The Wild View on Blueberries

Welcome to the last episode of this year’s wild blueberry podcast! This special episode is to give you a summary of this year’s wild blueberry production in several important regions, including PEI, NB, QC and Maine. We invited regional extension specialists and researchers to take about each region’s production. Thank you for your support of this podcast program and we will see you in 2022. Have a wonderful holiday season! Merry Christmas, all! Guests: · Cameron Menzies, Berry Crop Development Officer and Provincial Apiarist, Department of Agriculture and Lane, PEI. · Mike Melanson, Crop Specialist, Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries, NB. · Pierrer- Olivier Martel, Horticultural Fruit Advisor, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, QC. · Dr. Philip Fanning, Assistant Professor, University of Maine, Maine, USA.

Fall is one of the important timings for weed management in wild blueberry production. It is also a good time to scout your fields and understand the weed composition of those fields. A better understanding of weed issues in managed fields will be helpful and prepare you to make a suitable and effective weed management program in your farms. What weed species are in the fall weed management window? What are the best windows for fall weed management? We have some answers and suggestions for you! Guest: Dr. Scott White was in our spring podcast for a spring weed management discussion. We are glad to invite him back to talk about fall weed management and his research updates. Dr. White is an Assistant Professor at Dalhousie University Faculty of Agriculture. He has an active research program in vegetation management in wild blueberries.

Are you interested to know how to start a retail business for wild blueberries? Or maybe you want to know how to develop and make your wild blueberry retail business successful? This episode is for you! Please join me for a discussion with Peter Chapman to explore the retail world for wild blueberries. Guest: Peter Chapman is a retail marketer from SkuFood. Peter has over 30 years in the food industry, and he is willing to share his in-depth knowledge of the retail landscape and consumers with food producers and food processors. Website: www.perennia.ca Host: Hugh Lyu, Wild Blueberry Specialist Follow us on Twitter: @nsperennia @nswildblue Connect with us on: Instagram: @nsperennia Facebook: @nsperennia Music: Believe Again by Quality Quest Logo Created by: Perennia Food and Agriculture Inc. Email us at: [email protected]

Are you handling berries well during and after the harvest, as they might lose nutritional value, as well as monetary value if they are not treated well? In today's talk, we will ask Dr. Forney questions about how to carefully handle berries post-harvesting. Guest: Dr. Charles Forney is a research scientist from Agriculture and Agri-food Canada. His research areas cover the technologies to maximize and maintain quality and enhance the value of fresh fruits and vegetables from production, storage and marketing. Website: www.perennia.ca Host: Hugh Lyu, Wild Blueberry Specialist Follow us on Twitter: @nsperennia @nswildblue Connect with us on: Instagram: @nsperennia Facebook: @nsperennia Music: Believe Again by Quality Quest Logo Created by: Perennia Food and Agriculture Inc. Email us at: [email protected]

Mechanical harvesting is the most common and cost-effective harvesting method in the industry. Blueberry growers and producers can benefit by increase the value of their harvested crop in the fresh fruit market. Maximizing fruit quality is a critical step for wild blueberry growers to remind competitive in the market. Are you wondering how to increase fruit quality during harvest? This episode will answer your question. Guest: Dr. Travis Esau is an Associate Professor at the Department of Engineering, Dalhousie University Faculty of Agriculture and he has been working in the Precision Agriculture Research Program since 2007. Travis is working on developing precision agriculture technologies to increase farm profitability and reduce environmental risks. Travis has been researching how to optimize berry quality during harvest and we will hear some of his research updates about this topic in this episode. Website: www.perennia.ca Host: Hugh Lyu, Wild Blueberry Specialist Follow us on Twitter: @nsperennia @nswildblue Connect with us on: Instagram: @nsperennia Facebook: @nsperennia Music: Believe Again by Quality Quest Logo Created by: Perennia Food and Agriculture Inc. Email us at: [email protected]