Hello everyone,
As we move into mid-summer and the post-pollination
stage, blueberry fields are showing encouraging signs, with promising green
fruit set across many regions. Everyone is excited about the upcoming harvest
season, but we still need to be patient for a few more weeks as the fruit
continues to develop. Let’s trust Mother Nature and hope for adequate heat and
moisture to support a good crop year.
We had a great field day in Upper Onslow this week and
were pleased to hear many positive stories and the optimism producers continue
to hold. At the same time, we are still seeing carryover effects from last
year's drought. Both sprout and crop fields continue to perform abnormally in
many areas, with uneven crop development, delayed emergence, lower stem
densities, and shorter stems.
As summer progresses, we hope to see continued
improvements in plant health and crop development. Ongoing field monitoring and
timely management remain critical to maintaining crop productivity and
protecting yield potential as we move toward the August harvest season.
Enjoy your summer!
Hugh Lyu
Wild Blueberry Specialist, Perennia
hlyu@perennia.ca; 902-890-0472.
June 26, 2026
Table
of Contents:
June
Wild Blueberry Production Highlights
Weather Updates
Upcoming
Events
June Wild Blueberry
Production Highlights
June was both a challenging and
encouraging month for Nova Scotia's wild blueberry industry. Across the
province, crop fields progressed through a prolonged and uneven pollination
season, largely influenced by the carryover effects of the 2025 drought and
varying levels of plant health.
A
Prolonged Pollination Season
The 2026 pollination season has been
extended, with fields exhibiting multiple blooming stages. Uneven plant vigour
and delayed crop development resulted in bloom periods ranging from early to
late stages across different regions. Despite the prolonged flowering period
and ongoing concerns about crop health, weather conditions during bloom were
generally favourable for bee activity and pollination.
Frost
Damage and Crop Impacts
June began with excellent early
bloom development in many healthy fields. However, two significant frost events
affected several early-blooming regions of the province. Frost injury caused
flower and fruit damage, reducing yield potential in some fields and increasing
the risk of blight infections in damaged tissue. The severity of injury varied
considerably depending on field location, plant health, and bloom stage during
the frost events.
Fruiting
Field Development
Although crop conditions remain
variable, many average and moderately drought-impacted fields continue to
perform normally and are showing promising yield potential. In many Mainland
production areas, sizeable and desirable green fruit has already been set,
providing optimism for the upcoming harvest season.
In severely drought-impacted fields,
plant health has improved with renewed vegetative growth and continued
progression through normal growth stages. However, crop development in these
areas remains delayed compared with healthier regions.
Sprout
Field Conditions
Sprout fields have reached
approximately 80–90% plant emergence across the province. However, development
remains slower than normal, with reduced plant density and shorter stem growth
observed in many fields. These conditions are likely a lingering effect of the
2025 drought and continue to warrant close monitoring throughout the growing
season.
Improving
Crop Health
Warmer temperatures and improved
moisture conditions throughout June have stimulated more active plant growth.
Weekly improvements in crop health have been observed across the province,
particularly in drought-affected areas where renewed vegetative growth has
improved overall field appearance and vigour.
As the season moves into July,
patience remains essential. Crop potential varies considerably among regions
and fields, but the combination of improving plant health, favourable
pollination conditions, and encouraging fruit set in many areas provides optimism
for the remainder of the 2026 growing season. Continued field monitoring and
timely management will be critical to maintaining crop productivity as we move
toward harvest.
Weather
Updates
In this section, we provide regular weather updates to
help growers track seasonal progress and support field management decisions.
Key parameters reviewed include growing degree day (GDD) accumulation, seasonal
precipitation trends, and current drought conditions across Nova Scotia, along
with highlights from the latest National Agroclimatic Risk Report published on
June 16, 2026.
1.
Wild
Blueberry Weather Station GDD Summary (April 1- June 25)
Since April 1, growing degree day (GDD) accumulation has
reached approximately 800–900 GDD across mainland production areas (Figure 1).
These heat unit accumulations have supported active plant growth and crop
development throughout June.
In later-developing fields and in the Cape Breton
region, crop fields are approaching the end of bloom and the completion of this
year's pollination season. Most sprout fields have reached approximately 80–90%
plant emergence, although emergence and stem development remain variable among
regions due to the lingering effects of the 2025 drought. Over the next several
weeks, crop fields will continue progressing through the fruit development stages,
including green fruit, blush, red fruit, and ripening.
Figure
1. Wild Blueberry Weather Station GDD Summary (April 1- June 25)
2. Seasonal Perception
Trends
Before June 22, only a few scattered showers had been
received across much of Nova Scotia, making June appear to be shaping up as a
drier-than-normal month. The Kentville weather station, for example, recorded
less than half of its average monthly precipitation by late June (Figure 2).
However, rainfall events from June 23–24 brought
variable but significant amounts of precipitation across the province,
providing much-needed moisture to many production regions. Additional rainfall
is forecast over the coming days.
These recent and anticipated rainfall events are encouraging and should help
improve soil moisture conditions in dry areas while providing more consistent
moisture to support blueberry fruit development, fruit sizing, and overall crop
health as the season progresses.
Figure
2. 2026 Precipitation vs. Regional Historical Averages from the Kentville
Research Weather Station.
3. Current Drought
Conditions
In May, drought conditions improved across most
agricultural regions in Atlantic Canada. By the end of the month, approximately
21% of the country’s agricultural landscape was classified as Abnormally Dry
(D0) or under drought conditions (Figure 3).
Precipitation during May was highly variable across the
Atlantic region. Well-above-normal precipitation was recorded in portions of
all Atlantic provinces, contributing to localized improvements in soil moisture
and surface conditions. However, below-normal monthly precipitation persisted
in southern Nova Scotia, limiting recovery in some production areas.
Despite these mixed conditions, drought impacts continue
to ease compared to last year’s exceptional drought severity. At the end of
May, portions of all Atlantic provinces were still experiencing either
Abnormally Dry (D0) or Moderate Drought (D1) conditions.
In Nova Scotia, Abnormally Dry (D0) conditions were primarily observed in
Cumberland and several southern counties, where moisture deficits remain more
pronounced and continue to influence early-season crop development and field
variability.
Figure
3. Canadian Drought Monitor, Conditions as of May 31, 2026.
4. National Agroclimatic
Risk Report Highlights
The National Agroclimatic Risk Report, published on June
16, 2026, provides timely information on regional agroclimate conditions,
risks, and impacts across Canada, with several key highlights relevant to
Atlantic Canada and the summer forecast.
Cooler temperatures and unsettled weather conditions
this spring delayed seeding across much of Canada. At the same time,
significant winter snowfall combined with above-normal spring precipitation has
contributed to improved water recharge across many regions. In particular,
eastern Prince Edward Island, northern New Brunswick, and central Newfoundland
received approximately 120–200% of normal precipitation in May. In some of
these areas, excess moisture has limited field access and delayed field operations.
Over the past 30 days, however, below-average
precipitation was recorded in southern Nova Scotia and southern New Brunswick,
contributing to more variable moisture conditions across the region.
Despite broader moisture recovery across the region,
impacts from last year’s drought remain evident in parts of Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick. Some river levels remain below desirable thresholds, and ongoing
challenges include poor forage and crop establishment, tree decline, reduced
berry yields, and continued feed concerns.
Looking ahead, above-normal temperatures relative to 1991–2020 averages are
forecast across Canada over the next four weeks, which may accelerate crop
development but also increase evapotranspiration demand depending on localized
moisture availability.
Upcoming Events
1. July
Wild Blueberry Grower Meeting; Wednesday, July 8,
8:30 AM- 9:30.
Please register through this link: https://www.perennia.ca/eventer/july-wild-blueberry-grower-meeting/edate/2026-07-08/.
Feature guest speakers:
§ SWD
Talk by Matthew Peill, Integrated Pest Management Specialist, Perennia
§ Sprout
Year Nutrient Input by Jessica D'Entremont, NutriAg