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Northwest Berry Foundation

Ocklockanee by Julie Pond, 8-20-19

Week 34
TOM PEERBOLT
August 21, 2019 Northwest Berry Foundation

THIS ISSUE
Best quote that comes to mind for the 2019 Northwest berry season comes
from Charles Dickens: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”.

Field Reports Best: What a great blueberry crop for quality and quantity. Who knows what
we’ll be seeing in future years, but this one has set the bar.
Industry Calendar Worst: What a struggle it’s been for the raspberry and blackberry growers.
• The raspberry industry in the Fraser and Skagit valleys got hit by major
Industry New weather damage in February that put a cap on their yields. Market dynam-
ics and trade policies continue to erode their profitability.
• The blackberry growers in the Willamette Valley got caught in a global
market dynamics as well as weather related fruit quality issues. Acreage
continues to go down as they struggle to get their footing.

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Best: Genetic improvements.
• In blackberries, we’ve got some great thornless cultivars finding market
success in ‘Columbia Star’ and ‘Black Diamond’. Columbia Star in particular
is setting new quality standards.
• In blueberries, we’re now getting some great new cultivars finding
acceptance. ‘Top Shelf’ and ‘Last Call’ to name a couple that I’m high on.
There’s a lot more also coming on. This is critical for the Northwest to be
able to stay in the game.
• In raspberries, the picture isn’t quite as clear but the WSU program has
released a couple in recent years that could improve grower choices espe-
cially in terms of root rot resistance. The most recent is ‘Cascade Premier’.
• In strawberries, ‘Mary’s Peak’, ‘Puget Crimson’ and some other recent
releases from the USDA/OSU program and the WSU program show good
signs of gaining market acceptance.
Worst: Loses in our public research personnel:
• Pat Moore, the WSU raspberry and strawberry plant breeder is retiring.
While the Washington Red Raspberry industry stepped up big time ($1.5
million!) to save the raspberry breeding program, the WSU strawberry
Northwest Berry program is very much in danger of being lost.
Foundation is a 501c3 • Tim Miller, the WSU weed specialist is retiring and not being replaced
with the mission to much weakening our resources for weed management.
support a sustainable Bob Martin, the USDA/ARS, small fruit virologist, is retiring. Bob has been
Northwestern berry the main stay of our virus management programs for many, many years.
industry. • Tobin Peever, the WSU plant pathologist, has retired. Much weakening
our plant disease management resources.

I guess I should end on a ‘Best’: The weather during pollination and during
most of harvest. Just couldn’t beat it. We do live in a great berry-growing
region.
Stay strong and have a good week,

Tom
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FRASER VALLEY, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Sunday August 18th
Blueberries: Harvest in the Fraser Valley continues with Elliot predominating now. But Aurora will pick at
the beginning of the week and some Last Call will be ready to come off later in the week. Some Bluecrop
continues to come in, but the bulk of it should wrap up in a few days I think. The weather continues to
be in our favour with an outside chance of showers maybe Tuesday. But moderate mild temps will prevail.
Mornings are definitely getting cooler so changes are on the way. Post harvest activities are intensifying.
For the most part, plant growth has been quite good considering bearing such a large crop this season.

Click here for BC

Blueberry Council's
Latest field report

WASHINGTON
Saturday August 17th
Lisa Wasko, Lead Small Fruit Researcher, WSU-NWREC Mount Vernon

Raspberries: We have finished our last machine harvest of 'WakeField' for a trial and raspberry harvest has
seemed to come to a stop for most growers (if it hadn't already last week or in weeks prior).

Blueberries: 'Liberty' harvest is still progressing in northwest Washington and both yields and fruit quality look
very good relative to years past. Harvest for other late-season cultivars, such as 'Aurora' and 'Elliott', are on the
horizon for most. Rather than focusing our attention on harvest, we have started to refocus on collecting leaves
for tissue nutrient analyses this past week and thinking about nutrient management plans.

While the optimal window for tissue sampling

caneberry and blueberry has passed (late-July to
early/mid-August), below area few good resources
that can aid on interpreting those results and inform
nutrient management plans:
Blueberry:
https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/em8918

Caneberry:
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/documents/smallfruit/
em8903-e.pdf

Strawberry:
Prime Arc 45 https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/em9234/html
Freedom by Julie
Pond, 8-20-19
 R EG I O N A L F I E L D R E P O RTS 3
WILLAMETTE VALLEY,
OREGON
Tuesday Aug 20th
Blueberries: This week we’ve got just about
perfect harvest weather with morning overcast
and afternoon sun. Labor seemed to be ade-
quate, but I’ve heard from one large grower
that competition from the hemp/cannabis
industry has been drawing away their labor.
We’re pretty much just into the late varieties
Aurora, Elliott and Last Call. Some Rabbiteye
varieties are also starting up. A little splitting
fruit reported but doesn’t seem too widespread.
The SWD situation is ‘confusing’. Given the
models, I’d expected higher pressure than is
being reported. It’s definitely high pressure
with infested fruit being found in post-harvest
fields but I think the warmer days somewhat
suppressed them. Now that we’re cooler again,
we could see an increase. Definitely don’t want
to let up on management programs.

Strawberries: In the valley we have been

going through a cycle of rain, soft fruit, fruit
rot, and harvest just in time for another rain
event to have the cycle start all over. SWD (and
I suspect other flies) and fungus have been
florishing even with a tighter fungicide/insecti-
cide program. One grower mentioned that they
are using up their alloted maximum insecticide
applications at this point in the season and
getting though a picking rotation quick enough
to spray at tighter intervals is difficult. Anyone
with tunnels is considering putting them to use Blue Ribbon split fruit
early this year. SW Washington
by Cinzia Ballantyne
08-15-19

NCSFR ANNUAL
CONFERENCE
Dec 2-3 2019
Silver Reef Resort
Ferndale, WA
Click for this week's
Latest PNW research in wine & berries long-range
and shape the future of sustainable small forecast for the
fruit production. Pacific Northwest.
 I N D U ST RY C A L E N D A R 4
SEPTEMBER 4
washington red raspberry commission meeting 1pm - 5pm. 204 Hawley St.,
Lynden, WA.

SEPTEMBER 10
OREGON raspberry & BLACKBERRY commission meeting 10:30am - 2:30pm.
Hayden's Lakefront Grill, 8187 SW Tualatin-Sherwood Rd, Tualatin, OR 97062.

SEPTEMBER 25
OREGON Strawberry commission meeting . 6-8:30pm. McMenamins Hotel Oregon
310 Northeast Evans Street McMinnville, OR, 97128

SEPTEMBER 27 - NOVEMBER 10
Blueberry Physiology, Production Systems, & ManagemenT 6-week OSU
online course taught by Bernadine Strik. Click here to register.

OCTOBER 1-4
NABC & USHBC Fall meeting Register here.
OCTOBER 17-18
Raspberry & Blueberry Research Reviews 10am - 4pm.at Mt Vernon WSU. Email
Alan Schrieber for more information.

OCTOBER 30
washington red raspberry commission board meeting 1pm - 5pm. 204
Hawley St., Lynden, WA.

DECEMBER 2-3
Northwest Center for Small Fruits research Annual Conference
Agenda is packed. Registration coming soon. Silver Reef Resort, Ferndale WA

DECEMBER 4-6
Small Fruit Conference & Lynden Ag Show Click here to register now!
DECEMBER 5
Washington Red Raspberry Commission Annual Meeting 8:00 AM , 204
Hawley St. Lynden, WA

FOR CLICK
FOR INFO
 I N D U ST RY N E WS
Highlight
Record B.C. blueberry harvest predicted (8/15, The
Chilliwack Progress)
Midseason wage blues: Zircle and the mandated
wage increase (8/15, Good Fruit Grower)
2017 USDA Agriculture Census: What does it say
about Whatcom County agriculture? (August,
Whatcom Ag Monthly)
Chilean blueberry committee implements quality
system amid industry evolution (8/20, Fresh Fruit
Portal)
Maine blueberry industry could face another low
harvest (8/12, Associated Press)
Peruvian blueberries: First shipments take place
with season running late (8/19, Fresh Fruit Portal)
North America
MSU Extension, media reports optimistic about
Michigan blueberry harvest (8/8, Fruit Grower
News)
New Jersey: Remedies for those Jersey blueberry
blues (8/13, Inquirer)
Maine agriculture officials disappointed that feds
denied aid for blueberry growers (8/20, Bangor
Daily News)
South America
Peruvian blueberries reaching new export markets
(8/8, Fresh Plaza)
MBO blueberry varieties to be grown in Argentina,
Uruguay (8/19. Fresh Fruit Portal)
Regulators
On-farm FSMA inspections prove time-consuming
in Oregon (8/13, Capital Press)
Click for Continuing Education Credits (6 week course, self-paced)
5
Climate/Water
Washington drought pulls back a little (8/14,
Capital Press)
Cool weather, rain help dodge drought (8/16,
Capital Press)
Technology
Study reveals blockchain technology can maximize
perceptions of trust (8/16, Refrig. & Frozen Foods)
Super-repellent coatings for fresh produce: The
future of food safety? (8/13, Fresh Fruit Portal)
Research
OSU entomologist looks at unique ways to manage
SWD (8/12, Capital Press)
A shot in the dark: Nighttime applications of
ultraviolet light show promise for powdery mildew
control (8/13, Good Fruit Grower)
Accelerating photosynthesis could lead to higher
crop production, say scientists (8/19, Fresh Fruit
Portal)
Companies
Sun Belle to expand berry grower partnerships
(8/12, Fresh Fruit Portal)
Flooding, a trade war and Deere cuts profit outlook
again (8/16, Capital Press)
Labor
U.S. fruit farms face competition for labor from
booming hemp industry (8/20, Fresh Plaza)
Misc.
How fruit wines are becoming serious business
(8/17, Fortune)
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SMALL FRUIT UPDATE
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COMMISSIONS &
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