberries
Stored under Controlled Atmosphere
and Ozone ( Journal of food protection,
May, 2014)
6
N O RTH A M ER IC A
Bounty of berries available this summer,
growers say (6/21, The Packer)
South Carolina blueberry season has
begun (6/21, Fresh Plaza)
Wish Farms teams up with food bank
(6/19, Fresh Plaza)
The divide between big and small farms
continues to grow (6/20, Growing Produce)
Mexico: Phase 1 completed of 13 hectare
blueberry greenhouse site (6/25, Fresh
Plaza)
Increase in Mexican fruit imports
hurting Florida farmers (6/21, CBS News)
SO UTH A M ER IC A
Chilean company seeks to meet China’s
demand for berries (6/21, Fresh Plaza)
M A R K ETI N G
Peruvian blueberry production increases
by 105% in 2019 (6/19, Fresh Plaza)
TECH N O LO GY
Modern irrigation tools move closer to
automation (6/ 19, F r uit G ro w e r Ne w s)
FO O D SA FET Y/R EC A LLS
Canadian officials expand recall of
chocolate-raspberry dessert (6/22 , Fo o d
S afe t y Ne w s)
Great Value, Tipton Grove frozen berries
recalled; manufacturer not named (6/21 ,
Fo o d S afe t y Ne w s)
PO LITIC S
Trump says new NAFTA ends competition
with Canada and Mexico (6/21 , Ag We b)
Chile: Ag industry discusses keys to
adapting to climate change (6/21 , F re s h
F r uit Po r t a l
 INSECT & DISEASE PEST ALERTS 7

ROSE STEM GIRDLER (AGRILUS CUPRESCENS) in Caneberries. From Justin O'Dea (WSU Clark, Cowlitz,
and Skamania County Extension)
The first emerged adult rose stem girdler of the year was observed at OSU NWREC in Aurora, OR
on May 25th. I have not observed any emerged in Clark or Cowlitz County, though I just recently
found some adults in canes. We expect emergence to begin in SW WA this week or early next week
and to continue for ~3 weeks. Based on what we know so far, management priorities are:
1) new plantings of raspberry or blackberry, and any primocane varieties 2) any fields you have that
clearly have rose stem girdler damage in them already 3) caneberry field areas bordered by feral/
wild brambles (Himalayan blackberry, wild rose, evergreen blackberry etc.)
Damage from this pest is widely variable, likely because:
1) many infested & girdled canes are often culled out during routine pruning operations in
commercial caneberry plantings 2) not all rose stem girdler larvae appear to survive and live long
enough to girdle the canes.
In this situation, the pest is most likely to infest rows along field edges from wild hosts each
year, even if it's not in your field currently. We've found it widespread in wild brambles this year
throughout southwest WA. Sometimes also canes in fields are not effectively girdled even though
a viable girdler is inside the cane. Girdlers can also emerge from pruned out canes that were not
destroyed or buried with tillage. New plantings are most vulnerable to infestations because the pest
can fully kill the plant before it is well established. Established plantings that become infested are
likely to experience yield loss via girdling of the floricane around harvest time.
The attached presentation gives tips for scouting for rose stem girdler and insecticides that are
effective on rose stem girdler, including some that are listed for use in caneberries in WA (and some
OMRI-listed materials for organic plantings). The revised description of rose stem girdler PNW
Pest Management Handbook is listed here.
Full cover sprays throughout the emergence and egg laying period (~3 weeks long) are needed
to kill rose stem girdler and prevent egg laying. Once eggs have been laid the new larvae will be
largely protected from insecticides until next year's emergence. Individual adult girdlers live for ~1
week, so spray programs that do not allow more than a 1 week gap throughout in coverage during
the 3 week emergence period are likely to be most effective.
As always, read and follow all label instructions, and adhere to extra precautions/protocols needed
during bloom to avoid damage to pollinators.
ALTERNARIA FRUIT ROT As
blueberry bloom starts to finish, it's time
to consider whether you need to prevent
Alternaria and Anthracnose problems
from showing up in the fruit. Alternaria
can infect the fruit beginning at the
end of bloom and throughout the fruit
development stage, up until harvest.
Infections remain latent until the fruit
ripens. Infected fruits exhibit a shriveling
or caving-in of the side of the berry and
Alternaria Fruit Rot. Photo by Caroline Teasdale. become watery in storage.
 INSECT & DISEASE PEST ALERTS 8
ANTHRACNOSE RIPE ROT If you've had
problems with Anthracnose, prevention of a
reoccurrence begins at petal fall. Symptoms:
First, blighting of shoot tips; then, a few
flowers turn brown or black. Leaf spots,
when they occur, are large or small and
roughly circular. As infected berries ripen,
the flower end may soften and pucker. Under
warm and rainy conditions, salmon-colored
spore masses form on infected berries.
After harvest, spore masses form rapidly on
infected fruit when in cellophane-covered
baskets clamshell packs. Anthracnose Ripe Rot. Photo by Caroline Teasdale.

YELLOW RUST in raspberries

• Yellow rust is now changing spore stages from black overwintering spores (teliospores) to yellow/
orange colored ‘blisters’ (spermagonia) on the top surface of leaves.
• This is followed closely by a very visible, almost day-glow orange/yellow spore stage (aecia).
• The fourth spore stage (uredinia) appears later in the season as yellow ‘dust’ on the bottom
of leaves. This last stage is the one that multiplies quickly & can quickly defoliate canes if left
untreated.
• Evaluate disease incidence and stage to determine whether (& when) fungicide applications are
warranted.

SCORCH VIRUS in blueberries.

Vector (aphid) management (From an April,
2011 B.C. Pest Alert): “Blueberry scorch virus
is transmitted by aphids. An effective aphid
control program should be used by all growers.
Fields should be treated before bloom with
a registered aphicide to control the over-
wintering aphids before they reproduce and
disperse.”

SHOCK VIRUS in southern blueberries.

• Symptoms should be visible in many fields
starting this week.
Shock virus, 5/27/19, photo by Jason Myer.
• This disease is vectored by pollinators.
• There is no treatment or cure.
• Infected bushes generally display symptoms
for one year and then return to productivity.

POWDERY MILDEW in Southern strawberries.

Dry, warm, humid conditions favor powdery
mildew in strawberries. We’re seeing the disease
beginning to get going in some area fields.

SILVER LEAF DISEASE in blueberries.

This is a recently identified disease. Draper
seems to be particularly susceptible but other Powdery mildew on both leaves and fruit of the strawberry
varieties have also tested positive. cultivar Sweet Sunrise., 2015. Photo by Bernadine C. Strik.
 CROP M A N AGE M ENT: WEEK 26 9
ALL CROPS • Scout for virus symptoms & send in samples
• Sample for & treat as needed for SWD fruit for testing as needed.
infestation as soon as fruit begins to color.
• Vole management EVERGREEN BLACKBERRIES
• Weed management • Scout for and treat as needed for blackberry
• Fertility management rust.

• Water management
• Scout for virus symptoms & send in samples RASPBERRIES
for testing as needed. • Scout for Phytophthora Root Rot. Look for
cane collapse.

BLUEBERRIES • Scout for Twospotted mites and Yellow

mites
• Can apply fungicides to prevent fruit molds.
• Can apply fungicides to prevent fruit molds.
• Can apply insecticides to prevent SWD
infestations. • Can apply insecticides to prevent SWD
infestations.
• Blueberry Gall Midge, southern blueberries.
Tip damage from this midge is due to begin • Scout for virus symptoms & send in samples
showing up in southern blueberries. Damage is for testing as needed.
usually deemed to not be economic except in • Can apply a phosphite material for stronger
specific situations like new vigorous fields where root growth and root rot prevention.
gall midge can occasionally cause too much
• Scout for Yellow Rust and assess treatment
stunting of new growth.
options.
• Azalea Bark Scale. This scale's telltale bright
white egg sacs on the lower branches of infested
plants are becoming more apparent in some STRAWBERRIES
southern blueberry fields.
• Scout for Lygus Bugs and
• Treat for Mummyberry as needed. Infected treat as needed.
fruit is now visible in all growing regions.
• Can apply phosphite
• Mummyberry primer from MSU. material materials to
strengthen root systems and
• Scout for leafroller larvae feeding.
manage root rot.
• Aphid control where Shock virus
• Scout for Root Weevils.
transmission is an issue.
Adults of Black Vine, Rough
• Scale blueberries. Strawberry, Strawberry
• Scout for weevil notching. Root Weevils are now
being recovered from some
• Scout for root rot issues. strawberry fields. Lygus bug in
• Can apply insecticides to strawberries, photo
BLACKBERRIES prevent SWD infestations. by Jason Myer.

• Scout for Rose Stem Girdler. • Scout for Strawberry Crown Moth larvae in
southern strawberries.
• Scout for Purple Blotch lesions.
• Scout for powdery mildew and treat as
• Scout for Cane and Leaf Rust and assess
needed.
treatment options.
• Scout for two spotted spider mites and
• Can apply fungicides to prevent fruit molds.
predatory, beneficial mites.
• Can apply insecticides to prevent SWD
• Scout for aphids and treat as needed
infestations.
 10
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