Last week the Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture had the pleasure of attending and presenting at the Wild Blueberry Producers’ Association of Nova Scotia annual fall meeting for 2024 in Truro, NS. The event was well attended with between 100 and 200 registered attendees on Thursday November 21st and Friday November 22nd. Read this week’s blog for a summary of the event, and to learn more about the 2024 NS wild blueberry season.
Review of WBPANS AGM 2024
The 2024 annual
fall meeting for the Wild Blueberry Producers’ Association of Nova Scotia
(WBPANS) began with a welcome from the WBPANS president David Harrison.
Following the start of the conference, Gilbert Lavoie (Forest Lavoie Conseil)
gave a wild blueberry market update. Wild blueberry production was below
average in 2024 (286M lbs. versus 301M lbs. ten-year average). Wild blueberry
inventories are down in 2024 and are decreasing at a good pace. Additionally,
Lavoie informed that Maritime exports decreased by 30% between 2022-2023 to
2023-2024. Lavoie also gave an overview of the North American Blueberry Council
(NABC) blueberry summit that took place in Denver, Colorado in September. A key
topic discussed at the summit was how the wild blueberry industry can improve
demand for wild blueberries.
Peter
Burgess (WBPANS executive director) gave an update on the NS wild blueberry
industry for the 2024 season. Nova Scotia wild blueberry growers experienced
lower than expected yields this past season. Additionally, the farm gate price
of wild blueberries remains low, and farm input costs are continually
increasing. The current price is not sustainable for the industry as it is
below the average costs of production. The association is focused on having
research done that will increase yield per acre, improve fruit quality and help
reduce farm input costs. Additionally, the demand for pollinating units in NS
remains high with wild blueberry growers depending heavily on NS beekeepers. Burgess highlighted the fact that climate change is lessening opportunities for
double pollination. The association’s
goal is to have access to more honey bees, utilize other pollinators such as
bumble bees and leaf cutter bees, and support native pollinators in NS. Burgess
also discussed impacts of climate change on the wild blueberry industry, where
extreme temperatures, flooding and drought have all impacted the crop over the
past few years. The wild blueberry industry of NS has been selected to receive
support to develop climate change adaptation strategies in partnership with
Perennia, Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Climate Change and the Nova
Scotia Department of Agriculture.
The Kilted
Chef (Chef Alain Bossé) attended and presented at the WBPANS AGM. Bossé
promoted the versatility of wild blueberries in recipes by having attendees
create their own recipes using wild blueberries. Bossé instilled how proud
growers should be of their product.
Colleen
Craig, on behalf of Wild Blueberry Association of North America, gave a health
research update on wild blueberries. The research group is actively supporting
numerous studies on the health benefits of wild blueberries, including the impact
of wild blueberry consumption on motor performance in Parkison’s patients; the impact
of wild blueberry consumption on weight/appetite regulation; and the impact of
wild blueberry consumption on skin anti-aging. The mentioned projects are only
a few of the total active projects, and there are also 5 new projects under
consideration for funding.
During the
afternoon, WBPANS held their annual business meeting. The business meeting
including a WBPANS president’s report (David Harrison) and WBPANS executive
director’s report (Peter Burgess). Patrick O’Neil (WBANA Canada) gave an update
on the Wild Blueberry Association of North America including an update on
current health research occurring and an update on WBANA marketing. There was
an update from Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture (NSFA), which highlighted
new publications and resources available through NSFA and updates on the
various agriculture programs NSFA supports. The business meeting also consisted
of a promotion committee report (Alice Pugsley) and research committee report
(James Fullerton).
The second
day of the event started with a presentation from Craig MacEachern (Dalhousie)
on the efficiency and performance of wild blueberry harvesters. MacEachern
compared wild blueberry yield using a 3ft harvester or 5ft harvester, where the
5ft harvester was superior. MacEachern also investigated various picker bar
designs, where the new 5ft picker bar design was superior to the current 3ft
picker bar design. Finally, the presentation covered the benefits of having
autosteer when harvesting.
Dr. David
Percival (Dalhousie AC) gave a presentation on mitigating yield potential
losses in wild blueberry production. Percival discussed pest management
priorities, where he highlighted pesticide residue levels, and how the
tolerance for pesticide residues differs between counties. Additionally,
Percival highlighted that a large amount of wild blueberry pesticides are under
review for continued registration in 2025. Percival discussed how to manage
various blueberry pests and diseases, and indicated the importance of tracking
field history, frequently inspecting fields for signs of pests and diseases and
paying attention to weather conditions. Percival also gave an overview of the
13th International Vaccinium Symposium for Blueberry and Cranberry.
Dr. Scott
White (Dalhousie) presented on wild blueberry weed management research. White
brought to the attention of the audience red fescue which seems to be
increasingly prevalent across the province. White covered the potential
herbicides to control this weed including, Roundup® and Chikara®. White also
discussed common fescue management, which covered various product efficacy
including the use of Karmex® and Sinbar®. Finally, White discussed the
management of Sheep Sorrel, which included investigations of Spartan®,
Chikara®, Chateau®, and Merge®.
The Atlantic
Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture (ATTTA) gave a research update. Dr. Andrew
Byers presented on their research around pollination efficiencies for wild
blueberry production. The team investigated if sequential loading of honey bees
changes wild blueberry yield. Researchers completed assessments of sprout year
fields with the goal of assessing how early floral and leaf buds can be
distinguished, and how early accurate bud counts can be achieved. This will
help to determine the crop year floral density as a predictor of pollination
requirements. The team assessed the timing of wild blueberry bloom to help
develop an improved growing degree day model for wild blueberries. Kayla Gaudet
also presented some results of their 2024 Varroa mite survey across the
Maritime region.
Dr. Chris
Cutler (Dalhousie) gave a presentation that summarized some of the wild
blueberry pollination research that has occurred over the past 75 years. Culter
discussed the biology of wild blueberry pollination, and highlighted the many
factors that need to be considered for adequate pollination to occur. Culter
also presented on the many pollinators that help achieve pollination
requirements, such as nocturnal pollinators, wild bees, and managed
pollinators. The presentation highlighted how different groups of pollinators
achieve a different level of pollination success, and all groups are important
to meet the wild blueberry pollination demand.
Hugh Lyu
(Perennia) gave an overview of the challenges for predicting crop development
in the Maritimes. The use of weather stations and growing degree day models can
improve the ability of the wild blueberry industry to predict the development
of wild blueberries, including the timing of bloom for placing pollination
units and the timing of harvest.
The event
wrapped up with two presentations from Dalhousie researchers. Pattrick Hennessy
gave an update on new technology in pesticide applications. Hennessy discussed
the results of field trials for using smart sprayers and machine vision
technology to treat various weeds, and to detect and treat various wild
blueberry diseases. Kenneth Anku and Ola Popoola presented on the carbon
footprint of wild blueberry production. Anku and Popoola highlighted the use of
remote sensing techniques to minimize pesticide and fertilizer applications, described
how nitrogen fixing bacteria present in wild blueberry fields will utilize
fertilizers, and discussed how wild blueberries sequester carbon.
After a challenging growing season, this event was
an opportunity for members of WBPANS to recap the 2024 season and to learn from
ongoing research. Despite the many challenges the industry has, the wild
blueberry industry is resilient, and it works to produce a quality product for
which there is an ongoing demand. Thank you to all members of WBPANS who helped
organize this great event. Also, thank you to all the sponsors of the event,
and to those who work to support the wild blueberry industry of NS.
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