Extending the Market Season with High Tunnel Technology for Organic Fruit Production

Extending the Market Season with High Tunnel Technology for Organic Fruit Production

Summary

Fruit farm sustainability can be improved by extending the season to capture high-value markets, reducing environmental and production risk, and reducing inputs. High tunnels (HT) have the potential to achieve those goals. Blueberries and blackberries have a limited harvest/market season during the-summer in a field production system (FD). Raspberries are not well adapted to the southern region. However, our previous research demonstrated that HT overcame this limitation. With HT advancing spring production and extending the autumn harvest season 4 to 6 weeks compared to FD, the normal 4 week FD berry harvest season was extended to 4 months as a system. Tunnels, thereby, have the potential of improving the economic and environmental sustainability of these crops.
Our research indicated that HT extended the season, generated more harvests, produced higher marketable yields, increased fruit quality and reduced crop loss to weather. HT production reduced some pests but resulted in potential pest problems requiring additional research. HT provided the opportunity for organic production by altering the growing season of the crops outside normal pest life-cycles, altering the microenvironment, increasing the longevity of pest management applications (chemicals or beneficial insects) and by excluding some pests and diseases.
In previous research we determined that cultivar selection had significant influence on adaptability to HT systems; Tunnels may be modified to further advance and/or extend the season;. Pests must be managed differently in HT compared to FD. Additional research is needed to maximize the opportunity for season extension, pest management, and to understand the economics of HT production in combination with FD production.
This project proposes to study organic berry production in HT and FD systems to: 1) advance farm sustainability with a potential for expanded market and crop value, 2) improve pest and disease management, 3) develop production budgets and decision support tools to help producers make sound economic decisions, and 4) develop outreach and educational materials to transfer technology from research/demonstration into practice.
This project is a phase-II follow-up to research funded by USDA-OREI and OFRF completed in 2010. It capitalizes on established HT structures and experience, at both UA and grower co-PI sites, moving the technology toward farm implementation. It is proposed that organic production with HT and FD systems for berries be analyzed under two studies. In Study 1, summer-produced blueberries and floricane blackberries, will be advanced using HT. A second study will utilize autumn-fruiting blackberries and raspberries grown in HT to extend the season beyond the killing frosts. Within both studies, pest and disease incidence will be evaluated and methods of reducing damage will be studied using exclusion, trapping, environmental modification, and organic treatments. Cost of management and production systems will be recorded to create production budgets and decision support tools for producers. Field days, workshops, webinars, a berry school and a project blog with videos and project information will deliver a comprehensive outreach program to producers and extension agents. Information gathered from the project will be used to develop a regional Berry Sustainability Assessment Workbook.

Objectives/Performance Targets

1.To develop High Tunnel (HT) production systems for season extension of organic high value fruit crops for the southern region.

2.To develop and test pest management strategies for organic HT crop production systems adapted to the southern region.

3.To estimate economic models and to create decision support tools that help producers to manage production systems for profitability considerations

4.To extend the knowledge acquired through the production, pest management, and economic analyses into a multi-dimensional educational, outreach, and extension program

Accomplishments/Milestones

Objective 1: To develop High Tunnel (HT) production systems for season extension of organic high value fruit crops for the southern region.
•Implemented horticultural management of plots: application of organic fertilizer, mulching, irrigation, pruning, etc
•Built tunnel in tunnel system in spring Floricane tunnel, collecting met data
•Harvested berry crops, collected brix

Objective 2: To develop and test pest management strategies for organic HT crop production systems adapted to the southern region.
•Installed screening material in high tunnel to screen out pest
•Weekly scouting and trapping for mites, spotted winged drosophila and other pests
•Identified spotted winged drosophila

Objective 3: To estimate economic models and to create decision support tools that help producers to manage production systems for profitability considerations
•Collecting prices and timing data for economic analysis

Objective 4: To extend the knowledge acquired through the production, pest management, and economic analyses into a multi-dimensional educational, outreach, and extension program
•Established berry blog
•Initiated the Organic Blackberry and Raspberry Sustainability Workbook.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Since year one was recently completed and only begun in April, project results and impacts are still developing and are on-going.

Collaborators: