Eric Gerbrandt
At a large blueberry field in Pitt Meadows, berry researcher Eric Gerbrandt is in full swing ensuring plots are set up for nitrogen level trials.
Growing blueberries, like most fruit, truly is part art and a lot of science. It takes people who have a keen interest in why certain plants do what they do to ensure B.C. growers stay competitive and continue to produce arguably the best berries in the world.
At a large blueberry field in Pitt Meadows, berry researcher Eric Gerbrandt is in full swing ensuring plots are set up for nitrogen level trials. This is the second Lower Mainland farm involved in the replicated nitrogen trials for a total of three acres in the trial.
The Pitt Meadows site had about 100 Elliott bushes pulled in favour of five other varieties to allow for a total of six varieties in four test blocks. A different mix of varieties are being trialed on the other local farm.
“It’s a large scale trial,” says Gerbrandt. “We are applying [nitrogen] on a whole row basis… with significant grower input. We work off the growers’ standard practices as the base.”
The purpose of the trial is to determine the optimal amount of nitrogen for yield and berry quality when it comes to different varieties.
“This is the future of the [blueberry] industry,” Gerbrandt says. “[We want] to increase farm gate revenues by optimizing what we’re putting in and optimizing what we’re getting out while not unduly increasing the cost of production.”
He described the role of blueberry research as a two-pronged approach. The first prong is about the plants themselves which is assisted by breeding programs, the second is about achieving optimal horticultural management for those plants in their specific growing region and includes climate adjustments as well as things growers do for and to the plants. In this trial, on the soil side of things, Gerbrandt has the help of David Poon of the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture.
“The primary way we can move agriculture forward is to develop and find new genetics,” he notes of the first prong of research of varieties in the industry. “Our local breeding program is also importing varieties from other breeding programs and around the world.”
These imported plants may come from public stock, private growers or university programs. B.C. works closely with Oregon State University (OSU) and their U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs as well as with Washington State University (WSU). These are ongoing collaborations to discuss and share blueberry genetics and stock. Of course plants are always most suitable when trialed in a similar climate, thus the benefit B.C. growers have from the work Gerbrandt does.
“It’s always a crapshoot bringing plants in [from other regions],” he notes.
Of course, sometimes a plant that did poorly in a different region will do well in B.C. and that makes Gerbrandt’s work that much more interesting.
The second prong of the research, which is relative to the current trials, is horticultural management.
“Once you’ve got genetics [the right plants in place], it’s time to figure out how to grow them [the plants] better,” he says.
Gerbrandt notes this comes down to variety specific management.
“It entails everything from pruning, plant spacing, fertilizer rates, irrigation and more,” he says. “Each variety will have a different reaction to these management [actions or inputs].”
Gerbrandt notes that one of the priorities in B.C. is to optimize nitrogen rates in Duke and Reka varieties.
“[The idea is] to determine optimal yield and fruit quality,” he adds.
This approach will optimize the bottom line for growers in that “we want to add inputs until those inputs are no longer having an economic benefit,” notes Gerbrandt.
This approach creates a “tipping point” for growers where they can achieve optimal results without wondering what inputs remain in the soil without benefit to the plants.
The varieties being tested are what Gerbrant describes as the “up and comers” which were discovered through previous variety trials.
“They are just coming on the market [possibly from] other regions or are being evaluated for release from the current breeding program,” he outlines.
Clearly the greater blueberry industry goal is to increase international competitiveness in the markets and maintain B.C. blueberries as the industry leader in fruit quality. With domestic markets adequately filled, advances in export of the B.C. berries is where growers need to proceed.
Gerbrandt noted the need to maximize fruit quality goes hand in hand with growing fruit exports. Certainly the Canadian and B.C. name on fruit is synonymous with quality, but that quality must be at its highest level to ensure the berries received in foreign markets are just as good as the berries picked from the fields.
Nitrogen will play a significant role in that pursuit as will Gerbrandt’s current trials.