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The Highbush Blueberry is the state fruit for New Jersey and an integral part of the south Jersey economy. Atlantic and Burlington Counties are the center for production with almost 80% of the total NJ crop produced there. Growers in these counties have always been progressive and tend to adapt to practices which often result in better efficiency.
The Rutgers Blueberry Integrated Pest Management program (IPM) has been in place for more than 15 years and has shown a steady growth in the number of participating farms. Since 1995 the number of farms enrolled has more than doubled and this program is now serving 41 growers in Atlantic and Burlington counties. The acreage among these farms represents over 70% of the total blueberry acres in New Jersey.
The integral, “boots on the ground” part of the program starts with the team of Blueberry Field Scouts who are trained and managed by Carrie Mansue – IPM Senior Program Coordinator. They are responsible for on-farm scouting and monitoring for pests, pathogens, weeds and physiological problems. A team of faculty specialists located at the Philip E. Marucci Center for Blueberry and Cranberry Research and Extension provide support and knowledge to the field scouts and receive scouting reports allowing them to provide feedback for making practical recommendations to commercial blueberry growers. Dr. Thierry Besançon, Dr. Peter Oudemans and Dr. Cesar Rodriguez provide leadership in weed science, plant pathology and entomology, respectively. Dr. Gary Pavlis, the Atlantic County Extension Agent, also supports the program with horticultural and nutritional direction. Dr. Janine Spies is the statewide IPM coordinator and leads this Blueberry IPM Program.
Numerous farm visits by the scouting team are made throughout the growing season and provide critical information that commercial growers use to make IPM-based management decisions. Whether the decision was to add a spray to protect the crop, schedule optimum timing for sprays, or deleting a spray which was not needed, this guidance during the busy growing season helps to improve farm efficiency in many ways. Fertility management is another service provided through the IPM program. Each year leaf tissue and soil samples were taken for analysis and fertility recommendations are made based on each sample. These fertility recommendations are made in fall and winter and subsequently implemented in the following growing season.
In addition to farm-specific recommendations the IPM team has developed numerous other resources for providing educational materials. In person meetings such as twilight meetings and weekly newsletters are employed to disseminate information collected from the fields. Annual open house meetings and research-based meetings occur throughout the year. An annual crop recommendation guide is also provided for all growers. Factsheets highlighting specific topics are also published through Rutgers Cooperative extension. These tools have a far reaching effect and are available to all growers including those not enrolled in the program or located outside of New Jersey.
The Rutgers Blueberry IPM program helps growers to implement these methodologies for crop production as well as to integrate new “lower risk” pesticides and other management alternatives. Advanced options (such as mating disruption, or precision weed control) are being developed so that in some cases no pesticide is used to address specific crop threats. These improved management strategies are critical to preserving our ecologically sensitive NJ Pinelands as well as improving the sustainability of the native berry farming.