Hello everyone,
I hope you have a great blueberry
season so far. The harvesting season is fast approaching, but the fruit stages
are not as early as last year. We are experiencing a regular blueberry
development season, so we expect to start harvesting around the traditional
timings, typically towards the end of the first week in August in the central
regions. The crop fields look promising because of the decent growing
conditions we received this year, particularly during pollination season. The
next few weeks are critical, especially for fruiting insect management and
fruit health monitoring, which will be our focus for the next few weeks. This
month’s production updates will discuss the latest GDD accumulations, NS wild
blueberry mid-season crop updates, and upcoming activities.
I wish all of you a successful and
fruitful harvesting season!
Hugh Lyu
Wild Blueberry Specialist, Perennia
hlyu@perennia.ca; 902-890-0472
June 30, 2025
Table of Contents:
GDD Updates (April 1- June 30)
Nova Scotia Wild Blueberry Mid-Season Crop Updates
Upcoming Events
GDD Updates (April 1- June 30)
Below are the latest GDD updates from several wild blueberry
weather stations. This update covers the last 3 months’ accumulating growing
degree days, from April 1 to June 30.
Figures 1 and 2. GDD
accumulations from April 1 to June 30 on selected weather stations.
At this point, we can expect green fruits to be sizing up
and colours changing around the top of berries (Figure 3). Soon, we will see
red fruits, especially after the next forecast rain event across the province,
which is needed for blueberries.
Figure 3. Wild
blueberry fruit development stages (UMaine).
Nova Scotia Wild Blueberry Mid-Season Crop Updates
The wild blueberry industry has experienced production
challenges over the last few years, primarily due to severe and unseasonal weather
events, such as drought, low snow coverage and polar vortex, unfavourable
pollination weather, and unevenly distributed field moisture. On the plant
development side, warmer and earlier spring resulted in earlier and faster crop
development and a shift in the wild blueberry management schedule in Nova
Scotia.
Conditions in wild blueberry fields have been favourable
over the last 12 months. So far, Mother Nature has blessed us. Pollination has
been completed, and fruit sets are visible, so it is a good time to check
pollination efficiencies and yield potentials. The wild blueberry crop looks
promising so far, but, as mentioned, we need adequate moisture levels for berry
development and favourable harvesting conditions over the next two months. Below
are some observations and highlights in the wild blueberry fields for the current
crop.
1.
Mid-summer and fall 2024 (July to
November)
·
In 2024, the sprout fields improved in growing environment,
compared to the summer of 2023, when we had an extended period of rain,
contributing to secondary and new regrowth of sprout stems, which delayed tip
dieback and impacted fruit bud development. Last summer, sprout blueberry
plants performed well, and fruit buds were formed in a timely and even manner.
·
This past fall’s weather conditions were also
desirable, reducing leaf disease infection levels and supporting fall blueberry
growth and management.
2.
Overwinter period (December to February)
·
During winter, we had decent snow coverage and
winter conditions in wild blueberry fields and many production regions.
·
Unlike some unusual warm winter periods in the
past few winters and early springs, the overwinter period’s air temperature was
desirable. For most regions, winter kill damage in crop fields was minimal during
field scouting, but severe winter damage was observed in winter kill-prone
areas and fields that lacked snow coverage.
3.
Spring (March to May)
·
It felt like a standard Maritime spring for this
blueberry season. A few warm days in early March did not contribute to early
blueberry development this season. We had a regular and steady crop development
in the spring.
·
During the Monilinia Blight season, we experienced
a higher infection year due to the extended period of fruit bud stages, and the
suitable weather conditions that brought wetness and warmth to favour disease
infections.
·
Frequent and high wind conditions continue to
bring challenges during the wild blueberry field spraying season.
4.
Early summer (June)
·
Bloom development. We did not experience an
early or fast bloom season this year. The bloom and whole pollination period
was around 2.5 weeks. During this time, we received good moisture and sunny
days, which were very helpful in pollination efficiency.
·
However, there are concerns about a long bloom
and pollination period. Some fields could have uneven bloom stages and crop
development, which reduces pollination efficiency and fruit set. A long
flowering period also contributed to the increased risk of infection by
Botrytis blossom blight.
·
Botrytis blossom blight infection. As mentioned,
the blooming period was a little longer and accompanied by good infection
weather, so we also had high Botrytis blight this season. This year, our
weather advantage was having ideal spraying conditions during bloom for
fungicide applications, which effectively helped reduce Botrytis infections.
·
Frost. We were fortunate to miss major frost
events during the flowering season.
·
Pollination. As discussed above, it was an ideal
pollination year for wild blueberries in most crop fields. During this period,
we observed active pollinator activities, including wild pollinators. However,
we should expect regional pollination efficiency variations, depending on the fields’
bloom stages and full bloom pollination weather conditions.
Upcoming Events
1.
July 9, 8:30- 9:30 AM. Perennia
Virtual Grower Meeting.
*** In this meeting, we will have a special
session from Dr. Rachel Rix to discuss SWD and Blueberry Maggot management.
Dr. Rachel Rix is the Small Fruit
Entomologist with AAFC in Kentville. She will join the next virtual meeting to
discuss SWD and Blueberry Maggot in wild blueberries, focusing on both insects’
identification, life cycles, monitoring techniques and action thresholds.
Please register using this link, under “Registration for the July 9- July 23
Sessions Here!”: https://www.perennia.ca/eventer/wild-blueberries-virtual-grower-meetings-2025/edate/2025-04-09/.
2.
July 16 at the Nova Scotia Provincial
Exhibition Grounds in Bible Hill. WBPANS Annual Field Day.
***Registration is required, and the
deadline is JULY 4. Here is the registration link: https://s48wt88ab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001tEXrgm7nUJuwOhrZOYnWRRWUEpFBtYrImvfR4_peUrwbZtNXjvl9qMqdGNDqcU6HSVdu3oqCv1H8NAWoN4k7qABo2JQAFqfKqI0Fyr2Cdhp6BsqkTdckPrqS-Dpk9mxOXtvRg701yeLrp80zs77yLcaw0HGwlDlMpy8V-VAcwmZvIxLIrJkfNg==&c=iTp_JVa2HfxjU2pjgyOPAx8nzD3JrQWUprG_Qtj7lgWdTWVI5Sdj1g==&ch=uaFicb_c-MnN8SRwB-va8q80PpmnYvM8MVV1fsm_5lgJnbwlw3rucQ==.
3.
July 24, 12-3 PM in Canning.
Perennia in-person event: https://www.perennia.ca/eventer/smart-farming-in-action-using-precision-ag-and-drone-technology-for-site-specific-field-management/edate/2025-07-24/.
Smart Farming in Action: Using Precision
Ag and Drone Technology for Site-Specific Field Management.
Session Description
Data-driven decision-making is key to
optimizing agricultural performance. Applying this approach in your fields,
vineyards, and orchards can improve operational efficiency and reduce input
costs. On July 24, we’ll demonstrate how drone imagery and soil mapping tools
can detect spatial variability in soil and nutrient levels—supporting the
development of site-specific management zones for more targeted and effective
input application.