- Subfamily = Pomoideae, apple (pome fruit) - Species = Amelanchier alnifolia. Marsha Gelowitz Saskatoon berry, serviceberry, juneberry, shadberry

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1 - Family = Rosaceae, Roses (with plums and cherries) - Subfamily = Pomoideae, apple (pome fruit) - Species = Amelanchier alnifolia Marsha Gelowitz Saskatoon berry, serviceberry, juneberry, shadberry Juneberry to-do of 2014 was great marketing! February 26, 2015 Objective evaluation for long-term success! - Slope (sun, water, cold air drainage) - Shelterbelt - Soil - Access to water - Headlands - Setbacks if you intend to be organic Slope: - Ideal northeast or East slope - North-South orientation (if possible) - 1-5% slope (air & water drainage) - U-Pick customers must navigate - Equipment must traverse - Irrigation pumping & gravity Shelterbelt: - Wind is friend & foe - Allow for cold air drainage - Manage & maintain health & weeds - Irrigate - Spacing (shade & water use) - Spray drift - Chokecherries we have a bigger problem with Lilacs 1

2 Soil: - Test before committing - Basic - N, P, K, S (macronutrients), EC, ph - Advanced micronutrients, soil texture - ph = Sandy loam to loam soils clay in north - 2-3% organic matter or more with good rotations - Soil is hard to fix - Perennial crop - Test annually annual checkup! Water: - Do you anticipate needing irrigation? - Do you know average annual rainfall? - Existing water sources: - Licensed dugout - Irrigation license - WID - Know the law before you assume - Setup & maintenance costs - Grants, ARD, AG water specialists Headlands: - Internal field setback for equipment movement - Shelterbelt will consume some space - Extra room beyond turning radius of pull-type equipment - Plan on minimum 50 Setbacks: - Organic certification - Neighbour s practices drift & U-pick - Internal water sources - Your conventional crops - Weather station wind speed & direction - Environmental Farm Plan Climate: - Know general weather patterns (min-max) - Prevailing wind direction - Hail - Be prepared to accept certain realities Climate: 2

3 - 27 named cultivars when I last researched Maturation: - Juvenile 3-4 years - Mixed flower/leaf buds after 4 years - Full production ~ 7-10 years Pollination: - Predominantly self-pollinated - Choose based upon use - Large plantings, multiple varieties may be practical Plant Characteristics Cultivar Height Spread Structure Suckering Other 16ft (15m) 13ft (4m) Upright, Low Blooms later; Honeywood Spreading Uneven ripening JB30 Martin Nelson Northline Pembina Smoky Thiessen 16ft (15m) 20ft (6m) Compact Low Compact bush, large fruit 10ft (3m) 13ft (4m) Round Moderate Uniform ripening 5ft (1.5m) 5ft (1.5m) Uniform - 1 week later flowering 13ft (4m) 20ft (6m) Upright, spreading 16ft (5m) 16ft (5m) Upright, slightly spreading 15ft (4.5m) 15ft (4.5m) Upright, Spreading High Low High Very uniform seedlings; fruits at younger age Suitable for home gardens Later blooming 16ft (5m) 20ft (6m) Round Low Uneven ripening; early flowering Fruit Characteristics Cultivar Colour Size Flavour General Yield Honeywood JB30 Martin Nelson Northline Pembina Smoky Deep blue w/dark purple skin in (13-15mm) Uses Full, tangy Very high Fresh; processing Deep blue 0.7in (17mm) Wild High Fresh; processing Deep blue 0.6in (15mm) Fresh, juicy Medium Fresh; processing Deep blue 0.5in (13mm) Tangy, acidic Fresh; processing Deep blue 0.6in (16mm) Full, sweet Very high Fresh; processing Deep blue 0.5in (14mm) Full, tangy to moderately sweet High Fresh; processing; ornamental Deep blue 0.5in (14mm) Mild, sweet; fleshy Very high Fresh; processing Plants can be propagated by: - Seedlings - Cuttings - Suckers - Tissue Culture Plants Seedlings vs. Clonal Plants - Most seedlings are variable - Northline seedlings are considered to be very consistent Thiessen Deep blue 0.7in (17mm) Fresh, juicy High Fresh; processing Pre-planting Preparation: - Critical (cuts down labour & competition) - Spray out weeds - Cultivate to make soil friable - Improve/prepare soil - ph - Nutrients - Organic Matter (OM) 2 years high recommended prior to planting Methods - Traditional, plant 1-2 deeper - Deep planting 3

4 In-row spacing: ft (1-1.5m) Number of plants: - Depends on in & between row spacing plants per acre - Adequate space for mowing, spraying, etc. based on mature plant dimensions - Prune to keep plants from looming over customers - Select varieties that would be best for handpicking & nice appearance 1-3 year old plants commonly available - Adequate space for tractor/harvester & maintenance - Prune to keep plants ideal dimension for harvester - Plant respiration increased humidity - Increased humidity can increase fungal & disease activity - Hotter & more humid for customers in u-pick - Visit farms that have planted for these different purposes - Organic or plastic mulch feet wide strip on either side of row Why? - Conserve moisture - Reduces weed growth Application: - Organic after planting - Plastic at time of planting with drip line 4

5 - Organic ie: pine bark mulch - Will break down over time, plan on replenishing - Trucking costs - Applicator required - Plastic - Will break down over time will have to collect and recycle - Applicator required - Drip line required for irrigation & fertigation - Rodents tend to like the environment Large space between rows and headlands need to be maintained - Left open - Tilled in areas where water is a premium - May result in dirty fruit depending on weather - Fescues - Non-invasive, tough, good for human & equipment traffic - Annual crops/cover crops - Mid-row crops Fertility: - Pre-planting baseline levels (actual/acre) - N = 65 lb/ac (75 kg/ha) - P = 90 lb/ac (100 kg/ha) - K = 365 lb/ac (400 kg/ha) At planting = apply solution Personal observations and notations are your best aid to help you plan annual feeding plan Annual Maintenance: - Split application in mid-may and late June - N = lb/ac (33-55 kg/ha) - P = lb/ac (22-44 kg/ha) Adjust rates for band application Soil test every year and do separate tests if you have major changes in soil type or known ph shifts. Know how to calibrate your applicator! Water: - Orchards can be irrigated or dryland - Moisture requirements vary - Critical moisture periods: - During establishment (years 1-3) - During flower bud initiation - During fruit filling Mulches can be helpful to meet needs and moderate evaporation Water: - Irrigation should always be from the bottom, no sprinkler irrigation - Reduce irrigation August-October to encourage winter hardening - Federal and Provincial legislation on irrigation and access to water bodies - Just because you have a dugout or adjacent water source does not mean you are entitled to irrigate - It is up to you to ensure you are in compliance 5

6 Pruning: - Control height, size & shape consider varieties at the time of planting to reduce work - Remove suckers - Maintain health and productivity of orchard - Remove diseased or damaged growth - Wildlife - Harvester or other mechanical damage - Common diseases such as fireblight Pruning: When? - Typically during dormant season - Late fall, late winter or very early spring - May renovate diseased growth carefully during growing season - Remember to disinfect between cuts and dispose of wood by fire - Do not mulch and re-apply saskatoon wood Pruning: Amount of pruning can vary 1. Remove 25-33% annually (larger bushes) 2. Selectively prune plant during different phases (establishment, training, production, maintenance) 3. Remove only larger or diseased/damaged growth 4. Rejuvenate mow down and let it regrow - Do not apply Casoron in the fall before a renovation - In U-pick consider staggered renovation Pruning: Harvester types - Row / plant width, density and height must be maintained to suit the type of harvester being used - Half-row harvesters more forgiving - Over-the-row harvesters have a maximum width of plant that can enter the machine - Some over-the-row harvesters have a pruning attachment, but timing is not ideal - Mower width can keep suckers under control Littau Side-Row Width 9 5 Korvan 930 Width 10 5 Joanna 4 Width 9 Weed management: My epitaph Good Soil, Great Weeds - Pre-planting preparation = KEY - do yourself a favour and be patient - Pre-plant incorporated herbicides can help - No herbicide use for first 1-2 years of establishment very susceptible - Post-establishment herbicides - Applied in fall or early spring - Avoid contact with plants - Mechanical weed control must be careful & shallow 6

7 Herbicides Weed Pre-Planting Planting Year Fruit Year Pre-Planting Early Spring Fall Annual grasses & broadleaves Canada Thistle Annual Broadleaves Glyphosate products (nonselective control) Trifluralin products (Bonanza / Treflan) * Numbers in brackets indicate appropriate pre-harvest interval ** Adapted from MAFRI Fruit Crop Protection 2004 Poast Ultra (15 days) Linuron / Lorox (50 days) Casoron G4 / G2 (9 months) Casoron G4 / G2 (9 months) Pests Saskatoons are very hardy, but bugs and diseases love them They are no dummies! Regardless you are conventional or organic: - Yellow sticky cards - Hand-held magnifier - Pest handbook = Decision to treat - Become very familiar with Health Canada Label Search application - Crop Protection book Woolly Elm Aphid requires you to do some digging, but you cannot dig up your entire orchard Pests - Customers hate wormy berries - Pay attention to what else you are growing and what the neighbours are growing - Evaluate risk to crop and determine your Risk Threshold - Can experience increase in pests due to overwintering and you are not rotating your crop - Beware what you grow in between rows as ground cover - Long grasses can become pest vectors - Orchard hygiene is important Sprayers Jacto Arbus Sapphire Airblast Sprayer Typical turbo fan sprayer design used by many manufacturers to penetrate and coat the canopy & fruit Homemade sprayer arm, square tubing, expandable, flat fan nozzles, attached to belly of tractor, fed by 3pt hitch sprayer. You MUST know how to calibrate all sprayers, homemade or commercial! Diseases - Long discussion Do your homework! Entomosporium Leaf & Berry Spot ruined ~50% of saskatoon crops - Increasing and persistent humidity levels feeding the problem - Sulphur is an organic product (limits) - Heavy establishment requires renovation and fungicide applied to ground & base of plants Diseases - Very frustrating problem for all growers as we have access to almost no meaningful treatments for pests and diseases that are organic - Whether you are 5 or 40 acres, what is your plan? - Good orchard & equipment hygiene - Caution if sharing equipment - Site selection (drying winds), drip irrigation, drainage for soggy spots 7

8 Good Luck and Best Wishes on your venture! 8