The Texas Blueberry Industry—History, Trends, and Cultural Strategies

Abstract

Dr. Hollis Bowen of Texas A & M University initiated the first variety trials of rabbiteye blueberry, Vaccinium ashei Reade, at Buna and Magnolia Springs, Texas, in 1966 and 1968, respectively. Performance data by the mid-1970s led to commercial plantings and in the early 1980s the Texas Blueberry Growers Association was formed. Many of the early commercial plantings suffered from chlorosis and poor growth. Soil, leaf tissue, and water quality standards established by Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU) provided the benchmark levels associated with good plant growth and production. The Texas Blueberry Marketing Association fractured in the 1990s and reorganized in southeast Texas with 22 growers. Several grower/packer/shipper groups exist today, as well as a viable pick-your-own, roadside, and local sales industry. Current constraints center on frost at bloom, various insect and disease issues, and market difficulties. SFA continues to evaluate new germplasm as part of the USDA's Southern Region Blueberry Germplasm Evaluation Program, and several advanced selections are under consideration for release.

Keywords:

• Vaccinium
• history
• research
• culture
• breeding

HISTORY

The first planting of less than 100 plants was established on the farm of Mr. Herbert K. Durand at Buna, Texas in 1966. A second planting followed in 1968 at Magnolia Springs, Texas. Dr. Hollis Bowen, Texas A & M University (TAMU) pomologist, initiated rabbiteye blueberry varietal trials in East Texas based simply on the belief that rabbiteye blueberries, Vaccinium ashei Reade, a species indigenous to Florida and parts of Alabama and Georgia, could be grown in the acid soils of the Pineywoods of East Texas. East Texas normally receives 48 inches of precipitation per year and lies in the USDA Hardiness Zone 8. Most sites enjoy nearby sources of irrigation water and ready access to a number of organic soil amendments (pine bark, chips, straw, hay, rice hulls, etc.). In 1973, a larger trial under the direction of Dr. John Lipe was established at the Overton Research and Extension Center. The first plantings at TAMU, Overton, Texas, were primarily variety trials that included ‘Tifblue’, ‘Briteblue’, ‘Delite’, ‘Woodard’, ‘Garden Blue’, ‘Southland’, ‘Menditoo’, and ‘Bluegem’ (Lipe, 1980). In 2010, only ‘Tifblue’ remains a major part of the commercial picture. The first seedlings and selections of the USDA blueberry breeding program of Arlen Draper were cultivated at Overton, Texas beginning in 1973.

In the mid-1970s, the Texas Agricultural Extension Service began to report on the results of variety and cultural trials at grower field days, conferences, and events. Interest was high. Economic projections were optimistic. With yields of 12,000 lbs/acre predicted and market prices hovering around a dollar per pound, there was plenty of reason for grower enthusiasm. The first large planting was that of Fincastle Blueberry Nursery and Farms, LaRue, Texas. Owner John Schoelkopf, Dallas businessman and horticulture enthusiast, dreamed of establishing a kind of horticultural “Disneyland.” While the farm initially embraced the direct-from-farm-to-consumer philosophy, the operation quickly grew into blueberry production levels beyond that marketplace. A great capital investment was made, consultants were hired, additional blueberries planted, irrigation systems were established via lakes on the property, and Fincastle began commercial production of blueberries and blueberry plants. The Texas Blueberry Growers Association was created in 1980. John Schoelkopf enthusiastically promoted the industry by hosting and partially subsidizing some of the first blueberry conferences in East Texas. As a result of field trial production data, good promotion, and news releases, East Texas blueberry acreage increased.

Blueberry research in East Texas can be attributed to two academic units: (1) Texas A & M University Research and Extension Center, Overton, Texas, and (2) the Stephen F. Austin State University blueberry research program. Due to budget cuts and the loss of the fruit scientist position at TAMU Overton, blueberry research ended there in the 1990s. At SFASU, a modest program has continued with water quality experiments, germplasm trials, fertigation studies, and field mulching/in-ground amendment work. In 2010, Texas blueberry acreage was estimated at 1,100 acres. The Texas Blueberry Marketing Association operates primarily in southeast Texas with approximately 22 growers, 150 acres, and a focus on southern highbush early production. Late spring frosts remain the most important constraint to high yields and growers have responded with sprinkler irrigation and large wind-generating fans.

RESEARCH ACTIVITY AT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY

Blueberry research at this institution has been a long journey. Rabbiteye blueberries were first introduced 50 years ago. SFA's blueberry research and extension program began in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The industry was young. Growers faced numerous challenges and growing guidelines were few. At that time, SFA's research plots were a small fenced enclosure with irrigation at the SFA Dairy. In one of the first studies at SFA, we examined the growth of container-grown, large bareroot and small bareroot rabbiteye blueberry nursery plants in the field (Creech and Dale, 1982, 1983). In that study, large bareroot and container plants were superior to small bare root plants at the end of the first and second years. Because of chlorosis and leaf symptom issues in our plots, we initiated a study to test the effects of four micronutrient rates, which failed to prevent chlorosis (White and Creech, 1981). Thinking we might have an organic matter issue, we tested the influence of slow-release fertilizers and organic matter additions (pine bark and peat moss) on establishment of rabbiteye blueberries in the field (Bennett and Creech, 1984). While growth was acceptable with the high organic matter treatments, chlorosis and lack of plant vigor remained a problem over the entire research plot. In a study of the influence of N source and rate on growth of Vaccinium ashei ‘Delite’, we found very few significant differences and less than acceptable growth (Creech and Young, 1983a). We soon concluded that the problem lay with irrigation water quality.

At that time, SFA research plots used City of Nacogdoches water as the water source. After studying blueberry farmer soil and water sample data in the SFA Soils Lab, Dr. Leon Young and I concluded that water quality might be a problem for many growers in the region. I had already noticed that farms using surface water were generally more vigorous than farms using well water. Dr. Young and I observed that pH values in the drip irrigation zone, while often optimal at the beginning of the season, soon increased in the drip irrigated zone to levels not recommended for blueberries. In another research project, while organic matter and slow release fertilizer treatments improved plant performance over controls, they did not compensate for the impact of poor irrigation water quality over the entire experimental block (Creech and White, 1982; Young and Creech, 1983). To test our suspicions, Dr. Young, Director SFA Soils Soil and Plant Tissue Testing Laboratory, and I initiated a study of the influence of sulfur sources and rates on soil pH and rabbiteye blueberry growth in the presence of high pH irrigation water (Creech and Young, 1983b). The results indicated that sulfur and gypsum applications, while able to adjust soil pH values favorably, did not result in healthier plants. We concluded that high soil conductivities and continued high absorption of the Na ion was perhaps responsible for poor plant growth (Creech, 1986d). We tested the impact of using Nacogdoches city water (350 μS/cm) and rain water on mist propagation of azaleas and rabbiteye blueberries and found that both rooted at higher percentages with rain water (Creech et al., 1985). With salinity issues affecting many new growers relying on deep wells, Dr. Kim Patten, TAMU, Overton, Texas, and I initiated a study that studied the influence of sodium on growth and leaf elemental content of ‘Tifblue’ rabbiteye blueberries (Creech et al., 1986). The project demonstrated that dramatic leaf tissue Na level increases with only modest levels of Na in irrigation water. We concluded that growers using water with >50–60 ppm Na were facing problems, as Na appeared to accumulate over a few years to destructive levels.

Before application of fertilizers through drip systems became common place, growers in East Texas used a wide variety of means to deliver granular, generally acid-forming fertilizers. Some growers spread fertilizer by hand, particularly in the early years of a planting. Broadcast and banding applications were another common approach. Previous studies indicated that highbush blueberry plants receiving water and/or nutrients on one side of the plant failed to produce good shoot growth on the opposite side of the plant (Gough, 1984; Abbott and Gough, 1986). As a result of that work, we initiated a study on fertilizer placement both in the field and in “split-root” container studies (Creech, 1986a). Split-root studies involve slicing the root system into halves or quadrants with a sharp knife and then planting each root section into its own container, or planting in the field with a plastic barrier between sections. A small amount of raw uncut sphagnum moss around the wounded trunk was found to result in a quick healing process. This procedure produced a plant with four separated root systems, all feeding the same plant. Fertilizing on one side of the plant resulted in that side of the plant growing while the other side failed to produce significant new growth. We concluded that rabbiteye blueberries translocate nutrients differently than other plants.

The above results led to a number of interesting field studies. To see if the results of our split-root container study were transportable to field work, we split the root system of plants in the field by placing a plastic barrier between the right and left quadrants and soon learned that fertilizer placed on one side of the plant tends to affect only that side of the plant. We concluded that growth and leaf tissue nutrient content was affected by fertilizer placement. Water transport studies involving four root quadrants indicated that as long as water was applied to half the root system, the plant was unaffected and growth was equal to plants receiving water in all four quadrants. However, water applied to one quadrant in container studies resulted in only slightly less growth, with shoot growth favored on that side of the plant receiving water. This led to SFA fertilizer recommendations, the importance of mulch, and an emphasis on the importance of applying a uniform distribution of fertilizer in a circle around the plant, or lightly banding down both sides of the row well away from the crown of the plant (Creech, 1986b, 1986c, 1987a, 1987c, 1987d).

The shallow nature of rabbiteye blueberry systems triggered another study on the effect of shallow and deep placement of organic matter in the planting hole on root and shoot growth of rabbiteye blueberries (Creech, 1987b). In that study, 6-foot-deep holes were backfilled with composted pine bark mixed with the native soil (a Darco sand) prior to planting, and then growth was measured for several years. There was no impact on growth and random observations of root system profiles suggested that root systems remained in the 1-foot horizon, with most roots at the surface near the mulch/soil interface.

Returning to water quality factors, another study monitored the effects of four water qualities, four medias and three gypsum rates on container growth of ‘Tifblue’ rabbiteye blueberries (Creech et al., 1989a). Gypsum didn't ameliorate the negative impact of increasing Na, and levels above 50 ppm irrigation water Na were associated with higher leaf tissue Na concentrations and less growth. In a 1987–1991 study, we examined the influence of three above-ground mulch treatments (weed barrier, continuous bark, and none) and four in-ground amendment treatments (peat moss, pine bark, pine bark continuous, and none) on growth of ‘Climax’ and ‘Brightwell’ rabbiteye blueberries (Creech, 1990a). Surprisingly, the 4-foot-wide Dewitt^R weed barrier treatments resulted in superior plants, regardless of below-ground treatments, perhaps by providing a wider irrigation pattern.

In 1986–1988, soil samples, irrigation water samples, and leaf tissue were collected from a wide range of blueberry farms in East Texas (Creech et al., 1989b; Creech, 1990a). A ranking system for plant vigor and health was used to identify the parameters associated with the best plants (http://ag.sfasu.edu/UserFiles/File/PLANTS/Vaccinium%20species%281%29.pdf). That project evolved into two studies with multiple collaborators across the South, an investigation of the foliar elemental analysis of Southern highbush, rabbiteye, and highbush blueberries in the southern United States, with analysis done at the SFA Soil and Plant Tissue Testing Laboratory (Creech, 1990b; Clark et al., 1994; Gupton et al., 1992; Gupton et al., 1996). At Mill Creek Blueberry Farm there was concern that a long-term strategy to provide nutrients only through a drip irrigation system might be less than prudent, that blueberry plants were perhaps compromised by a limited nutrient and moisture zone. We initiated a field survey of the impact of 8 years of fertigation on soil pH, conductivity, and nutrient levels, and found that while the “water and nutrient zone was only a meter wide,” plant growth remained vigorous (Creech and Bickerstaff, 1996).

MILL CREEK BLUEBERRY FARM: A CASE STUDY

Mill Creek Blueberry Farm is located six miles west of Nacogdoches on Highway 59 and 50 acres of ‘Climax’, ‘Premier’, ‘Brightwell’, ‘Tifblue’, and ‘Powderblue’ were planted in 1988. Prior to this planting, a 1-acre test plot was provided to the SFA blueberry research effort, which is currently used to evaluate new blueberry germplasm. In 2003, 15 acres of Tifblue and Powderblue were added. Mill Creek Blueberry Farm enjoys a very well drained, low pH (5.2), upland Darco sand, which is characteristically low in nutrients and organic matter. The water source is an 8-acre spring-fed lake of very high quality water. The preplant strategy for this 50-acre commercial farm involved clearing the primarily scrub forest and smoothing the acreage. That was followed by a crop of pearl millet, which was mowed and tilled under. Prior to planting one-gallon containerized plants, approximately 90 yd³ of composted pine bark was banded down the rows (15-feet spacing between rows) and tilled in. After planting, the rows were mulched on the surface with another 90 cubic yards of pine bark. A drip irrigation system (in-line pressure compensating emitters every 24″) was installed that has performed well for 20 years without replacement of field lines. Mature plants have received about 8 gallons of water per day each, and the fertigation program system delivers 3 to 5 lbs N/acre/week, normally delivered in two to four pulses each day. Late spring freezes in the early 1990s dramatically reduced production. A sprinkler system for frost protection was installed in 1993 and has benefited the field many times when conditions allowed. A large field study in 1993 and 1994 tested five cryoprotectants, which failed to improve bloom survival during freeze events in those years (Thomas and Creech, 1994). In 2006, a 15-acre field of ‘Tifblue’ and ‘Powderblue’ was planted adjacent to the blueberry field. Field performance has been good with a high production mark in 2007 with 751,072 lbs picked, packed, and sold (11,210 lbs/acre). Average production for the last 5 years in lbs/acre is as follows: ‘Climax’ (3,708), ‘Premier’ (5,345), ‘Tifblue’ (6,573), ‘Brightwell’ (7,974), and ‘Powderblue’ (13,794). Mill Creek Blueberry Farm also serves as the cooperator site for Stephen F. Austin State University's blueberry germplasm evaluation program, a cooperative project with the USDA, as well as a platform for a number of blueberry research projects. That program involves about 1.6 acres, over 1,200 plants (varieties, selections, and multiples of advanced selections), and two selections that are under consideration for release (MS 108 and MS 132).