credit: JEFF WILLIAMSON & DOUG PHILLIPS
With health and nutrition being key benefits of blueberries, National Nutrition Month®in March is a natural fit for the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) to rally around and leverage as its first “power period” of 2022.
Freeze protection is an essential part of blueberry production in Florida, especially in the northern and central parts of the state. Although the past couple of winters have been warmer than usual, growers need to carefully monitor weather forecasts and plan accordingly to avoid possible crop damage. Freeze protection typically involves using overhead irrigation to reduce the impact of freezing temperatures on susceptible floral and fruit tissues.
Anthracnose fruit rot (AFR), or ripe rot, is a fungal disease that can cause fruit softening, sunken lesions, and post-harvest rot of blueberry fruit. AFR has been observed across Florida in recent years and can sometimes be a significant issue. The disease is more severe when favorable weather conditions persist and when fruit remains on the bush for longer periods between harvests. However, there are fungicide controls and good management practices which can help reduce the impacts of this disease.
A farmer must be an optimist, or he wouldn’t still be a farmer.
Honey Bees
Welcome to Year 2021. With great hope, we will soon put the turmoil of 2020 and the coronavirus behind us! As a grower, and now also your incoming president of the Florida Blueberry Growers Association, I have shared in many of your travails. Even without the disruptions the pandemic waged on our critical spring harvest, 2020 was destined to be a challenge with the flooding of our narrow market window with massive increases of “cheap” imported fruit. COVID-19 may dissipate as the year progresses, but the trends threatening our livelihood will not quickly abate.
2020 came with new challenges for our industry and for the country. While Florida blueberry growers were ramping up their harvest season, the nation was shutting down. As Congress passed relief legislation, our industry was passed over.
CREDIT: Doug Phillips, UF Blueberry Extension Coordinator
The first thing to do is ask yourself: Is it a tactical or strategic decision? For many growersmachine harvesting can bea useful tactic to extend the season or do final cleanup after the pick crew moves on. It’s an ideal way to evaluate whether it might fit into your long-term plans. As a strategy, where most or all of the fruit is to be machine-harvested, you need to make a serious commitment to plan all the details then devote considerable resources to build the enabling farm infrastructure.
The more talent Patricio Muñoz can recruit to his lab, the quicker he can get new varieties out to you, and he just got a powerful magnet to attract that talent.
As a Florida blueberry grower, I have experienced first-hand the pressures of global competition on my business. As consumer demand for blueberries has grown, domestic and global production has also greatly expanded to meet the needs of what has become a year-round market here in the United States. My desire to address the many challenges our family business faces in this global marketplace is what drove me to participate as a member of the United Blueberry Task Force (UBTF).
CREDIT: Kasey Cronquist
Credits: Jeffrey G. Williamson, Professor, Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida
Credit: Dr. Natalia Peres, Professor, Plant Pathology, UF
Credits: Jacob Buck, graduate student; Jeff Williamson, professor; and Gerardo Nunez, assistant professor, Horticultural Sciences Department, IFAS, University of Florida
Florida Growers Report Rebound After a Weak 2020
With the blueberry season over and summer upon us, it’s time to get ready for the diseases that will be issues for Florida growers over the next few months. A good scouting tool to use in monitoring for disease in the field is the UF/IFAS Blueberry Growers Guide. Resources in this guide include a diagnostic key, descriptions of symptoms, disease/insect life cycles, suggested management practices, an image gallery, and links to UF/IFAS blueberry extension publications.
Summertime in Florida brings with it an important insect pest on blueberries — chilli thrips. This pest was first recorded in blueberries in Florida in July 2008, and typically feeds on new vegetative growth after post-harvest pruning. Damage on foliage can be significant when there are heavy infestations, and control can sometimes be challenging. Although chilli thrips are familiar to many growers, it’s a good idea to review what we know about it and the control alternatives that are available.
