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prunings A


s this issuewent to press, 2014 was turning out to be a banner year for blueberries in the


PacificNorthwest, in both volume and quality, thanks towhat have been described as near-perfect growing conditions,with a sunny spring and no extremeweather, pushing harvest ahead by about twoweeks. In early July, theB.C.Blueberry


Councilwas expecting a total crop of about 68million kilograms (150million pounds), compared to 55million kilos (121million pounds) last year. South of the line, the harvest inWashington was forecast to reach about 41million kilos (90million pounds) and inOregon a possible 20million kilos (45million pounds). The crop inMichigan, theUS leader in highbush production,was expected to be about 80million pounds, down substantially fromlast year,while supplies out ofNewJersey and Georgia, also among the top producing states,were good... The 30-acre u-pick operation at


KrauseBerry Farms in Aldergrove continues to attract hundreds of pickers each year, and this yearwas no exception, reports BerryGrower Contributing EditorGrantUllyot. The first crop to be pickedwas strawberries starting in early June, followed by blueberries and raspberries in July. Among themany strawberry pickers encountered byGrant on a visit to the farmwasRoyalKam, fromBurnaby, who alongwith hismom, dad and little sisterwere busy collecting berries in their pails. They spend an average three hours picking about five pounds of berrieswhich they described as incredible. “The size is tremendous,” said Royal, “and they taste great.We also enjoy the nice sunnyweather and the bubble gumice cream.” Also out picking wasRochelle Thornley fromLangley. She, togetherwith her husband and son, found the idea of picking their own berries something they enjoyed last year for the first time, so theywere back for a second time this year. “We enjoy it immensely,” saidRochelle. “It is a great thing for families to do. I have found three berrieswhich look like hearts,” she toldGrant. “I hope I can find another to showyou.” And she did.Rochelle says it is amust for everyonewho comes to the Krause farmto be sure and buy strawberry shortcake. And of course whipping cream—because you can’t enjoy the shortcakewithoutwhipping cream... TheCanadaGAPboard, in consultationwith its stakeholder


GRANT ULLYOT


Strawberry u-pick time at Krause Berry Farms.


advisory committee, has determined that a significant change to the programwill take effect in 2015. Starting April 1, CanadaGAP auditorswill be looking for assurance that packing, repacking, storage andwholesale operations seeking CanadaGAP certification have obtained their product fromsupplierswho are also certified to CanadaGAP or to another industry-recognized third party food safety audit/certification. "The time is right for this change," noted board chair JackBates. " The board is unanimous in seeing this as the next logical step tomaintain the rigor and integrity that has come to be associated with CanadaGAP certification." The next release of the CanadaGAPmanualswill reflect these revisions, aswill the 2015 version of the CanadaGAP audit checklist... Monitoring for adult spottedwing


drosophila continues in all berry growing regions of the LowerMainland


and Fraser Valley as part of the effort to determinewhen a protective spray programshould begin. To date, there are no known biological controls for SWDbut research is underway to identify potential predators and/or parasites. The provincial agriculture


ministry suggests that growers consider implementing the following cultural control practices: Hedgerowmanagement


—Non-riparian removal of fruiting alternate hosts such as


blackberry fromareas near crop fields may help to reduce feeding and breeding sites for SWD. Alternate hosts could be controlled by cutting plants down enough to prevent fruiting. Sanitation—Where practical,


remove, deep bury, or otherwise destroy cull fruit to prevent additional SWD feeding and breeding sites.Keep equipment and processing areas free of old fruit. Pruning, trellising and good plant carewill enable easier passage of equipment between rows, keep humidly lower and increase airflow, all ofwhich will help limit SWD. Areawide approach—Think


beyond the borders of your farmand be aware of host plants in adjacent fields. Encourage neighbors tomanage for SWD. Harvest—Shorten picking interval


were possible: pick early, pick clean and pick often.Do not leave overripe hanging fruit.


British Columbia Berry Grower • Fall 2014 15


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