BLUE
FOCUS NEWSLETTER- May 2023
(Perennia’s
Wild Blueberry Production Newsletter)
(This
field is in Halfway River, Cumberland, Nova Scotia)
Dear Growers,
As the season progresses, we are fast
approaching bloom and pollination season. We are still under a critical time
for Monilinia blight infection, but after this long weekend, most of the fields
should be safe from monilinia blight, except for fields in Cape Breton and some
traditional late fields which just enter 40-50% F2. Please start talking to
your bee suppliers and arrange your delivery schedule. It is looking like we
are going to have another early bloom season, similar to 2022. More details are
listed below. Another thing to watch is botrytis blossom blight.
Sprout fields in Cape Breton still
have a few days for growers to safely apply pre-emergence herbicides. For all
of the other fields in NS, the safe window to apply spring herbicides was passed.
If you still want to apply pre-emergence herbicides, please contact me and we
can look at individual cases.
Have a great long weekend!
Hugh Lyu
Wild Blueberry Specialist, Perennia
hlyu@perennia.ca; 902-890-0472.
May 19, 2023
Table of Contents:
Nova Scotia Wild
Blueberry Production Update
Upcoming Management Recommendations
Insect Traps
New Nova Scotia
Government Programs
Available Resources
Upcoming Events
NS Wild Blueberry
Production Update
- Weather and Environmental Factors
Updates
Soil temperatures:
From Jan 1 to May 15, we only had a few days in
January and February when soil temperatures were below the 10-year average.
There were a few days in the first week of May when soil temperatures were below
average, but it started to pick up and it is well lined with the 2022 season
soil temperature trend. We might be in another early bloom season.
(Jeff
Franklin, AAFC Kentville)
Precipitation:
It was a dry April for sure! We only got 20 mm of rain
out of the monthly average of 74 mm in the Kentville station. Most wild
blueberry production regions were under abnormally dry and moderate drought
conditions as of April 30.
Below, is a graph showing this year’s and last three
years’ precipitation amounts compared to the 10-year average in the Kentville station.
(Jeff
Franklin, AAFC Kentville)
Since none of the fields are in full bloom and bees
are not out in the fields yet, it is not a concern for wild blueberry
production during a dry April. However, we need rain once we start pollination.
Moisture is needed to help with nectar flow!
-
NS Wild Blueberry Development Update
Here is a quick summary of crop development in
different regions and production years.
Sprout fields:
Sprout fields in Cape Breton still
have a few days for growers to safely apply pre-emergence herbicides. For all
of the other fields in NS, the safe window to apply spring herbicides was
passed. If you still want to apply pre-emergence herbicides, please contact me
and we can look at individual cases.
Crop fields:
Here is a picture of the crop (bud
and bloom) development stage in different regions.
1.
Southshore counties and
early fields (those stations with GDD above 300) in Cumberland: early flower
and beginning of bloom (about 5-10%).
2.
Hants, HRM (Dean and
Musquoboit area), Truro and Debert area: in a tight cluster stage with some
early flowers
3.
Rest of Cumberland and Colchester:
70-80% F2 and tight cluster stage
4.
Pictou and Gusyborough:
60-70% F2 and tight cluster stage
5.
Antigonish and Cape
Breton: passed 40-50% F2
Upcoming Management
Recommendations
Crop fields
Pollination
is the main priority after this long weekend towards June. Please start your
communication with your beekeepers and make sure you talk to them if you decide
to spray any products when bees are in the fields.
Botrytis Blight:
If you are in areas where typically more prone to botrytis infection, such as
coastal areas, and wet/fog areas and if your fields are weedy (sheep sorrel is
an important host) with very dense patches, you should consider and monitor the
situation for treatment application. The fungus begins to sporulate at early
bloom, so the best time to apply (if needed!) the first application is when
about 30-40% of the flowers are open. Closed flowers are resistant to
infection. A second spray can be applied about 7-10 days later.
Insects: trapping and
monitoring concerned insects in your areas and fields. Please see the
information below for places you can get traps.
Sprout fields
Weed control:
spot treatments and mechanical weed control (pull or cut weeds above the
blueberry canopy before plants produce seeds).
Next few herbicides to consider and apply:
Option and Prism (new Ultim): ok to apply this week.
Do it before hair fescues produce seed heads
Venture L or Poast Ultra- for grasses control: apply
on actively growing grasses
Callisto (broadleaves, goldenrods): try to use 400 GDD
(around 20 cm of goldenrods) as a starting point
Insect Traps
WBPANS
carries traps in the office. Please give them a call and check if you can get
the things you need (902-662-3306;
info@nswildblueberries.com).
Great Lakes IMP (https://www.greatlakesipm.com/) also has a great
selection of monitoring tools.
New Nova Scotia Government Programs
Some new programs have been released under the Sustainable Canadian
Agricultural Partnership, a new 5-year agreement. All newly released and
upcoming programs can be found on the NS government program website:
As
this is a new 5-year agreement moving into the Sustainable Canadian
Agricultural Partnership programs, producers will need to fill in a new Program
Funding Registration Form. Please contact the Department of Agriculture for
more details about this change.
Programs
to highlight:
On-farm Industry Preparedness Program: The
On-farm Industry Preparedness Program supports primary producers with water
management activities (drainage), creating greater resilience against ongoing
climate events.
Environmental Stewardship and Climate Change Program:
The Environmental Stewardship and Climate Change Program supports the
Agricultural sector in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapting to
the impacts of climate change. This program helps primary producers accelerate
the adoption of priority beneficial management practices. Biodiversity
and Habitat- species at risk enhancements, IPM climate change
adaptation - water supply, drainage, water quality, frost protection
and weather stations; Product management – Chemical and fuel
storage)
Get
Growing Program: The Get Growing Program supports small farms in
adopting specialized infrastructure and equipment. The program helps with the
expansion of local agricultural production for local markets.
Wildlife Damage Mitigation Program: The
program helps farms protect crop and livestock from wildlife damage to improve
industry competitiveness and resilience.
Planning New Opportunities Program: helps
farms and agri-businesses be more competitive, manage transition, develop risk
management strategies and respond to change.
On-Farm Technology Adoption Program: helps producers
invest in equipment and processes that provide labour efficiencies, reduce cost
of production, increase yields and support more efficient use of inputs.
Value-Adding Equipment Program: supports
value-added businesses. The program helps increase local food production and
improve food security and sustainability for farms and communities.
Speaker Series Assistance Program: helps
industry associations host speakers focused on science, research, innovation,
market development or diversification in agriculture.
Apiculture Sustainable Growth and Health Program:
promotes hive health, pollination expansion and adoption of efficient
technologies that help with labour shortages.
Available Resources
and Tools
Over the
winter months, we offered some webinars to wild blueberry growers and here are
a summary of what we got and where you can find those resources.
1.
Perennia’s 2023 Getting
into the Weeds Webinars Recorded Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qXwq2w9DNI&list=PLWHYsBiZD_TJlwiRd2IlJaHyuCwYW28Sx.
4 recorded videos:
-
Best
Practices for Effective and Efficient Pesticide Application
-
Nutrient
Efficiency – Good for the Bottom Line, Good for the Environment
-
Optimizing
On-Farm Efficiency – Labour, Time and Equipment
-
Trials
and Tribulations of On-Farm Plots
2. Growing Degree Days (GDD) Development Trends– A deep
dive into the Nova Scotia wild blueberry sector:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qaVFzl_rzc&t=9s
3. WBPANS 2023 Twilight Meeting, Session 1:
Using Weather Station Data (GDD) for Timely Pesticide Application in Wild Blueberry
Production. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTOm2Uqb_sA
4. Perennia’s
New Farm Data Tools Platform: https://farmdatatools.ca/ This new platform will
host useful management tools to make farming easier and smarter.
Below, I
will share resources to set up your account (FREE!) and use the GDD calculator
under the farm weather map. If you have any trouble, please let me know.
Steps:
1. Perennia’s Farm Weather Tools Platform: https://farmdatatools.ca/. This is the
home page for this platform.
2. Please quickly read the farm weather map
page before you set up your account: https://farmdatatools.ca/services/farm-weather-map/.
3. Under step 2’s link, you will see
resources about GDD and two very useful resources to help you set up and access
the map and the GDD calculator:
- Farm Weather Map video tutorial: https://farmdatatools.ca/services/farm-weather-map/.
- Farm Weather Map Quickstart guide: https://farmdatatools.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2023/04/Quickstart-farm-weather-GDD.pdf.
Upcoming Events
Please check out the event page under
the wild blueberry blog for more details. http://www.novascotiawildblueberryblog.com/p/events.html
1.
WBPANS- 2023
Twilight Meeting- Session 2 Using
Drones in Wild Blueberry Production.
Date and time: May 24, 2022, Wednesday,
3-5 PM
Location: WBPANS office in Debert
This in-person meeting will be with Dr. David
Percival, Dalhousie Faculty of Agriculture at the WBPANS office in Debert.
David will discuss his research using drones in wild blueberry production. If
weather permits, growers will see the drone in action.
No need to pre-register for this meeting, just show up
at 168 Dakota Road, Debert.
2.
2023 Wild
Blueberry Field Days- Maine, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick
·
Maine:
June 22 @ 9 AM- 3 PM. https://extension.umaine.edu/blueberries/event/blueberry-hill-farm-field-day-2023/
·
Nova Scotia:
July 18, Caledonia, Queens County. 9560 Nova Scotia Trunk 8, Caledonia, NS B0T
1B0. https://nswildblueberries.com/registration-form/
·
New Brunswick:
July 20, Saint-Sauveur (Northeast). Please contact them for more information: https://nbwildblue.ca/.
*Quebec is not going to have a field day in
2023. They will resume in 2024.