Wild Blueberry Newsletter – February 2013

February 2013

2013 WILD BLUEBERRY SPRING MEETINGS
Waldoboro

Date: Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Time: 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Location: Knox-Lincoln County Extension Office, 377 Manktown Road (Manktown Road connects Route 235 and Route 1 in Waldoboro and the office is located across  from the new high school)

Ellsworth

Date: Thursday, March 21, 2013

Time: 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Location: Hancock County Extension Office, 63 Boggy Brook Road

Machias

Date: Saturday, March 23, 2013

Time: 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Location: University of Maine – Machias, Science Bldg, Room 102, O’Brien Avenue

Two re-certification credits available for licensed pesticide applicators!
Machias All Others Agenda
1:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. Industry Opportunities and Challenges, Dave Bell, The Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine
1:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. Increasing Your Wild Blueberry Yields to 20,000 lb/a ?, Dave Yarborough, The University of Maine
2:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. Lots of Leaf Spots and some Mummyberry Seanna Annis, The University of Maine
2:15 p.m. 7:15 p.m. Break
2:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. A Survey of Grower Pollination Strategies, Sam Hanes, The University of Maine
2:45 p.m. 7:45 p.m. Spring and Fall Seasonal Effects on Blueberry Flowering, Lee Beers, The University of Maine
3:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m. Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) Management, Frank Drummond, The University of Maine
3:30 p.m. 8:30 p.m. Board of Pesticides Control Regulation Update, Staff, Board of Pesticides Control
4:00 p.m. 9:00 p.m. Adjourn

Fresh Pack Meeting to Improve Quality

I have had requests in the past to have a speaker come to Maine to give fresh pack growers advice on how to improve the quality of their pack.   Dr. Charles Forney, a postharvest physiologist for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Kentville, NS has agreed to address this issue for you.  The session will take place at the Hancock County Extension Office, 63 Boggy Brook Road in Ellsworth on Thursday March 21 from 1 to 3 PM.

He will give a presentation on Challenges, limitations and opportunities for improving the quality of your wild blueberry fresh pack, Charles Forney, Ph.D. Research Scientist, Postharvest Physiology Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and we will then we will have a grower discussion panel to share what is currently done to maintain quality.  Please mention this to any others you know who are interested in doing fresh pack.

New Fact Sheets Available

Revised fact sheets for 2013may be found on the web at https://extension.umaine.edu/blueberries/factsheets/ and paper copies will be mailed to all Maine growers.

Updates include:

  • 209 – 2013 Insect Control Guide for Wild Blueberries
  • 219 – 2013 Disease Control Guide for Wild Blueberries
  • 239 – 2013 Weed Control Guide for Wild Blueberries
  • 223 – Interpreting your leaf analysis results
  • 224 – Commercial Pollinators
  • And the 2013 Wild Blueberry Pesticides Chart has been split into 3 parts 1- Insects, 2- Disease and 3- Weeds

Two other sheets had only minor changes and are available on the web only:

  • 222 – Leaf and Soil Sampling Procedures
  • 225 – Fertilizing with Nitrogen and Phosphorus

Sincerely,

Dave
David E. Yarborough
Extension Blueberry Specialist


Wild blueberry fact sheets, past newsletters, contacts, resource links, calendar of events, and more can be found at the wild blueberry website www.wildblueberries.maine.edu.

Information in this publication is provided purely for educational purposes. No responsibility is assumed for any problems associated with the use of products or services mentioned. No endorsement of products or companies is intended, nor is criticism of unnamed products or companies implied.

©2013

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