Performance of Berries in Field and High Tunnel Production System Curt R. Rom Luke Freeman, Jason McAfee, Heather Friedrich Spencer Fiser, Julia Stover Donn Johnson, Jennie Popp, Elena Garcia
Berry Problematic Berry production season is short: 4-6 weeks Rain can reduce summer floricane cropping harvest High temperatures limit raspberry production in South High late summer temperatures limit flower formation and fruit set of primocane fruiting blackberry and raspberry cultivars Early fall freezes (20-Oct) limit fruiting of primocane cultivars
WHY High Tunnels?
Why Tunnels? Environmental Modification with A. Temperature Modification B. Precipitation and Moisture Modification C. Light modification D. Wind reduction Thereby allowing the grower to 1. Extend the growing season Advance the Spring Season Extend the Autumn Season 2. Minimize impacts of weather (hail, wind, etc.) 3. Mitigate Pest Problems
The Opportunities and Benefits from Tunnels Reduced Risk of High Risk Crops Never a lost day due to rain You will always have crop to sell Increase Value of Crops -Increased yields; size, total yield -Out-of-season production -Reduced costs Extended Season means Extended Cash-Flow for the farm Potential Reduced use of Pesticides Opportunity for Sustainable and Organically Produced Possible better Economics
} Potential Total Berry Harvest Season Traditional Season Growing Season Early Tunnel Crop Early Tunnel Crop Harvest Seasons Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Tunnels may extend the summer harvest season from 4-6 weeks during summer to 16-20 weeks during the year
Opportunities With the combination of appropriate cultivar selection and use of high tunnels Extend the season an additional 8-10 weeks per year Protect the crop from inclement weather Produce fruit when there are limited fresh fruit available in the market place. Chance to capture high value early and late markets
A Place for Tunnels Tunnels have a place in the production system to compliment field production
Our Projects Sustainable/Organic Berry Production in Tunnels A. 2006-2010 Blackberries and Raspberries 1. Advancing Spring Production Blackberries: Navajo, Ouachita, Arapaho Raspberries: Dormanred, Prelude, and Encore 2. Extending Fall Production Blackberries: Prime-Jan, Prime-Jim, APF46 Raspberries: Dinkum, Caroline, Autumn Bliss 3. Double-Cropping Primocane Cultivars B. 2012-2014 Studies 1. Advancing Spring Production Blueberries: Earliblue Blackberries: Natchez 2. Extending Fall Production Primocane Raspberries: Nantahala, Josephine, Autumn Bliss Primocane Blackberries; PrimeArk 45; APF#
Overall Project Goal The overall project goals are 1. To extend the berry production season from 4-6 weeks (June-July) to 4-5 months (May November) with double cropping primocane fruiting genotypes 2. To allow for production of Raspberries in hot climates 3. To develop sustainable and organic production systems for southern fruit 4. To have products to capture high value markets
Hypotheses Extend the traditional summer seasons by advancing production of floricane berries in the spring with tunnels Establish a autumn harvest season and extend it with tunnels Growing fruit out-of-season reduces potential pests Growing fruit out-of-season in tunnels may reduce incidence of disease Use tunnels to improve fruit quality and marketable yield
Research Objectives Develop production systems in order to : I. Advance spring floricane blackberry production (Study 1) II. Extend autumn primocane harvest season of blackberries and raspberries (Study 2)
HT Environments HT reduce total PAR ~17-20% In the spring season, HT increases Growing Degree Hour (GDH) accumulation by about 50-60GDH Advanced phenology approx. 2-3 wks Frost Protection Required in HT: Spring averaged 4 nights frost protection In the autumn season, HT prevented frost and continued fall fruiting for 3 4 wks after field Field ended between 15-Oct and 25-Oct (past 3 years) by freezes HT ended 28-Oct and 18-Nov by freezes Autumn averaged 2 night frost protection HT can supercool on some nights Requires frost cloths for both advancing the season and protecting crop
Do Tunnels Advance Bloom? Treatment Date of Full Bloom 2013 2014 AVG Days Advance Field 1-May 6-May 4-May 0 High Tunnel 18-April 14-April 16-April 18 days HT+ Tunnel in Tunnel 12-Apirl 8-April 10-April 24 days CV: Natchez
Do Tunnels Continue Harvest? Treatment 2013 2014 AVG Days Extension Field 15-Nov 1-Nov 8-Nov 0 High Tunnel 15-Nov 12-Nov 13-Nov 5 HT+ Tunnel in Tunnel 27-Nov 14-Nov 21-Nov 13 CV: PrimeArk 45
Yield per 10 ft plot (grams) Field vs Tunnel Yield 30000 25000 Yield increase result of fall pruning management 28334 lbs/a 20000 19296 lbs/a NOTE: Pollination Problem 19363 lbs/a 15000 14777 lbs/a 15529 lbs/a Late frost 10000 10030 lbs/a 5000 CV: Natchez 0 2012 Yield 2013 Yield 2014 Yield *lbs/a calculated at 8 ft row spacing FD HT *Error bars represent standard error from the mean.
Cumulative Yield (Lbs / acre) 60000 50000 39% Increase 40000 30000 20000 10000 0 Field Production System High Tunnel NOTE: Pollination Problem 2012 2013 2014 CV: Natchez
Daily Yield (grams per 10 ft plot) 6000 Field vs Tunnel Daily Yield 2014 5000 4000 3000 2000 CV: Natchez 1000 Late frost 0 5/28 6/2 6/7 6/12 6/17 6/22 6/27 7/2 7/7 7/12 7/17 7/22 FD HT *Error bars represent standard error from the mean.
Cumulative Yield (grams) Field vs Tunnel Cumulative Yield 30000 2014 Natchez Blackberry Cumulative Yield Last HT harvest 7/11 25000 20000 15000 10000 Date of 50% of Harvest 5000 0 5/28 6/2 6/7 6/12 6/17 6/22 6/27 7/2 7/7 7/12 7/17 7/22 Date FD HT *Error bars represent standard error from the mean. CV: Natchez
Yield per 10 ft Plot (grams) Field vs Tunnel Yield PrimeArk 45 14,000 12,000 10,000 High HT temps due to insect screen 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 2012 2013 2014 *lbs/a calculated at 8 ft row spacing FD HT *Error bars represent standard error from the mean. CV: PrimeArk45
Cumulative Yield (Lbs / acre) 40000 35000 30000 206% Increase 25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 Field Production System High Tunnel 2012 2013 2014 CV: PrimeArk45
Daily Yield (grams per 10 ft plot) Field vs Tunnel Daily Yield 1000.00 800.00 600.00 400.00 200.00 0.00 8/1 8/4 8/7 8/10 8/13 8/16 8/19 8/22 8/25 8/28 8/31 9/3 9/6 9/9 9/12 9/15 9/18 9/21 9/24 9/27 9/30 10/3 10/6 10/9 10/1210/15 FD HT *Error bars represent standard error from the mean. CV: PrimeArk45 2014
Yield (grams) Field vs Tunnel Cumulative Yield 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 8/1 8/5 8/9 8/13 8/17 8/21 8/25 8/29 9/2 9/6 9/10 9/14 9/18 9/22 9/26 9/30 10/4 10/8 10/12 FD Tot HT Tot *Error bars represent standard error from the mean. CV: PrimeArk45 2014
Total Yield (grams per 10 ft plot) Field vs Tunnel Raspberry Yield 14000 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 Autumn Bliss FD Autumn Bliss HT Josephine FD Josephine HT Nantahala FD Nantahala HT *lbs/a calculated at 8 ft row spacing *Error bars represent standard error from the mean. 2013
Average Yield (lbs/acre) Field vs Tunnel Raspberry Yield 10000 9000 137% Increase 8000 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 *lbs/a calculated at 8 ft row spacing Field Tunnel 2013
Daily Yield (grams per 10 ft plot) Field vs Tunnel Daily Yield 1000 800 600 400 200 0 7/26 8/2 8/9 8/16 8/23 8/30 9/6 9/13 9/20 9/27 10/4 10/11 10/18 10/25 11/1 11/8 11/15 Autumn Bliss FD Autumn Bliss HT *Error bars represent standard error from the mean. CV: Autumn Bliss 2013
Cumulative Yield (grams per 10 ft plot) 14000 Field vs Tunnel Cumulative Yield 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 7/26 8/2 8/9 8/16 8/23 8/30 9/6 9/13 9/20 9/27 10/4 10/11 10/18 10/25 11/1 11/8 11/15 Autumn Bliss FD Autumn Bliss HT CV: Autumn Bliss 2013 *Error bars represent standard error from the mean.
Conclusions Spring Tunnels advanced yield 2-3 weeks Greatest benefit was with TNT Need to manage pollination and frost control Spring Tunnels increased cumulative yield ~200% Some problems pollination in TNT TNT had significantly better frost protection Fall Tunnels extended yields 2-3 weeks Fall Tunnels increased cumulative yields ~200% Fall Tunnels increased raspberry yields ~135%
Other Observations Screening tunnels reduced SWD significantly (~95%) Screening increased tunnel temperatures Screening increased severity of mite problems on raspberries
Questions?