BLUE
FOCUS NEWSLETTER- Spring 2025
(Perennia’s
Wild Blueberry Production Newsletter)
Perennia
Farm Data Tools 2.0. Check it out! https://www.farmdatatools.perennia.ca/
Hello everyone,
I hope you had a restful winter. It finally feels
like spring is here. I look forward to a new blueberry season!
In this spring newsletter, we provided updates on overwinter
weather, management resources& tools and upcoming events. Over this winter,
we upgraded systems and updated resources to help growers’ field activity
planning and pest management. I strongly encourage you to check out the
following tools/resources:
· Perennia
Farm Data Tools: Farm Weather Map, GDD Calculator, Online Pest Guides and Soil Survey Map.
· Wild
Blueberry Blog: Growing Degree Days (GDDs). The updates include 25 weather
stations where we will report their GDD accumulations through the 2025 season and
the newest GDD recommendations for wild blueberry management.
· Virtual
Wild Blueberry Grower Meetings.
Hugh Lyu
Wild Blueberry Specialist, Perennia
hlyu@perennia.ca; 902-890-0472.
March 26, 2025
Table of Contents:
Nova Scotia Weather Updates and April
Forecast
Wild Blueberry Resources and Management
Tools
Upcoming Events
Nova Scotia Weather Updates and April
Forecast
We used the Kentville Research Station’s weather data on air
and soil temperatures to get an overview of this past fall and winter's weather
conditions in Nova Scotia. The average temperatures are compared with
historical averages. Thank you to Jeff Franklin (AAFC)’s continuous support in
sharing weather data and plotting graphs for us.
Air temperature at the Kentville Research Station from October 1, 2024, to
March 22, 2025 (Figure 1)
·
Fall (Oct- Nov, 2024): Unlike the 2023 fall, this past year's fall weather conditions were normal, with air temperatures around the average.
·
Winter (Dec 2024- Feb 2025): most days’ mean
daily temperatures were below the average trends during this period. This past
winter, we had adequate snowfall in fields, and air temperatures were cooler
and suitable for wild blueberry plants over the winter period.
·
March: Since March, most daily temperatures have been above the averages. We had some warm spring weather days in early and mid-March
in NS.
·
Overall, this past fall and winter’s weather conditions
were desirable in blueberry fields.
Soil temperature (5 cm) from the Kentville Research Station from October 1,
2024, to March 22, 2025 (Figure 2)
·
Fall and winter (Oct 2024- Feb 2025): The soil
temperatures during this period were close to the averages because of a slight
air temperature fluctuation in the fall, good snow coverage over winter, and frozen
ground, which helps to maintain soil temperature.
·
March: As snow started to melt and air
temperatures rose after March, soil temperatures dramatically increased and exceeded
the averages. Higher soil temperatures could result in early plant development,
particularly in low-latitude and low-altitude areas.
April forecast (Figure 3)
·
Figure 3 is a forecast map for the temperature
probability from March to May in Canada.
·
In spring 2025 (March- May), NS has a 40-50% chance of being above normal temperature. Last year, this figure was higher,
with about 80-90% probability of being above normal.
Figure 1. Air temperatures at the
Kentville Research Weather Station, Oct 1, 2024, to March 22, 2025
Figure 2. Soil
temperatures (5 cm) from the Kentville Research Weather Station, Oct 1,
2024 to March 22, 2025
c
Figure 3. Forecast probability of
temperature above, below, and near normal
Wild Blueberry Resources and Management Tools
Please check out the following resources and tools to make managing
and growing wild blueberries easier.
1.
Perennia Wild Blueberry Blog: http://www.novascotiawildblueberryblog.com/.
We updated the blog before a new production season starts.
We encourage you to check each section for the latest information for the
season. Please see blog update highlights below.
a.
Weather: We have two maps showing the locations
of wild blueberry weather stations and stations with soil temperature sensors.
b.
GDDs: We updated this page with the latest GDD
recommendations for wild blueberry management. This page includes seasonal GDD
updates for various selected stations. In 2025, here is a list of stations where
we will report their cumulative GDDs, starting on April 1. Please check this
page regularly for the latest GDD accumulations on those stations, which can be
compared with the GDD recommendations in the “Introduction” section.
c.
Management tools- Pesticides. The pesticide
section provides directions to view wild blueberry pesticides in PDF and online
formats. We highly recommend you check out the online searchable pest guides
under Farm Data Tools. https://www.farmdatatools.perennia.ca/.
Perennia
also produced a tutorial video to help you familiarize yourself with Online
Pest Guides. Please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgrehXjdHM0.
*To make sure you don’t miss any updates
from the blog, we suggest you subscribe to the wild blueberry blog through this
link: https://perennia.us4.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=642ec925a6b70139cd668d4b0&id=9904a7ca6c.
2. Perennia Farm Data Tools: https://www.farmdatatools.perennia.ca/.
The Perennia team upgraded Farm Data Tools this winter, and
this site contains more valuable and smart tools to support your
decision-making during planning. The graph below shows a complete list of tools
available to growers, with a couple of tools that will be of particular
interest to wild blueberry growers, including a weather dashboard, farm
weather map, GDD Calculator, online Pest Guides, and interactive Soil Survey
Map.
You can learn each tool by clicking on each tool's label, and a live
instruction video will play automatically.
Upcoming Events
*Please visit the
Perennia Wild Blueberry Blog Calendar, which shows wild blueberry-related events
in a visual way: http://www.novascotiawildblueberryblog.com/p/events.html.
1. ATTTA:
New to Beekeeping Session: April 1, 1:00 PM-
4:00 PM, Virtual. Please visit this link for more information and to
register: https://www.perennia.ca/eventer/new-to-beekeeping-session/edate/2025-04-01/.
2. Perennia
Virtual Wild Blueberry Grower Meetings 2025:
April 9 and more, 8:30 AM- 9:30 AM. Please visit this link for more
details and to register for this season’s virtual meetings: https://www.perennia.ca/eventer/wild-blueberries-virtual-grower-meetings-2025/edate/2025-04-09/.
3. 2025
Maritime Wild Blueberry Conference: April 11 and 12.
Moncton, NB. The three Maritime Wild Blueberry Associations will host a
joint spring meeting in Moncton, NB, this year. The graphs below provide more details
about this event and the agenda for both days.
