OSU BLUEBERRY SCHOOL
March 16-17, 2015
held at
Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon
This two-day blueberry “school” was organized for new and experienced blueberry growers,
farm managers, crew leaders, advisors, packers/shippers, and consultants. Experts from Oregon
State University, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Washington State University, and the
blueberry industry were asked to address key issues of where the blueberry market is going; how
you might be more successful in tight labor or volume markets; which cultivars are easiest to
grow and are in most demand; how to establish new acreage using cutting-edge methods;
projected costs and the resources available to growers for selecting new planting sites; how to
best manage existing acreage to maximize returns of high-quality fruit; provide basic information
on blueberry plant physiology to help growers minimize environmental stresses and improve
yield potential; nutrient management programs for optimal growth and quality; irrigation and
fertigation practices for higher quality and better efficiency; use of organic amendments and
mulches; planning for and improving machine harvest efficiency; pruning for hand or machine
harvest (where can you cut corners….or not), maximizing pollination for good fruit and seed set;
overviews of the most important blueberry viruses, diseases, insects, weeds, and vertebrate pests;
and tools for good pest management. Information throughout the program addresses the needs of
conventional, transitional, and organic growers. Simultaneous interpretation to Spanish has been
provided. This proceedings book contains information provided on these topics by each speaker
and co-authors. The thumb drive provided in the registration packet for each attendee includes a
copy of each presentation. Thank you for attending. It is our sincere wish that this will be a very
useful meeting and that you find the accompanying materials a valuable reference! –
Bernadine Strik, Professor and Extension Berry Crops Specialist, OSU and the members of the
organizing committee
Organizing Committee
Bernadine Strik, Chair, Oregon State University (OSU)
Wei Yang, OSU. Co-chair (sponsorship coordinator), OSU
Donna Williams, Rachel Williams & team at OSU Conference Services
Dave Bryla, USDA-ARS HCRU
Chad Finn, USDA-ARS HCRU
Vaughn Walton - OSU
Steve Castagnoli - OSU
Steve Renquist - OSU
Bryan Ostlund – Oregon Blueberry Commission
Eric Pond - industry
Jon Umble – industry
Derek Peacock - industry
Steve Erickson - industry
Nancy Jensen - industry
i
Table of Contents
OSU Blueberry School
Title
Authors
Characteristics of production regions in the Pacific
Northwest
Lisa DeVetter, Pat Jones, Bernadine
Strik, Kathie Dello
1
Markets - what's the future for fresh, processed, and
organic markets? Things you MUST think about before
starting or expanding production
Rod Cook, Derek Peacock, Jeff
Malensky, David Granatstein
9
Cultivar choices- Tried and true to brand new
Chad Finn and Bernadine Strik
15
Economics of production – resources
Bernadine Strik and David Granatstein
29
Resources available for selecting a good blueberry site
Wei Q. Yang
37
Site selection and establishment of a blueberry field
Wei Q. Yang and Bernadine Strik
41
Organic soil amendments and mulches for blueberry:
the good, the bad and the ugly
Dan Sullivan (OSU)
47
On-farm irrigation system design and operation
David Bryla
53
Blueberry plant physiology - why it's important to
understand the plant to manage it well
Bernadine Strik
57
Irrigation scheduling: when, where, and how much?
David Bryla
63
Pruning - impact of plant age, cultivar, and harvest
method
Bernadine Strik
69
Harvesting - hand vs. machine
Bernadine Strik (moderator); Paul
Norris (Norris Farms); Frank Brown
(Littau Harvesters (Inc.); Doug
Krahmer (Berries Northwest)
75
Nutrient management of blueberry -- assessing plant
nutrient needs and designing good fertilizer programs
Bernadine Strik and David Bryla
79
Maximizing pollination in blueberry
Ramesh Sagili, Carolyn Breece, John
Borden
95
Blueberry viruses present in the Pacific Northwest and
suggestions for their management
Robert Martin
99
Blueberry bacterial and fungal diseases
Jay Pscheidt and Jerry Weiland
107
ii
Page
Title
Authors
Page
Weed management for blueberry fields in the Pacific
Northwest
Tim Miller
115
Getting hit high and low: Options for managing bird
and vole damage
Dana Sanchez (OSU
125
Management of arthropods, insect, and plant-parasitic
nematodes in blueberries
Vaughn Walton,Nik Wiman, Inga
Zasada, Joe DeFrancesco, Daniel
Dalton, Amy Dreves, Jana Lee, Lynell
Tanigoshi, Wei Yang
129
iii
Maximizing pollination in blueberry
1
Ramesh Sagili1, Carolyn Breece1 and John Borden2
Department of Horticulture, Oregon State University
2
Contech Inc., BC, Canada
Pollination is critical for blueberry production. Optimal pollination results in larger fruit, better
fruit quality, consistency in the shape of the fruit, and earlier ripening of berries. Honey bees are
important pollinators of blueberry. Blueberry growers should rent honey bee colonies of
appropriate strength for efficient pollination. A pollinating colony for blueberry should be a
standard two-story hive (two hive bodies) with at least 10 frames of bees (24,000 bees) and 6
frames of brood (eggs, larvae and pupae) in different stages of development. Pollinating colonies
should also have adequate food stores (pollen and nectar) for optimal performance. On average 3
honey bee hives per acre are needed for blueberry pollination (Delaplane and Mayer, 2000).
One of the biggest challenges facing blueberry growers is ensuring adequate pollination. Though
honey bees are employed in large numbers for blueberry pollination, they are not considered to
be very efficient pollinators. Hence there is a need to explore tools or strategies that enhance
pollination efficiency of honey bee colonies and increase overall pollination and fruit set in
blueberry. Several bee attractants have been tested in the past in various crops with the goal of
enhancing pollination. Mixed results have been reported with most of the available bee
attractants.
Brood pheromone (BP) released by honey bee larvae is an excellent apicultural tool that has the
potential to increase pollination by manipulating foraging stimulus of honey bee colonies.
SuperBoost® is a commercial product based on the brood pheromone of the honey bee. It is a
synthetic blend of 10 fatty acid esters formulated in a ratio that precisely mimics the natural
composition of the brood pheromone. Worker honey bees contact milligram amounts of
pheromone that exudes daily from one side of a plastic pouch that is suspended in a holder
between the frames of a hive. The potential of this synthetic BP to enhance pollination in
blueberry was tested. Honey bees in general forage when the temperatures are 55º F or higher.
This is often a problem for efficient pollination during cloudy and cold days, as honey bees do
not prefer foraging in such conditions. Further, the ability of brood pheromone to stimulate
foraging in honey bee colonies at suboptimal temperatures (ranging from 48-55º F) was also
tested. Following were the specific objectives of the study: 1) Examine and compare synthetic
brood pheromone-induced foraging activity of treated colonies with controls 2) Evaluate
potential of brood pheromone to stimulate honey bee foraging at sub-optimal temperatures (48º
F). 3) Evaluate increase in crop yield and quality resulting from increased pollination, as a result
of synthetic brood pheromone use.
Brood pheromone treatment colonies received one synthetic brood pheromone device
(SuperBoost®) in the brood area whereas control colonies received a blank device without
pheromone. After initiation of the experiment in each experimental field we counted number of
bees visiting blueberry flowers during a 5 minute transect. We repeated bee visitation counts
several times during the study period. We also documented number of pollen and non-pollen
foragers entering the colonies during 5 minute intervals to analyze foraging efficiency of bees.
95
Mean number of foragers entering the colonies during 5 minute interval was significantly higher
in brood pheromone treated colonies when compared to control colonies (Figure 1). Also, the
mean number of bees visiting flowers was significantly higher in the fields where honey bee
colonies received brood pheromone treatment (Figure 2). There were significantly higher number
of bees foraging in brood pheromone treatment colonies when compared to controls at 48°F,
51°F and 53°F temperatures (Figures 3, 4 and 5 respectively). The results from this study suggest
that brood pheromone has the potential to increase honey bee foraging in blueberry during both
optimal and sub-optimal foraging temperatures.
References
Number of foragers entering colonies in 5 min interval + se
Delaplane, K.S. and Mayer, D.F. (2000) Crop pollination by bees. CABI, New York. 352 pp.
Sagili, R.R. and Burgett, D.M. (2011) Evaluating honey bee colonies for pollination. OSU
Extension Service PNW 623
250
200
150
100
50
0
Control
Brood Pheromone
Treatments
Figure 1
96
Figure 3
Number of foragers entering colonies in 5 min interval + se
Number of bees recorded on flowers in 5 min transect + se
250
200
150
100
50
0
Control
Brood Pheromone
Treatments
Figure 2
40
30
20
10
0
Control
Treatments
97
Brood Pheromone
Number of foragers entering colonies in 5 min interval + se
Number of foragers entering colonies in 5 min interval + se
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Control
Treatments
Brood Pheromone
Figure 4
100
80
60
40
20
0
Control
Treatments
Brood Pheromone
Figure 5
98