The Nova Scotia wild blueberry industry has been hit hard by recent adverse weather conditions. Officials expect this year’s harvest will produce less than half of what it typically would.
Peter Rideout, executive director of the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia: “Overall in the province, we estimate that crop loss this year is probably in the range of 50 to 60 percent of the crop, depending on crop conditions for the rest of the summer. Some fields will not be harvestable, in terms of the amount of crop that’s there.”
For the last three weeks, farmers from one end of the province to the other have been hit multiple times with frost. Before the cool weather struck, farmers were optimistic about this year’s blueberry harvest. “We had a couple of years of very serious losses due to low market conditions. This year was looking fairly optimistic and we were cautiously optimistic about the outlook and now of course, this is a serious setbacks for the farms and the farm families, and the people they employ,” said Rideout.
Dr. David Percival, a Dalhousie University professor who specialized in plant physiology, helped examine blueberry fields across Nova Scotia to assess the damage. He found “extensive damage” to crops, especially in northern Nova Scotia, where more than 60 percent of wild blueberries are produced.
“What we’re seeing is, the flowers themselves, even though they were pollinated are not going to turn into a viable berry because of the frost event,” he said.
Source - http://www.freshplaza.com
