OSU BLUEBERRY SCHOOL March 16-17, 215 held at Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon This two-day blueberry school was organized for new and experienced blueberry growers, farm managers, crew leaders, advisors, packers/shippers, and consultants. Experts from Oregon State University, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Washington State University, and the blueberry industry were asked to address key issues of where the blueberry market is going; how you might be more successful in tight labor or volume markets; which cultivars are easiest to grow and are in most demand; how to establish new acreage using cutting-edge methods; projected costs and the resources available to growers for selecting new planting sites; how to best manage existing acreage to maximize returns of high-quality fruit; provide basic information on blueberry plant physiology to help growers minimize environmental stresses and improve yield potential; nutrient management programs for optimal growth and quality; irrigation and fertigation practices for higher quality and better efficiency; use of organic amendments and mulches; planning for and improving machine harvest efficiency; pruning for hand or machine harvest (where can you cut corners.or not), maximizing pollination for good fruit and seed set; overviews of the most important blueberry viruses, diseases, insects, weeds, and vertebrate pests; and tools for good pest management. Information throughout the program addresses the needs of conventional, transitional, and organic growers. Simultaneous interpretation to Spanish has been provided. This proceedings book contains information provided on these topics by each speaker and co-authors. The thumb drive provided in the registration packet for each attendee includes a copy of each presentation. Thank you for attending. It is our sincere wish that this will be a very useful meeting and that you find the accompanying materials a valuable reference! Bernadine Strik, Professor and Extension Berry Crops Specialist, OSU and the members of the organizing committee Organizing Committee Bernadine Strik, Chair, Oregon State University (OSU) Wei Yang, OSU. Co-chair (sponsorship coordinator), OSU Donna Williams, Rachel Williams & team at OSU Conference Services Dave Bryla, USDA-ARS HCRU Chad Finn, USDA-ARS HCRU Vaughn Walton - OSU Steve Castagnoli - OSU Steve Renquist - OSU Bryan Ostlund Oregon Blueberry Commission Eric Pond - industry Jon Umble industry Derek Peacock - industry Steve Erickson - industry Nancy Jensen - industry i
Table of Contents OSU Blueberry School Title Authors Page Characteristics of production regions in the Pacific Northwest Markets - what's the future for fresh, processed, and organic markets? Things you MUST think about before starting or expanding production Lisa DeVetter, Pat Jones, Bernadine Strik, Kathie Dello Rod Cook, Derek Peacock, Jeff Malensky, David Granatstein 1 9 Cultivar choices- Tried and true to brand new Chad Finn and Bernadine Strik 15 Economics of production resources Bernadine Strik and David Granatstein 29 Resources available for selecting a good blueberry site Wei Q. Yang 37 Site selection and establishment of a blueberry field Wei Q. Yang and Bernadine Strik 41 Organic soil amendments and mulches for blueberry: the good, the bad and the ugly Dan Sullivan (OSU) 47 On-farm irrigation system design and operation David Bryla 53 Blueberry plant physiology - why it's important to understand the plant to manage it well Bernadine Strik 57 Irrigation scheduling: when, where, and how much? David Bryla 63 Pruning - impact of plant age, cultivar, and harvest method Bernadine Strik 69 Harvesting - hand vs. machine Bernadine Strik (moderator); Paul Norris (Norris Farms); Frank Brown (Littau Harvesters (Inc.); Doug Krahmer (Berries Northwest) 75 Nutrient management of blueberry -- assessing plant nutrient needs and designing good fertilizer programs Bernadine Strik and David Bryla 79 Maximizing pollination in blueberry Ramesh Sagili, Carolyn Breece, John Borden 95 Blueberry viruses present in the Pacific Northwest and suggestions for their management Robert Martin 99 Blueberry bacterial and fungal diseases Jay Pscheidt and Jerry Weiland 17 ii
Title Authors Page Weed management for blueberry fields in the Pacific Northwest Getting hit high and low: Options for managing bird and vole damage Tim Miller 115 Dana Sanchez (OSU 125 Management of arthropods, insect, and plant-parasitic nematodes in blueberries Vaughn Walton,Nik Wiman, Inga Zasada, Joe DeFrancesco, Daniel Dalton, Amy Dreves, Jana Lee, Lynell Tanigoshi, Wei Yang 129 iii
Maximizing pollination in blueberry Ramesh Sagili 1, Carolyn Breece 1 and John Borden 2 1 Department of Horticulture, Oregon State University 2 Contech Inc., BC, Canada Pollination is critical for blueberry production. Optimal pollination results in larger fruit, better fruit quality, consistency in the shape of the fruit, and earlier ripening of berries. Honey bees are important pollinators of blueberry. Blueberry growers should rent honey bee colonies of appropriate strength for efficient pollination. A pollinating colony for blueberry should be a standard two-story hive (two hive bodies) with at least 1 frames of bees (24, bees) and 6 frames of brood (eggs, larvae and pupae) in different stages of development. Pollinating colonies should also have adequate food stores (pollen and nectar) for optimal performance. On average 3 honey bee hives per acre are needed for blueberry pollination (Delaplane and Mayer, 2). One of the biggest challenges facing blueberry growers is ensuring adequate pollination. Though honey bees are employed in large numbers for blueberry pollination, they are not considered to be very efficient pollinators. Hence there is a need to explore tools or strategies that enhance pollination efficiency of honey bee colonies and increase overall pollination and fruit set in blueberry. Several bee attractants have been tested in the past in various crops with the goal of enhancing pollination. Mixed results have been reported with most of the available bee attractants. Brood pheromone (BP) released by honey bee larvae is an excellent apicultural tool that has the potential to increase pollination by manipulating foraging stimulus of honey bee colonies. SuperBoost is a commercial product based on the brood pheromone of the honey bee. It is a synthetic blend of 1 fatty acid esters formulated in a ratio that precisely mimics the natural composition of the brood pheromone. Worker honey bees contact milligram amounts of pheromone that exudes daily from one side of a plastic pouch that is suspended in a holder between the frames of a hive. The potential of this synthetic BP to enhance pollination in blueberry was tested. Honey bees in general forage when the temperatures are 55º F or higher. This is often a problem for efficient pollination during cloudy and cold days, as honey bees do not prefer foraging in such conditions. Further, the ability of brood pheromone to stimulate foraging in honey bee colonies at suboptimal temperatures (ranging from 48-55º F) was also tested. Following were the specific objectives of the study: 1) Examine and compare synthetic brood pheromone-induced foraging activity of treated colonies with controls 2) Evaluate potential of brood pheromone to stimulate honey bee foraging at sub-optimal temperatures (48º F). 3) Evaluate increase in crop yield and quality resulting from increased pollination, as a result of synthetic brood pheromone use. Brood pheromone treatment colonies received one synthetic brood pheromone device (SuperBoost ) in the brood area whereas control colonies received a blank device without pheromone. After initiation of the experiment in each experimental field we counted number of bees visiting blueberry flowers during a 5 minute transect. We repeated bee visitation counts several times during the study period. We also documented number of pollen and non-pollen foragers entering the colonies during 5 minute intervals to analyze foraging efficiency of bees. 95
Mean number of foragers entering the colonies during 5 minute interval was significantly higher in brood pheromone treated colonies when compared to control colonies (Figure 1). Also, the mean number of bees visiting flowers was significantly higher in the fields where honey bee colonies received brood pheromone treatment (Figure 2). There were significantly higher number of bees foraging in brood pheromone treatment colonies when compared to controls at 48 F, 51 F and 53 F temperatures (Figures 3, 4 and 5 respectively). The results from this study suggest that brood pheromone has the potential to increase honey bee foraging in blueberry during both optimal and sub-optimal foraging temperatures. References Delaplane, K.S. and Mayer, D.F. (2) Crop pollination by bees. CABI, New York. 352 pp. Sagili, R.R. and Burgett, D.M. (211) Evaluating honey bee colonies for pollination. OSU Extension Service PNW 623 Number of foragers entering colonies in 5 min interval + se 25 2 15 1 5 Figure 1 96
Number of bees recorded on flowers in 5 min transect + se 25 2 15 1 5 Figure 2 Figure 3 Number of foragers entering colonies in 5 min interval + se 4 3 2 1 97
Number of foragers entering colonies in 5 min interval + se Number of foragers entering colonies in 5 min interval + se 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 8 6 4 2 Figure 4 Figure 5 98