MAY 2019 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


19


Blueberry growers anxious for new varieties Competition, production challenges fuel need for cultivar development


by PETER MITHAM ABBOTSFORD – With


growers across North America set to harvest 586 million pounds of blueberries for the fresh market in 2019, many BC berry producers face tough choices. Production keeps


increasing, imports are helping grow the market but also edge out local fruit, and prices are under pressure while costs continue to rise. Pest and disease pressures are also complicating production. Blueberries may be the province’s star berry, ranking among the province’s top five agrifood exports with $222 million worth heading overseas, but it’s facing pressures just like raspberries and strawberries. “I can’t make the numbers


work to give you a bright future,” said John Shelford, an observer of industry trends and strategic advisor to Naturipe Farms LLC told growers at the Pacific Agriculture Show in Abbotsford this past winter. With total blueberry consumption estimated to see annual growth of about 2% for the foreseeable future, and half of that claimed by imports, Shelford says North America only needs to produce an extra 12 million pounds each year. With some BC producers


forced to sell or go out of business altogether, Shelford said growers have just two options: cut costs and boost quality. “You want people to buy blueberries? Deliver them flavour,” he said. Those objectives are driving the research of fruit breeders Michael Dossett of BC Berry Cultivar Development Inc. in Abbotsford and Eric


Gerbrandt of Sky Blue Horticulture Ltd. in Chilliwack. “Plantings are still going into the ground; other varieties need to be in place,” says Gerbrandt, speaking to growers during the PAS. “We’ve got that blue wave of fruit that’s an issue, in terms of when that crop is coming on, and we need to be pushing the envelope in terms of fruit quality to build the Canadian brand.” “Things like yield are


important to everybody, but it’s really a long list of traits,” adds Dossett. Research takes its lead


from regular surveys of growers, who identify what their priorities are and keep researchers in touch with market demands. “From that, we set our


goals,” says Dossett. “Everybody wants firmer fruit. Machine harvestability and firmer fruit is what everybody’s looking for and what everybody’s working towards.”


Resistance to blueberry shock virus and other diseases is also important. However, progress isn’t made quickly. Researchers make 15 to 100 crosses a year, which yield 4,000 to 6,000 seedlings. (In an ideal world, Dossett would like to be testing 8,000 to 10,000 seedlings each year.) Successful selections enter grower trials seven to eight years later, and after 15 years, a variety might be ready for general release.


But hiccups can delay the


work. Germination was tough last year because of greenhouse conditions, and just 3,000 seedlings were ready for 2019. Still, 71 crosses were made and an additional 21 seedlots were brought in to add genetic diversity to the breeding


program. Moreover, of the 7,000 seedlings assessed from crosses made in 2014-2015, just 18 selections were chosen for further testing.


Pollination issues Growing conditions in


2018 were challenging for varieties in field trials, says Dossett. There were pollination issues south of the Fraser that affected fruit set, resulting in a lot of small fruit and shot berries. This was especially true of Cargo, whereas 12-6-8 wasn’t affected as badly. The latter variety delivers


“very, very firm” fruit and has an upright growth habit, notes Dossett. Yields to date have been encouraging but the variety tends to hold onto its flowers well into ripening, which can render fruit susceptible to rot. The variety 17-13-2 is notable because of its relatively large berries as well as the number on each bush. “I could put a toonie under that berry, and you wouldn’t see the sides of that toonie, that’s how large it is,” he tells growers. Selections set for grower trials this year include 12-6- 35. It’s firm, but Dossett questions whether the bushes have enough vigour and yield. “We’ll find that out in short


order,” he says,


Some seedlings of 12-6-8 and a couple hundred of 14-8-76, a cross of Duke and Draper, should be ready for planting in fall 2019. Dossett also has 6,800 seedlings germinated that will be ready for planting in


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fall 2019 that promise to yield some final decisions in 2020 on crosses made in 2014- 2015.


Which varieties growers


actually embrace is another question however. “Growers have to make decisions on a crop that’s got a long-term payoff, but they have to make that decision without a lot of foreknowledge as to how that’s going to perform,” says Gerbrandt.


Top performers His own presentation to


growers focused on six varieties, including Cargo, Calypso, Top Shelf and Liberty. Cargo is a half-sibling to


Last Call, which Gerbrandt considers a potential replacement for Elliot but lacks outstanding firmness. Cargo, however, has excellent firmness as well as good flavour. It also harvests well and has a nice crunch. “It’s a very pleasant eating experience,” says Gerbrandt. The one drawback is that


it’s susceptible to shock and has a tendency to be overbearing. Calypso is a productive


variety that yields large fruit and machine harvests well. It holds its firmness well, making it a good candidate for cold storage and shipping fresh. “Five years from now this might be a more important variety than Draper,” he says. “It holds its firmness very well.” While it may not do well on marginal soils, Gerbrandt


thinks a niche may exist for Top Shelf. It delivers very large fruit, excellent flavour, and has good storage potential. It also harvests well by hand. “This is a variety I think the


pickers will really like. This is that 400-pound a day variety,” he says.


The variety that pleases


Gerbrandt’s palate most is Legacy, which he says he couldn’t stop eating. The clusters are loose, with medium-sized berries and crunchy, sweet fruit. “It’s been very, very


productive in Oregon,” he says. “It’s got southern genetics in it, so hardiness in this region was a question. … [but] cold hardiness has not shown itself to be too big an issue.” Gerbrandt warns growers not to take his word for the promise of the new varieties he discussed. “There’s an inherent risk of being an early adopter of any new variety, so please proceed with caution and take my advice as just one person’s opinion, and with a grain of salt,” he says. But he also said that


growers don’t have a lot of sure-fire options. While the BC breeding program is developing some material that’s locally adapted, questions remain as to whether they’ll have the seasonality, pest and disease tolerance and suitability for growers. “We’re still between a rock and a hard place,” he says. “There’s no clear outliers.”


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