The Florida Blueberry Growers Association hosted its annual spring meeting and field day at the Plant Science Research and Education Unit in Citra, Florida, in early March. The day featured presentations from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) and a tour of blueberry trials at the facility.
A variety of production topics were covered during the presentations, but the recent freeze was a major focus of discussion. In welcoming attendees, current FBGA President Kyle Straughn said his fellow blueberry growers are a resilient group and are already moving forward by salvaging the portion of the crop that survived and preparing the rest for the future.
Gerardo Nunez, a UF/IFAS plant pathologist, dedicated part of his presentation to the need for updated critical temperatures for blueberry freeze protection in Florida. Like many other growers, he was out in blueberry fields during the freeze, waiting and wondering when to turn on the irrigation.
Much of the data on critical temperatures comes from northern production states such as Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington. One document he referenced was an Extension piece from Michigan State University. After the freeze, he said it is clear these numbers don’t match the varieties, climate and other conditions in Florida.
“Remember how Florida blueberries were developed,” Nunez said. “They were bred with cold-tolerant varieties from the north and evergreen varieties from Florida. So, these (published) numbers probably no longer represent the kinds of things we were seeing in the freeze.
“We need updated critical temperatures for southern highbush blueberries. We need to better understand what to expect in these freezes.”
Growers engaged with Nunez, offering comments and questions about what they observed in their fields and how different varieties at different stages responded to cold protection efforts. Developing critical temperatures for new Florida varieties will be complicated but necessary.
“There is a big knowledge gap that we should be looking at,” he said. “I hope it will be 10 or 20 years before we have another freeze event like this one. But it would be naive to think we will be prepared for a future freeze if we don’t start acting right away.”
By Frank Giles