SMALL FRUIT UPDATEThe Northwest Berry Foundation's

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• Whatcom County: Monday crash into berry harvester was a fatality (7/12, Lynden Tribune)

• B.C.: Blueberry harvest kicks off with lighter early crop expected (7/12, Fresh Fruit Portal)

• B.C.: Beautiful berries will soon be processed at Chilliwack site (6/22, The Chiliwack Progress) I missed this story when it came out about a month ago.

• Oregon: Japanese company acquires local food processor Berry Noir (6/21, The Newberg Graphic)

• Oregon: At a Portland farmers’ market, a young entrepreneur makes his mark (7/6, Capital Press) Great ‘human interest’ story involving Columbia Star blackberries.

• Washington: Strawberry Commission may disband (7/12, Capital Press)

• California: Raspberry production still going strong (7/10, Fresh Plaza)

• New Jersey: A very good season for New Jersey blueberries (7/12, The Produce News)

• Australia: Costa Family to sell #300 million fruit farm portfolio (7/18, abc.net)

• Serbia: “Serbia has perfect conditions for raspberries” (7/13, Fresh Plaza)

• Maine: (Wild) Blueberry growers build demand in the face of increasing supply (7/17, The Elsworth American)

• Chile: Pest (SWD) found in Chile not expected to affect exports (7/17, The Packer)

• Romania: Bueberry production: future competition? (7/17, Fresh Plaza)

Week 29 • July 19

Visit The Weather Cafe®, Rufus La Lone's uniquely informative

long-range forecasts for the PNW.

Stay involved with the NW berry community on our facebook page and visit our website.

Go here for NW Degree Day Information from Dr. Len Coop.

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EDITOR'S NOTETom Peerbolt, SFU Editor

This issue is a little abriviated. I’m heading up to the far north to check on the harvest in Whatcom County and B.C:• Wednesday, July 19 is the Raspberry Machine Harvest Field Day 3:00-5:00 pm at Maberry Packing’s Willey’s Lake field, 7553 Torch Place, Ferndale, WA. Contact Henry Bierlink for more details. We’ll be reviewing the newest developments in raspberry varieties and advanced selections.

• I'll also be at the B.C. Raspberry Field day on Thursday ( July 20) from 1-3 pm at Clearbrook Research Station 510 Clearbrook Road, Abbotsford, BC. For more information, contact Michael Dossett.

I’m sure I’ll see some of you at these events.

Also, we’re still sorting out what to do with the Pest Management section. It’s grown out of hand and we’re struggling with how to best present it.

Tom

From Tom Bauman: “Consider how lucky we are not being evacuated because of wild fires. Our thoughts are with the folks from the Interior of BC where wild fires are raging.”

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:• Industry Calendar

• Regional Crop Reports • Pest Management

• Industry News• Blueberry Development Photos

• SWD Counts• SWD Management

NORTHWEST BERRY FOUNDATION

Update

HELP SPONSOR OUR FRESH MARKET STRAWBERRY WORKSHOP:We're hosting a fresh market strawberry workshop in September. The workshop will center around conversations between growers, buyers, researchers, and other industry members. Topics will include a review of the 2017 season, discussions on market development, and results from Summer 2017 taste tests, where consumers gave feedback on promising new fresh market strawberry cultivars. Our aim is to facilitate discussions on ways to develop the industry, improve fruit quality, and expand demand.

This workshop is a free service to all growers, so we are relying on industry businesses to help fund this workshop.

For information about sponsoring, please email or call Jo Peterson at 503-285-0908.

PACKING MATERIALS/CLAMSHELLS NEEDED: • This summer, we are working with the Oregon Food Bank and Salem Harvest to expand our Berry Recovery Project. We’re in desparate need of clamshells for packing recovered fruit. If any of you have out-dated, wrong size…whatever…any clamshells we could use, please email or call Jo Peterson at 503-285-0908.

3SPOTTED WING DROSOPHILA:

WILLAMETTE VALLEY WEEK 29 REPORTJason Myer, Field Research Supervisor, PCM

Below are the updated SWD numbers through last week. • Numbers dropped a little bit from last week, though the trends continue to be the same. • Weather is certainly ideal and I don’t think we can expect much suppression on that end, so all theories would point to an continually increasing population of SWD. • No new larvae detections were picked up last week. • All the follow up samples taken in the one Bluejay field where we had found one larva were clean.

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Western Oregon, Willamette Valley (Tuesday, 7/18)• Blueberries: Size and berry numbers continue to be down on the great majority of fields and cultivars. We’re well into Draper and Blue Crop. Will be into Legacy and bLiberty next week. Coloring in Elliotts, Aurora and Last Call. I’ve got some reservations on how well Aurora is going to size up. But I’d guess our late season crop will follow the pattern of the early season. Some good looking Legacy fields.

• Blackberries: Very light crop with great IQF quality. Guys even into their third picks are producing quality and by that time the fruit is usually declining. Columbia Star in particular is light but all varieties are. With almost all going into IQF, there actually could be more shortages on the puree end of things.

REGIONAL REPORTS

GROWER RESOURCES:

• Research: Potassium Fertigation in Highbush Blueberries (Summer edition, Fluid Journal)• New Hampshire researchers quadruple strawberry growing season with tunnels (7/13, Fresh Fruit Portal)• Best practices for minimizing SWD infestation are reviewed (7/12, Fruit Grower News)

OSU ONLINE BLUEBERRY COURSE:

FALL 2017

• Dr. Bernadine Strik is offering the next online blueberry course that starts on Sept. 29. • Registration is now open.• For full information, registration links as well as testimonials from prior students: Go Here.

Northern Washington, Whatcom (Sunday, 7/16)• Blueberries: Blueberry harvest hasn't started except for some fresh pick . Yields are average at best, blueberry size is down. Getting really dry, might affect blueberry size and yield.

• Raspberries: Raspberry harvest is moving right along. Raspberries are decent size so far. SWD are in check. Not much mold at all.

Eastern Washington (Sunday, 7/16)• Blueberries: Still no SWD or stink bugs in the traps. Dukes wrapping up quickly, Bluejay about 1/2 done and Draper not started yet. Poor pollination and heat have taken a toll on yields. Cooler weather here now but too late to help much.

5REGIONAL REPORTS

Read British Columbia Blueberry Council’s IPM Newsletter for July 14.

British Columbia, Fraser Valley (Monday, 7/17) From Tom Baumann, University of the Fraser Valley

Irrigation running full out everywhere to keep plant roots happy, some over watering seen.

• Weather: Pretty steady, mostly perfect temperatures with a few serious clouds coming for mid-week with a chance of a sprinkle. Otherwise dusty and sunny.

• Blueberries: Duke now all berries ripe. Some lack of berries, size decent but could be larger. Bluecrop coming in nicely but that is the variety I worry about most. Not enough fruit on it and size is not where it should be. Late varieties so far doing really well. But they got a ways to go still. There are big differences amongst regions however trends are about the same.

• Raspberries: Missing fruit on looped canes, dead root rot plants, a hangover from spring, mites moving into dusty fields. Now a cover crop would be nice to have....

• Strawberries: Dayneutral strawberries going great guns, keep alert for Lygus and Thrips.

• Misc: Black Currants just about done, peaches/nectarines sizing fast, Aronia first ripe fruit, Blackberry including Chester now fruiting nicely, great quality and size, some losses due to winter kill. Gogi berry now fruiting, good size, plenty flowers. Fall fruiting raspberries now in bloom, right on time.

• Notes:

- Keep irrigation going, on light soils don't forget fertiliser injection.

- Do not fall behind harvesting for best quality and least drop. Especially important when we have high winds as we did the past few days.

- Berry breeding program field day on Thursday this week in Abbotsford. Make a point to attend. Let your respective association know so that there is enough food.

British Columbia, Fraser Valley (Tuesday, 7/18)There is a chance that we may see some showers on Wednesday or Thursday. Only briefly, and probably not of major amounts

• Blueberries: We're well into Dukes with machines now. Last week a good amount of fresh came in. Really a mixed bag of crop performance in Dukes. Size generally appears to be off but where you can keep the water to it, size does develop. The weather has been very dry with wind almost every day which just intensifies the need for good irrigation in order to optimize fruit development. We are lucky that temperatures have stayed moderate (mid 20's) which has allowed the crop to progress. This early crop appears to be quite variable as far as yield across the region. But overall I'd say it's got to be down. Draper will start to pick sometime later in about 7-10 days. This variety appears to have a decent crop. After that I'm afraid volumes may really taper off with what appears to be disappointing Bluecrop and Liberty potential.

• Raspberries: Raspberries are about half way through with no real peak having been apparent. The dry conditions are really starting to impact the yield as size is diminishing and fruit bearing canes dry up. I think some of the damage done to fruiting canes in the wet spring are now evident as the stress of crop load and dry conditions become too much. No mould issues of course. So quality has been good. A lot of fields really look tough at the moment. And just to make life a little more complicated, two spotted spider mites have developed some pretty good populations in most fields.

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July 19 — Raspberry Machine Harvest Field Day 3:00-5:00 pm at Maberry Packing’s Willey’s Lake field, 7553 Torch Place, Ferndale. Contact Henry Bierlink for more details.

July 20 — BC Clearbrook Substation Raspberry Field Day 1-3 pm at Clearbrook Research Station 510 Clearbrook Road, Abbotsford, BC. For more information, contact Michael Dossett.

July 31 — Soilborne Disease Management Field Day 2 pm at the Gazebo at Samson Farms, 1861 Van Dyk Rd, Everson, WA 98247. 2 WSDA pesticide credits will be available. Go here for the agenda. Contact Lisa Wasko DeVetter for more information.

August 9 — Sustainable Berry Workshop 8:15 am - 11:45 am at the University of California Cooperative Extension 1430 Freedom Blvd, Watsonville, CA 95076. "Welcoming berry producers as well as industry and agency professionals interested in learning the latest developments in sustainable berry production." Go here for more information.

February 21-24, 2018 – North American Raspberry & Blackberry Conference at Maberry For more information, email NARBA, call 919-542-4037, or go here.

April 21 — Oregon Blueberry Commission Noon (Budget hearing) Chemeketa Events at Winema, Building 48, Room 210. Contact Lisa Ostlund for details.

September 6 — Washington Red Raspberry Commission meeting 1796 Front Street Lynden, Washington 98264. Contact Henry Bierlink for details.

October 25 — Washington Red Raspberry Commission meeting 1796 Front Street Lynden, Washington 98264. Contact Henry Bierlink for details.

November 27 — Washington Red Raspberry Commission meeting 1796 Front Street Lynden, Washington 98264. Contact Henry Bierlink for details.

November 29 - Dec. 1 — Small Fruit Conference and Lynden Ag Show, NW Washington Fairgrounds, Lynden, WA. For more information, contact WSU Whatcom County Extension at (360) 778-5800 or go here.

INDUSTRY CALENDAR

If you'd like to add a meeting or event to the calendar, email the Northwest Berry Foundation office or call us at 503-285-0908.

7BLUEBERRY DEVELOPMENT COMPARISON

Western Willamette Valley

PATRIOT BLUEJAY LIBERTY AURORA ELLIOTT

WEEK 28, 2017 (7-14-17)

WEEK 28, 2016 (7-15-16)

LAST CALL

AURORA ELLIOTT LAST CALL

AURORA ELLIOTT AURORA ELLIOTT

WEEK 28, 2015 7-10-15 WEEK 28, 2014 7-11-14

ELLIOTTAURORA

WEEK 28, 2013 7-12-13

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INDUSTRY NEWS

MAGAZINES & WEBSITES• Fruit Grower News: blueberries, raspberries

and blackberries• The Packer: blueberries, blackberries,

raspberries , strawberries.• Growing Produce: recent berry articles.

• Fruit Grower News: blueberries,raspberries & blackberries

• Andnowyouknow.com: blueberries,blackberries, raspberries,

strawberries.• Fresh Fruit Portal: blueberries,

blackberries, raspberries,strawberries.

CLIMATE/WATER• Parts of California already in record rainfall territory (Western Farm Press)

POLLINATORS• USDA invests $6.8 million for pollinator health (7/9, Growing Produce)

TECHNOLOGY• Expo to showcase latest in farm tech-nology (7/17, Capital Press) August 15-17 in Pendleton.• Practical solutions are bringing precision agriculture closer to earth (7/10, Growing Produce)

POLITICS/TRADE• We need to fight for fruit and vegetable growers in the next farm bill (7/12, Growing Produce)• U.S. Farm lobby turns up heat on Trump team as NAFTA talks near (7/14, Ag Profes-sional)• Farmers urge lawmakers to protect ex-port programs (7/13, Agri-Pulse)

INTERNATIONAL• Italy: Blueberry campaign starts in Tren-to (7/17, Fresh Plaza)• Australia: Berry growers take on cheaper imports (7/14, Fresh Plaza)

BERRY RESEARCH BLOGS • Strawberries and Caneberries by Mark Bolda,

UC Davis Berry Extension Agent. Reports on issues from California. Recent entry (7/14) Sustainable Berry Workshop Announced• Team rubus By Gina Fernandez, North

Carolina State Small Fruit Specialist. Reports on issues in blackberries and raspberries from the Southeast. Recent entry (6/28): Blackbery night

harvest night run

ONLINE PUBLICATIONS

• Washington Red Raspberry Commission Newsletter—Summer, 2017

• WhatCom AG Monthly Produced by WSU Whatcom County Extension. Excellent berry

information. • British Columbia Berry Grower Magazine Quarterly publication with some great

information. • Small Fruit News-Spring Edition

MARKET REPORTS

• National Berry Report Daily fresh market berry reports generated from data from the

USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. Hosted by the California Strawberry Commission.• Weekly Market Report from General

Produce• Weekly Chilean Blueberry Committee Crop

& Exports report

USDA Market News (Fruits & Vegetables) Photo by Cinzia Ballantyne

9SWD MANAGEMENT

• Spottedwing.org Information from the 5 year SCRI regional project that just concluded. Cooperating organizations: OSU, WSU, Agri-Foods Canada, UC Davis, UC Berkeley, Peerbolt Crop Management & the USDA.

• Spottedwing.org/SWD external links resources.

• USpest.org SWD Extension Documents Many of Amy Dreves’ generated SWD materials on managing and monitoring SWD.

BRITISH COLUMBIA

• SWD information brochure in English (Published June, 2015)

• SWD information brochure in Punjabi (Published June, 2015)

OREGON AND WASHINGTON

• Blueberries: SWD pesticide options and information

• Raspberries and blackberries: SWD pesticide options and information

• Strawberries: SWD pesticide options and information

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Noncrop Host Plants of Spotted Wing Drosophila in North America (Extension Bulletin published April 2015)

• Solid set canopy delivery system (Project’s website) This is a large research project going on with tree fruits but which shares a lot of principals in common with the berry research work on ‘mistigation’ systems for delivering applications particularly for spotted wing drosophila management. Looks like a very sound approach.

• SWD I.D. Card (UC Extension)

• PCM factsheet on SWD risk factors

MONITORING BERRIES FOR SWD LARVAE IN THE FIELD

• Put a sample of fruit to be tested in a gallon size sealable plastic bag.

• Pour in enough salt water solution to allow the fruit to float (solution is: 1 cup of salt per gallon of water). Mark bag with field code/date. Gently crush/break open fruit.

• For a quick check in the field after a designated period of time (at least 15 minutes) hold the baggie up to light. This helps to see the larvae in the solution.

• For a more thorough examination, after a designated period of time (at least 15 minutes), pour the fruit and salt solution out into a shallow tray and use a piece of wire mesh screen to hold the fruit down making it easier to separate the larvae from the fruit.

SWD larva

SWD larvae

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All crops• Vole management.

• Weed management.

• Fertilizer program.

• Water management.

• Sample for & treat as needed for SWD fruit infestation as soon as fruit begins to color.

Blueberries• Sample for & treat as needed for SWD fruit infestation as soon as fruit begins to color.

• Scout for Mummyberry infected fruit.

• Can apply fungicides to prevent fruit molds.

• Scout for Silver leaf disease symptoms especially in Draper and Top Shelf varieties.

• Stay on top of aphid management where Scorch virus transmission is an issue.

• Scout for leafroller larvae & treat as needed.

• Scout for virus symptoms & send in samples for testing as needed (Shock virus; Scorch virus).

• Scout for winter moth/Bruce spanworm larvae.

• Scout for scale insects.

• Scout for weevil notching.

• Scout for azalea bark scale in southern blueberries

• Scout for blueberry gall midge feeding.

• Can put out pheromone traps to monitor for leafrollers.

• Scout for berry symptoms like green fruit botrytis, hail damage, mummyberry, etc.

Blackberries• Sample for & treat as needed for SWD fruit infestation as soon as fruit begins to color.

• Can put out pheromone trap to monitor for leafrollers.

• Can apply fungicides to prevent fruit molds.

• Scout for cane and leaf rust.

• Scout for virus symptoms and send in samples for testing as needed.

PEST MANAGEMENT WEEK 28

Note: We’re in the process of reorganizing the pest management section. This week it’s been abbreviated. TP NEW PEST ALERT:

PACIFIC FLATHEAD BORER (CHRYSOBOTHRIS MALI)

From Dr. Bernadine Strik, Oregon State University Berry Horticulturist

“We are seeing flatheaded borer in a blueberry field – doing considerable

damage to a younger (2-year-old field). Growers need to look for flagging of

canes or dead plants. Diagnosis should be for larvae burrowing in older canes or

the crown. Please let your local county extension agent know if you have any

infestations. This pest is causing damage in commercial hazelnuts (filberts) and

needs to be managed to avoid significant damage.”

Dr. Nik Wiman has produced a fact sheet that should be of use to blueberry

growers.

Photos from Nik Wyman’s Factsheet

11PEST MANAGEMENT

Raspberries• Sample for & treat as needed for SWD fruit infestation as soon as fruit begins to color.Scout for raspberry beetle feeding symptoms

• Scout for Yellow Rust and assess treatment options.

• Scout for yellow mites and twospotted mites.

• Scout for virus symptoms & send in samples for testing as needed.

• Can apply fungicides to prevent fruit molds.

• Can put out pheromone traps to monitor for leafrollers.

• Scout for Cane Blight and Cane Botrytis symptoms.

• Can put out pheromone traps to monitor for leafrollers.

Strawberries• (Southern strawberries) Can scout for Strawberry Crown Moth larvae.

• Scout for fruit damage symptoms like cat facing, slug damage, anthracnose, etc.

• Monitor ripe and ripening fruit for SWD larvae.

• Scout for weevil adults & notching.

• Can apply slug bait.

• Scout for Powdery Mildew and treat as needed.

• Scout for Two Spotted Spider Mites and predatory, beneficial mites.

• Scout for aphids.

• In day neutral varieties scout for lygus bug and assess need for treatment.

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