1

Northwest Berry Foundation

Albion pollination by Julie Pond 8/6/2019

Week 32
August 07, 2019 JASON MYER
Northwest Berry Foundation

THIS ISSUE
Field Reports If you didn’t hear it before: SWD, SWD, SWD. Numbers and pop-
ulations are larger than they have ever been in the 10 years since
Blueberry Development its first detection in the Northwest, so we are treading uncharted
waters here as far as field pressure is concerned. There have been
Industry Calendar a number of reported incidents of larval detections in fruit, but for
the most part, these have been small in number and not terribly
Industry News economic which indicates that management programs have been
effective.
Pests & Disease
Finally getting some summer heat should suppress activity a bit and
Crop Management reduce field pressure. Would highly recommend taking your own
fruit samples from the field to determine if there is any SWD pres-
ence in your fruit and plan management accordingly.

SUBSCRIBE Late season varieties are just starting to be picked as the season
begins it slow wind down. It has been a beautiful summer in the
Northwest, and plants are looking healthy to setup a good crop for
next year.
Best,

Northwest Berry
Foundation is a
501c3 with the
mission to support
a more sustainable
Northwestern berry
industry.
 R EG I O N A L F I E L D R E P O RTS 2

FRASER VALLEY, BRITISH COLUMBIA

Monday Aug 5th
Eric Gerbrandt, Research Director, BCBC/RIDC/ CSGA
After another random dump of up to 1/2 inch of rain late last week, the Fraser Valley is in the middle of a
heat wave with temperatures reaching above 30 degrees C for a few days. Will cool down in the second half
of the week.

Blueberries: Been a weird season with crossover in ripening between varieties like Draper and Bluecrop
as well as Liberty and Cargo. We've got some early Aurora and Last Call coming in as growers skim pick to
avoid quality issues by taking of the very first fruit of these late season varieties. Very large volumes of fruit
is the main story though as the industry tries to balance labour and packing/processing capacity.

Raspberries: Most of the Meeker crop is done, and growers will likely have shut down by the time this post
is published. Wakefield still has some crop to go.

Strawberries: I expect Albion volumes to pick up this week.

Click here for BC

Blueberry Council's
Latest field report

WILLAMETTE VALLEY, OREGON

Monday Aug 5th
Blackberries: We are done with blackberries for the season. Was a struggle this year, rain and high humid-
ity caused mold problems for the bulk of the season and wet fruit meant lower throughput in the tunnels, as
a result the percent of fruit that was IQF was down. On top of that yields were off. Glad this one is over, next
season has to be better. We are finding SWD here and there in blues, nothing serious, doesn’t matter loca-
tion or variety, they are definitely out there and everywhere. Hoping this heat will knock them back.

Blueberries: Legacy and Liberty are being harvested. Some first ‘cleanup picks of Last Call also. With lots
of blue showing in Aurora. Fruit quality is declining with ‘soft’ the most frequent descriptive word. It’s cer-
tainly a result of our unusually mild summer that’s now turning warmer. Still seem to be running the fruit
handling/processing plants pretty much at capacity. There will be some big yield numbers coming out of this
season.ies coming in and that should continue through the next week.

Tuesday Aug 6th

Strawberries: Day Neutral strawberries are well into a heavy bloom and fruit cycle right now. The odd
humidity lately has caused some abnormal fruit rot so fungicide applications are going on with every insec-
ticide application. Lygus bug populations have increased. In general, Thrips haven't been as much of a
 B LU E B E R RY B U D D E V E LO PM E N T 3
WILLAMETTE VALLEY, OREGON
Photos from the same fields and close to same day each
year.
aurora last call last call
1st year cane
2019: Week 31, Aug 2nd

1st year canes

in this field
have earlier
crop
2018: Week 31, Aug 3rd

aurora last call

Washington Red Raspberry Commission

organized a half day tour of raspberry fields and packing
plants last month to help local elected and agency officials
better understand the raspberry industry and what they
might be able to do to help growers meet the challenges
of trafe, labo, regulation, and marketing. Read their follow
upletter outlining the ways government can help and not
hurt berry growers.

All crop stages in a 1st year Albion

field by Julie Pond, 8/6/2019
I N D U ST RY C A L E N D A R 4

AUGUST 7
OSU caneberry field day 1pm - 3pm. North Willamette
Research and Extension Center, 15210 NE Miley Road, Aurora, Oregon.
For more information contact 503-678-1264 x110. Go here for the
agenda.

SEPTEMBER 4
washington red raspberry commission meeting
1pm - 5pm. 204 Hawley St., Lynden, WA.

SEPTEMBER 10
OREGON raspberry & BLACKBERRY commission
meeting 10:30am - 2:30pm. Hayden's Lakefront Grill, 8187 SW
Tualatin-Sherwood Rd, Tualatin, OR 97062.

SEPTEMBER 27 - NOVEMBER 10
Blueberry Physiology, Production Systems, &
ManagemenT 6-week OSU online course taught by Bernadine
Strik. Click here to register.

OCTOBER 17-18
Raspberry & Blueberry Research Reviews 10am -
4pm.at Mt Vernon WSU. Email Alan Schrieber for more information.

OCTOBER 30
washington red raspberry commission board
meeting 1pm - 5pm. 204 Hawley St., Lynden, WA.
DECEMBER 2-3
Northwest Center for Small Fruits research
Annual Conference Save the date!
DECEMBER 4-6
Small Fruit Conference & Lynden Ag Show Click here
for more information and to register.

DECEMBER 5
Washington Red Raspberry Commission Annual
Meeting 8:00 AM , 204 Hawley St. Lynden, WA
JANUARY 19
NASGA 2020 AnnuaL Conference Details to come.
FEB 3
Oregon Blueberry Conference
Grand Hotel, Salem, OR Click here for more details and to register.

December 4-6 2019

 I N D U ST RY N E WS 5
Highlights
Blueberries in Charts: Higher prices are coming U.S. fresh exports show mixed trends (8/5, AgWeb)
(8/6, Fresh Fruit Portal)
Food Safety
Federal Judge upholds ruling favorable to Food-safety inspectors begin visits to produce
Washington blueberry farms (8/6, Capital Press) farms, packing houses (8/5, Food Safety News)
Munger Farms & an H-2A labor rules dispute.
Strawberries
Studies reveal how blueberries aid healthy aging A greenhouse with 55 thousand autumn
(8/1, Fresh Fruit Portal) strawberries (8/6, Fresh Plaza)

Many UDSA workers to quit as research agencies Africa

move to Kansas City: ‘The brain drain we all South Africa blueberry industry forecasts soaring
feared’ (7/18, The Washington Post) growth (8/5, Fresh Fruit Portal)

‘Cascade Premier’ raspberry bred for mechanical Technology

harvest by WSU (7/31, Fruit Grower News) How specialty crop farmers can grow with drone
tech (8/2, Growing Produce)
Food Safety Modernization Act—Free online
training resources (8/1, Good Fruit Grower) Zest Labs upgrades shelf life platform with new
modules (7/31, The Packer)
Labor Department opens public comment on
proposed changes to H-2A (7/30, Good Fruit Jet forced-air portable cooler manufacturer
Grower) Comment period closes on Sept. 24 reduces lead time (7/30. Fresh Plaza)

8 things to know about the proposed H-2A changes The West

(7/29, Growing Produce) B.C.: Finding new potential for a lost native
berry (8/1, Country Life) Talking about Aronia or
Many UDSA workers to quit as research agencies chokeberry
move to Kansas City: ‘The brain drain we all
feared’ (7/18, The Washington Post) Marketing
What’s On Ad – Cherries, peaches, strawberries
Supply Chain (7/31, The Packer)
5 big supply chain changes that growers need to be
ready for (7/31, Growing Produce) Land Grant Universities
OSU ‘statewides’ plan return to full funding (7/30,
Labor Capital Press)
U.S. and Guatemala sign agreement to improve
H-2A program (8/2, The Packer) Pesticides
Bayer jury awards on Roundup underscore legal
Tree fruit labor tight in some places, but not others rift over science (7/1, Bloomberg)
(8/2, Capital Press)
Pollinators
Trade The world faces ‘pollinator collapse’? How and
China suspends U.S. agricultural purchases (8/5, why the media get the science wrong time and
Market Watch) again (7/30, GLP)
 P ESTS & D I S E A S E 6
Click any blue text to learn more.

ALTERNARIA FRUIT ROT As blueberry bloom

starts to finish, it's time to consider whether you
need to prevent Alternaria and Anthracnose prob-
lems from showing up in the fruit. Alternaria can
infect the fruit beginning at the end of bloom and
throughout the fruit development stage, up until
harvest. Infections remain latent until the fruit
ripens. Infected fruits exhibit a shriveling or cav-
ing-in of the side of the berry and become watery in
storage.
ANTHRACNOSE RIPE ROT If you've had problems
with Anthracnose, prevention of a reoccurrence
begins at petal fall. Symptoms: First, blighting of
shoot tips; then, a few flowers turn brown or black.
Leaf spots, when they occur, are large or small and
roughly circular. As infected berries ripen, the flower Anthracnose Ripe Rot, Caroline Teasdale
end may soften and pucker. Under warm and rainy
conditions, salmon-colored spore masses form on
infected berries. After harvest, spore masses form
rapidly on infected fruit when in cellophane-covered
baskets clamshell packs.

YELLOW RUST In raspberries yellow rust is now

changing spore stages from black overwintering
spores (teliospores) to yellow/orange colored ‘blis-
ters’ (spermagonia) on the top surface of leaves.
This is followed closely by a very visible, almost day-
glow orange/yellow spore stage (aecia). The fourth
spore stage (uredinia) appears later in the season
as yellow ‘dust’ on the bottom of leaves. This last
stage is the one that multiplies quickly & can quickly
defoliate canes if left untreated. Evaluate disease
incidence and stage to determine whether (& when)
fungicide applications are warranted. Shock virus 5/27/19, Jason Myer

SCORCH VIRUS In blueberries.vector (aphid)

management (From an April, 2011 B.C. Pest Alert).
Blueberry scorch virus is transmitted by aphids. An
effective aphid control program should be used by
all growers. Fields should be treated before bloom
with a registered aphicide to control the over-win-
tering aphids before they reproduce and disperse.

SHOCK VIRUS In southern blueberries. symptoms

should be visible in many fields starting this week.
This disease is vectored by pollinators.There is no
treatment or cure. Infected bushes generally display
symptoms for one year and then return to produc-
tivity.

POWDERY MILDEW In southern strawberries dry,

warm, humid conditions favor powder mildew in
strawberries. We’re seeing the disease beginning to
get going in some area fields.

SILVER LEAF DISEASE In blueberries this is a Powdery mildew on both leaves and fruit of Sweet
recently identified disease. Draper seems to be Sunrise 2015, Bernadine C. Strik
 C RO P M A N AG E M E N T: W E E K 32 7
All Crops  Scout for virus symptoms and send in
 As fruit starts coloring, begin sampling fruit samples for testing as needed.
for SWD infestation, continue sampling  Scout for cane and leaf rust.
throughout harvest and treat as needed.  Scout for and treat as needed blackberry
 Weed management. rust in Evergreen blackberries.
 Fertility management.  Scout for two spotted spider mites and treat
 Water management. as needed in susceptible cultivars.
 Can apply horticultural oil for Redberry mite
Blueberries at green fruit stage in susceptible cultivars
 Bird management.
 Scout for mummyberry infected fruit. Strawberries
 Stay on top of aphid management where  Evaluate weak growing areas and check
scorch virus transmission is an issue. plants for weevil larvae, root rot and/or cold
 Scout for leafroller larvae and treat as need- damage.
edScout for virus symptoms and send in  Scout for weevil adults and notching.
samples for testing as needed (Shock virus;  After harvest, can treat for SWD control if
Scorch virus)Scout for winter moth/bruce field is adjacent to other susceptible, ripen-
spanworm larvae. Scout for scale insects. ing, crops.
 Scout for weevil notching on leaves and for  Weed control at strawberry renovation
adult weevils. (6/26/12, Michigan State Extension)
 Scout for azalea bark scale in southern fields  Treat post harvest for SWD if in close prox-
 Scout for blueberry gall midge damage. imity to other ripening berry/stone fruit
 Can use pheromone traps to monitor for leaf- crops.
rollers.  Mow and treat immediately for SCM if
 Scout for berry symptoms like green fruit bot- needed.
rytis, hail damage, mummyberry, etc.  Mow and renovate 2-4 weeks after harvest
 Can apply clean up insecticide just before unless pressure requires mowing and treat-
harvest for crop contaminant management. ing.
 Scout for lygus bugs.
Raspberries  Scout for fruit damage symptoms like cat
 Scout for yellow rust and assess treatment facing, slug damage, anthracnose, etc.
options.  Monitor ripe and ripening fruit for SWD
 Scout for twospotted mites and yellow mites. larvae.
 Scout for virus symptoms and send in  Can apply slug bait as needed.
samples for testing as needed.  Scout for powdery mildew and treat as
 Can have pheromone traps out to monitor for needed.
leafrollers.  Scout for two spotted spider mites and pred-
 Scout cane blight and botrytis symptoms. atory, beneficial mites.
 Watch for fruit molds and treat as needed.  Scout for aphids, lady beetles, aphid
 Scout for weevils and treat as needed. mummies (parasitized aphids), and other
beneficial insects that feed on aphids.
Blackberries
 Scout for leafroller larvae and treat as needed
to prevent fruit contaminant problems.
(orange Tortrix and oblique Banded)

Blackberries by Heather Fara 7/30/2019

 8
SMALL FRUIT UPDATE
IS SPONSORED BY
THE REGION'S BERRY
COMMISSIONS &
COUNCILS

Learn More | Join the SFU news | Archives