Part 1
PUBLICATION 754 APRIL 1961 200 oy Yeieees oP a 9% ESTADO g & oe e © wwe ® alot t eo sal e324? St ®, CANADA DEPARTMENT OF AGRI CULTURE ? ‘ e ~ 00a S rah Pe ween oe, cute ae YES nw gl are in ee CONTENTS PAGE BLUEBERRY CULTURE AND PROPAGATION ....0........ ocscsssseseee 5 INTRODUCTION .....0000......000:::0000003 foxnesednesteensnansspeeseuseneversemmreueeennseanaspsann 9) | ‘THE LOWBUSH BLUEBERRY ..............0000060 0000 0cccccceeeeeccseee sees eeeteeeeeeeeeeeeees ¢ | Taxonomy and development .o........0.00.000ccccccecetceeeee a 7 | Soil requirements coed be bbb tetttttetettttgetttteeeeeceee. in ingtge2noERO 9 Developing blueberry fields 2.000000... 10 Burning oie cece ceeeeeceneesteteetteectctnsseseeee vecveeveeveneees — 12 Weeds 2... cece. ‘sa tadald Sg eMOUE NNN FEA NAAM PLEO TANEECAEeTpOReRECURAReHESEDNeeRSS 13 PICKIN ooo ccc ee tec eee teeeeeteeenetees cobb ceee bests bteeteteeeeeees 14 THE HIGHBUSH BLUEBERRY ..............00.0....:::000000 ny ee 16 Soil requirements see thcih abe Mss oo ew wera eag orate erect eoeeorseeg oy sae 17 AVN ol (ce 17 Te Pollimation ooo. .... cece te eee ee cect testes eeee beset etsttttteeeeeee 17 Preparation of land... cece cee eeeeeceeeeeeteeeenen 18 Mulching 2.0.00... ccc cece teee cee teaneenes Lecce bebe ete ee eeeeteeeeeeceeeens 18 Planting ................ cee abescnnanemeneggtimeneneneriteanscmmmenaencssscerisurctnsg be Cultivation oii. ce cece cece cnneceteece eee eeeeeeeeeeeveeeeeeeuaenen 19 Fertilizing ooo ccc cccecececececeveseevevsveseseseevsteseseeesvsveveveaeeveveveveveveveee 19 | as 0000 6 eee 19 PACKING ooo. se vneecdaproastenwngsesepyaoedvenvossstnactetossuetel 20 Propagation of highbush blueberries ..........0............00...000:00008 21 INSECTS AND THEIR CONTROL 000.000 26 Blueberry Maggot 2.00.0... c cece cece eees cece ceeseaeeeesaaeeaeeeesy 26 Black army CUCWOLM oo... cece cette ete eect ee neeeeeeeeeeeann 26 BIMEDECLY TES, DECTIS ....ccsnscocesmere comeeusemannesaslwenstuennazmanemennitienentia 28 Currant fruit Weevil o..0..0.0. ooo ccceccceccccecccuccecaeeceeceececeeeceatetans 28a Chain-spotted geometer 2.0.2.0... cece cece cc cecc cette teen te eee ates 29 Blueberry thrips ........ segapesnaimhupacpasmeipeusierovsnergrsqnoiscememaoavexr odmeannt 29 Other blueberry insects 22.0.0... cceeesseteeeceeeeeseueeeeeeeens 30 3 ’ 93593-2—2 d DISEASES AND THEIR CONTROL ...00000000000 0c cee vec eeeees Twig and blossom blight ee bocevetevesveteeesetee: ceceeevesenes aya itanas Red leaf ....ccccccccceee Ac xcithenecfstarnunpetsnansasn Pupsuuatdvensenscet - Witches’-DLOOM ooo... c cece cece ete eceseeeeseueteeueeeeneneeens Dieback .................. cccevsevtvevsevesevavesrevsvissevevevivetevesevittsvetveveteeveeeen Leaf rust 2.000.000... pearnabensVunersetepecseeacuauectesuepeceaeetaunes se Leaf Spots 0.0... fo Euinninaatnn-apmennensasmasapanssenmnsecesseuea Other leaf diseases ........00000.0 cece ecee cect prucecnaanst dnaees Arsenical injury ooo... ccc cceeeecece stent bececeepeseeeeeees OE ah =) nn cope tea A tae DS 2 Se SRS retorsse THE BLUEBERRY IN THE ATLANTIC PROVINCES BLUEBERRY CULTURE :AND PROPAGATION EK. L. EATON and I. V.:-HALL Research Station, Kentville, N.S. INTRODUCTION The blueberry, one of the most relished of the native fruits, has been an important item of diet in both eastern and western Canada since the coming of the first white settlers. Reliable estimates of the acreage of native lowbush blueberries available for commercial harvesting are difficult - to obtain. Many areas included in early surveys have become so covered with brake fern and other weeds that management and harvesting on a commercial scale is difficult, if not impossible. Some of these fields may become productive again, but most are reverting to forest. Blueberry stands are often irregular, scattered among woodlots, waste land or fields of cultivated crops. Within the blueberry fields there are great differences in the completeness of the blueberry cover. Islands of Swamp or brush, for example, often occur in otherwise productive fields. In the early days, blueberries were simply harvested as they grew in the wild. Although this is still the case in some areas, the number of carefully managed fields is increasing annually. ~The estimated commercial production of blueberries for each of the five eastern provinces of Canada and the State of Maine, is given in Table 1. Table 1.—Estimated lowbush blueberry production in the Atlantic Provinces, Quebec and Maine (thousands of pounds)1 1954 1955 1956 1957 — 1958 1959 QUEDCC oon ccceeccecccsscscessceseesesseseeseen 19,702 17,642 4875 3,085 2,917 New Brunswick .....0....cccccccee 3,500 3,000 4,100 3,300 2,500 3,500 Nova Scotia oo.ccccccccccsesceseeee 5,126 3,000 4,020 4,800 2,900 5,000 Prince Edward Island ................ 444 394 133 300 300 600 Newfoundland oo.cccccccccccscseeeeeees 2,115 481 594 999 1,643 917 Maine ........... ee ee 16,000 16,500 29,400 16,300 22,9002 ‘Supplied by workers in the respective provinces and state. 2Includes imports. 93593-2—23 - ‘During the six years re presented in this table the price in the Maritime : ince rom 10 to 12 cents per pound. Somewhat higher prices . PLS tenes an secured in Quebec. Specially graded berries from Newfoundland have also commanded a premium. Among fruit crops in the - five eastern provinces, the revenue from blueberries is second only to that - from apples. Figures such as those in Table 1 do not tell the whole story since records of the amounts harvested for local sale and home consumption are not available. Money from blueberries is particularly important to the local economy since the crop occurs largely in areas where other sources of agricultural revenue are lacking. . | , Most Canadian blueberry shipments are of fruit of the wild or semi- wild lowbush type. Commercial production: of the cultivated highbush varieties is in its infancy in Canada, although a few individuals, inspired by the success of the crop in the United States, have started plantations. In the foreseeable future, any large expansion of the blueberry indus- try is likely to be limited to regions where the native berries are found. eS Set — Sng ema $ re ” re Bae LS Le ee pie ia atari Anaalseriatins ess SoS ARORA = Ca See cee ane eee oe ES emotes Ch THE LOWBUSH BLUEBERRY Taxonomy and Development Five kinds of blueberries grow wild in Canada. Four are lowbush types and the other is a highbush type. The fruits of all, with the possible excep- tion of ground hurts, are harvested and sold commercially. Botanically, they can be classed as follows: SOURTOP (Vaccinium myrtilloides) — This species can be distinguished by the fact that its leaves and stems are pubescent and the margins of the leaves are entire. It is the species most frequently found in woodlands and is the dominant species in blueberry fields recently developed from woods, although it tends to be eliminated by repeated burning. It ranges from Nova Scotia to Vancouver Island, being confined in the prairie region to the more northerly areas. GROUND HURTS (Vaccinium boreale) —The stems of this species are much branched and the plant grows prostrate. It is most abundant on the exposed headlands of Newfoundland, and is rarely found elsewhere in Canada. SWEET LOWBUSH (Vaccinium angustifolium) — This variety has shiny, glabrous leaves with serrated margins, the point of which bear minute glands. It is the most abundant type of blueberry in stands developed on abandoned hayfields and in other fields that have been burned for many years. It ranges from Newfoundland to Manitoba. BLACK LOWBUSH (Vaccinium angustifolium var. nigrum) — This variety can be distinguished by its blue-green foliage and black, shiny berries. Its range and habitat are similar to the sweet lowbush except that it tends to increase more rapidly with repeated burning. HIGHBUSH (Vaccinium corymbosum) — The foliage and stems of this species are extremely variable, but typically the plants grow to a height of over three feet. Tt crosses freely with the sweet lowbush blueberry and in certain areas a complex of intermediate and parental types is found. Its range is from Nova Scotia to Ontario and it is found chiefly in or around the edges of bogs or swampy areas. The sourtop and ground hurts are both diploid (24 chromosomes) species, whereas the other two lowbush types and the highbush species are tetraploid (48 chromosomes). This is important in pollination; although plants of species with the same chromosome number will effectively pol- linate each other, crosses between species with different chromosome © numbers rarely, if ever, set fruit. When a blueberry seed germinates it forms a small root which later grows into a strong tap root system. (Figure 1). The shoots emerge shortly after the root pushes through the seed coat. A crown forms directly above the tap root and rhizomes develop from it later. In mature plants most of the new shoots develop from dormant buds on the rhizomes rather than from the crown area. The rhizomes also give rise to additional roots, which-may develop to a size and shape similar to that of the tap roots. If separated from the parent plant, a piece of rhizome with well developed roots is capable of continued independent growth. In moderately heavy sod, rhizomes grow an average of 2 to 3 inches per year. In areas with few competing plants, blueberry rhizomes have, how- ever, been found to grow as much as 15 inches in one season. 7 5 YEARS * 3 YEARS mM] “4 YEARS (7 \ ) { _RHIZOME J \ => Le < t_RHIZOME \ ~~ ~~ “ - | I YEARS C&S 20 YEARS Figure 1—Plants of the lowbush blueberry developed from seed showing the relative sizes and forms at different ages. Whether a particular bud will be vegetative or flowering is determined by mid-June of the year the shoot arises. By late September most, though not all, flower buds can be distinguished from vegetative buds as they are usually about three times larger. It is normal for the tips of growing shoots to die in mid- or early summer. The new growth in the following year then originates from lateral buds slightly behind the dead tips. The ratio of flower to vegetative buds is greater on new sprouts than on older twigs; the flower buds formed on new sprouts are also hardier and contain more flowers per bud. e os Figure 2 shows the blueberry in flower. These flowers require insect pollination. Bumblebees and solitary bees work in colder weather than honeybees. Where wild bees are scarce the introduction. of colonies of honeybees may increase the set of fruit. Figure 2—The blossoms of the lowbush blueberry, approximately % inch long, are pollinated by bees and other insects. In New England and much of eastern Canada plants of the three common species, the sourtop (V. myrtilloides), the sweet lowbush (V. angustifolium) and the black lowbush (V. angustifolium var. nigrum), are found intermingled in the fields. The sourtop and the black lowbush are both rare in Newfoundland, and consequently the berries are much more uniform. Plants within a given species differ greatly in vigor and produc- tiveness, color, shape and size of leaves; resistance to foliage disorders; and earliness, flavor, size, color, firmness and shape of fruit. Superior plants can easily be selected. Unfortunately, however, no practical means of propagating and planting has yet been devised. Soil Requirements Lowbush blueberries are found on nearly every type of soil, but thrive on light, well-drained, acid soils. They rarely become established on heavy clay soils or where high general fertility encourages a dense cover of grasses or legumes. They occasionally grow wild in an acid layer of decay- ing plant debris overlying limestone soils. If these areas are plowed and the alkaline material is brought to the surface, the blueberries seldom erow again. . Although blueberry plants respond to applications of fertilizer, espe- cially nitrogen, competing plants also grow more vigorously. Tests at Tower Hill, N.B., showed that this usually makes picking more difficult and often reduces the quantity of berries that can be harvested by the usual methods. At Avondale, Newfoundland, where there is only a thin soil layer 9 over ledge rock, and additional grass is needed to carry a fire, moderate applications of commercial fertilizer have stimulated the grass with no reduction in the crop of blueberries. Under our present cultural methods, fertilizers are only helpful on soils of low fertility. No fertilizer should be applied without preliminary plot tests on the area involved. Developing Blueberry Fields Many of the blueberries produced in Quebec are gathered from land under timber lease, and on which fires are not permitted. Production in Newfoundland is largely on Crown land, where burning is done under the supervision of government officials. In contrast, most of the blueberries harvested in the Maritime Provinces are produced on carefully managed private holdings. Figure 3—A blueberry field newly cleared from the forest. Figure 4—Removal of brush and saplings before burning by use of a brush cutter attached to the power take-off of a tractor. 10