Alternative Fruit Crops / Fruit Production Practices OTHER FRUIT CROPS Berry & Vegetable School 2011 Nisku, AB Sea Buckthorn? Orange fruit Very high in Vitamin C Very drought tolerant Difficult to harvest Photo by Anthony Mintenko Need to cut off branches to strip the fruit Thorns on some types Limited markets What do you do with them? Grapes? Commercial scale = Questionable Not typically hardy (not fully hardy) Need to be babied Some varieties i out of northern States www.mngrapes.org Some breeding work being done at U of Saskatchewan Who knows what will come of it? Apples? Typically small market Tough to compete with imports for fresh market Uses Ciders, wines, fresh, pies, etc. Some new varieties becoming available Dwarf, hardier, better quality Chokecherries? Often used in shelterbelts (but can be picked) Relatively easy to grow Uses Syrups, jellies, wines Some pest issues Black knot, insect pests, etc. 1
Hazelnuts? Some plant material is coming out of U of S Still a long way to go until high h quality Interesting option INSTA-POLL (QUICK ANSWER) WHAT IS THE FRUIT OF THE FUTURE IN ALBERTA? BIO-BREAKBREAK ALTERNATIVE FRUIT PRODUCTION PRACTICES INSTA-POLL (QUICKY DISCUSSION) WHAT DIFFERENT ALTERNATIVE PRACTICES HAVE YOU TRIED? RAISED BED STRAWBERRIES 2
Raised beds (Noble Gardens Nobleford, AB) Day neutral strawberries (Noble Gardens Nobleford, AB) Small micro-sprinkler for frost protection (Noble Gardens Nobleford, AB) Raised beds large square bales and 6 inch boxes (Saskaberry Ranch Olds, AB) Raised beds large square bales and 6 inch boxes (Saskaberry Ranch Olds, AB) Day neutral strawberries on raised beds (Saskaberry Ranch Olds, AB) 3
Raised bed strawberries drip irrigated (Saskaberry Ranch Olds, AB) Day neutral strawberries in eavestrough in a seasonal greenhouse (The Blooming Fields Didsbury, AB) Day neutral strawberries in eavestrough (The Blooming Fields Didsbury, AB) Day neutral strawberries in vertical pipes (Over The Hill Orchards Lumsden, SK) Day neutral strawberries in vertical pipes (Over The Hill Orchards Lumsden, SK) DN strawberries Filtrexx grow bags (MSU SW Michigan Experimental Station Benton Harbor, MI) 4
STRAWBERRIES FROM PLUG PRODUCTION Day netural strawberry plug Day neutral strawberry plugs being planted on raised beds Day netural strawberry plugs on raised beds HIGH TUNNELS Haygrove Solo over day neutral strawberries 5
Haygrove Solo over day neutral strawberries Day neutral strawberries Raspberries under multi-bay high tunnels Raspberries under multi-bay high tunnels rolled up sides Raspberries under high tunnels Research high tunnels (MSU SW Michigan Experimental Station Benton Harbor, MI) 6
Sweet cherries in high tunnels (MSU SW Michigan Experimental Station Benton Harbor, MI) Trellissed blackberries under high tunnels (MSU SW Michigan Experimental Station Benton Harbor, MI) FIELD / ROW COVERS Row covers over strawberries Row covers over strawberries Covers on primocane raspberries for earlier / enhanced fruiting (CDC South Brooks, AB) Photos by Lloyd Hausher 7
DEVIL s ADVOCATE GREENHOUSE PRODUCTION? Discussion Exercise What are the flaws with these fruit crops or fruit production practices? PROBLEM SOLVER Discussion Exercise What needs to happen to make these crops or alternative practices work? Rob Spencer, BSA, MSc, P.Ag. Commercial Horticulture Specialist robert.spencer@gov.ab.ca Alberta Ag-Info Centre 310-FARM 8