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The objectives of this research are:

1. To evaluate the impact of timing and rate of application of amendments on bush size harvestability, yield and fruit quality during the early years of establishment and production.
2. To identify optimum methods of weed control for promoting bush size, harvestability, yield and fruit quality.

High-quality fresh fruits are among the pinnacle of organic consumption. Unfortunately, the small scale and seasonally constrained production in Canada has limited supply for meeting fresh market demand, international opportunities and commercial scale production for processing.

Prince Edward Island organic producers are diversifying their operations through the addition of black currant (Ribes nigrum) bushes. This crop is targeted to supply the Japanese market with jams, frozen berries for ingredients and sugar infused products. Black currant production is relatively new to current growers. To date most management is done manually, including harvesting.

In 2009, an organic farmer purchased a mechanical harvester to allow expansion of the industry as hand harvesting on large acreages is not feasible. Harvesting equipment is generally capable of harvesting berries that lie six inches above the ground. As the majority of the berries are situated on the lower third of the plant, fruit on shorter bushes would lie below this cutoff resulting in high yield losses. Shortages in nitrogen, especially in the early growth stages of the plant, may result in shorter bushes that are not well suited to mechanical harvest, resulting in high yield losses.

In PEI, few fertility amendments are currently employed in a consistent manner. This research will test organically acceptable fertility amendments and weed control practices on black currant stands in the establishment years (when building vegetative structure is most important) and in early production years. Treatment effects will be measured through characterizing the canopy structure, tissue nutrient concentration, and eventually berry yield.

• [PDF - 5.9 MB]
  • The Canadian Organic Grower. 2012
• Best management practices for organic blackcurrant production
  • Plant Canada Conference. 2011
• • »ÆÉ«Ö±²¥ MSc Thesis of David Hobson
• Fertility Management of Establishing Organic Black Currants
  • 2nd International Organic Fruit Symposium. 2012
• (Ribes nigrum L.) [PDF - 33 kB]
  • Canadian Organic Science Conference. 2012
• Fertility management of establishing organic blackcurrants (Ribes nigrum L.) in Atlantic Canada
  • Plant Canada Conference. 2011
• Flower Removal of Organic Blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum L.) to Increase Bush Growth and Yield During Establishment
  • CSA-CSHS-CCA-AIC Conference. 2012
• Laying the foundation for organic black currant production
  • Canadian Organic Science Cluster Success Story. 2012
    
• [PDF - 887 kB]
  • The Canadian Organic Grower. 2012
• Weed Management of Establishing Organic Blackcurrants (Ribes nigrum L.)
  • CSA-CSHS-CCA-AIC Conference. 2012

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